No communication yet from reception school before September start, is this normal?

[Ginagogo]

My daughter is starting reception in September and has been at a separate private nursery so no connection to the school. She breaks up from her nursery on the 10th of July for summer.

We have had no communication from the school yet, no letter, email, nothing. Is this normal? I have emailed the school on Monday with no response so will phone them later if still nothing. I presumed this was normal until a friend was shocked I’ve heard nothing as she’s already had info about uniform and transitions.

Do you know any other parents of the school that you can talk to? Anyone who has sent their child or whose child is there? Could you put something on the local community Facebook page?

Are they not even intending to send you any forms before September? We had to fill in an enormous pile of forms. It does all seem very odd. We’ve had one stay and play and DS will have another short session with his actual teacher. The teachers try and get round the nurseries too to get a handover from the kids’ key workers.

I don’t know anyone there apart from someone who moved her children mid term, so it’s a bit different.

I have no idea about forms, when I said about lack of information they just said to check their website but I presume at some point they will need emergency contact info etc? I wonder if it’ll be sent home with her when she does her transition day

That sounds strange. When mine started school, there was a meeting for parents in July, where they also gave out paper packs of information e.g. uniform, as well as dates. They had stay and plays and a staggered start.

My DS is transitioning to junior school and we have had an email welcoming us and asking us to collect a pack of forms from the office, plus a coffee morning to meet the new class teacher.

What does the website say? Could you ring back and say you’ve learnt some bits from the website but want to find out about staff etc?

Have they not told you the name of her teacher and a picture? Also in the first week it's usually reduced hours. Id email the head and express your concerns

We have two stay and play sessions and a parents talk.

This is not at all normal and sets a really bad impression (them, not you!).

It's really lazy to just tell you to look at the website. If that's their attitude, they should at the very least send out a letter or email saying as much.

"Thank you for choosing our school. Please check out our website for all the information you require regarding uniform, school dinners, term dates and staffing. Any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us."

That would still be a lazy approach and wouldn't impress me as a parent, but at least it tells people where to look and doesn't just assume people will automatically know where to find the information.

There will be a data collection sheet, at the very least, which they'll need you to complete before she starts, with information about her health, and emergency contact numbers etc. The school will also need to see a copy of her birth certificate before she starts. How very odd that they've not gone through this with parents yet.

I've never heard of a school not doing an information evening in some form or other for new parents. Even in the summer of 2020 we ran the evening via Zoom, and in 2021 it was socially distanced with chairs spread out and everyone wearing masks which sounds ridiculous now, looking back, but we still did it because those early connections are so important.

Settling in sessions for the children are a vital part of the transition too. I really hope your daughter enjoys the one session they are offering and you come away knowing a little bit more (the teacher's name at the very least, so you can talk about them over the summer).

We send our new starters home with a social story after our final transfer day, with photos of the school/classroom and key members of staff so they can look at it and discuss over the summer. Hopefully your school will do something similar, although I sadly wouldn't count on it from what you've said.

Do 90%+ transfer from the attach nursery? Otherwise it seems unusual to me. I don’t think the transition days were before July but we had a few (attached nursery)

This seems bizarre and doesn’t speak well of their approach to student well-being as it’s a big transition and something they should be supporting! We’ve had multiple letters/emails and transition visits already. I’m assuming you’ve picked this school for a reason and hopefully communication/support will be better once your daughter actually joins but so far they’re off to a poor start tbh.

@CaptainMyCaptain Maybe they were Australian 😂 You can literally rock up here at your public designated school (which is assigned based on address) and they have to take your kids. I still don’t understand how that can work in terms of logistics but you have an absolute right to a place at your local school. Obviously they prefer if you enrol in advance.

I was wondering about reduced hours as I’ve booked the first off work, so that’s on my list of questions I have to email over. She has her only transition day on Friday so I’ll see if she comes home with anything and if not I’ll fire some questions over and see what they say

It does sound odd! When my daughter started they sent out a whole pack of information, invited us to come and have a look around and even sent out pictures of her teacher, her classroom, the dinner hall, even pictures of the toilets so she would know what they look like 😂 they had a whole little welcome booklet full of notes and pictures.

If she has a transition day this week then I wouldn’t worry and you will find out more then.

That so unusual. When my eldest started from a private nursery, the nursery teacher came and done two visits to meet her. All three had settling in sessions. We had a parents evening group meeting, with so much information given. Emails sent with further info as and when required. Seems very strange.

If it makes you feel any better - our primary was shockingly bad at communication when mine was starting reception. I had similar responses - ‘check the website’, ‘we’ll let you know’ kind of responses.

However - once we’d started, they were fantastic and always have been. They’ve not given me a single minute of concern or doubt over what’s going on.
We’re just getting ready to leave year 6 now.

Doesn't bode well does it if that's their level of. Communication!

Hope you get some information in Friday!

That sounds welcoming!

Oh that's good. Hopefully @Ginagogo will find the same 🤞🏼

Wow! When my DS started they had the teacher visit the children in their private nursery, a stay and play in July and a parent event where you found out what class they were in and they talked you through how things worked (lunches, Parent Pay, please don't send the girls in tights to start with as they can't get them on and off, buy them super big jumpers etc). Very poor communication from your school.