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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Settling-in periods: What is normal?

45 replies

morningpaper · 04/01/2010 10:19

My school does six weeks of alternate two-hour slots in the morning and afternoon, which is going to take up half of mine and DH's annual leave this year which we are already arguing about.

What is normal for other schools?

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ruddynorah · 04/01/2010 10:23

6 weeks?! good grief.

the school dd will be going to starts them on a wednesday for the morning only, then home for lunch. thursday they stay for lunch then go home. friday they stay til about 2. then the following week they are there all day every day.

TheGoddessBlossom · 04/01/2010 11:20

I am already stressing about this even though DS2 won't start till September. DS1 started last Sept and as he was an older boy he did 2 weeks of half days then was fill time. The CM picks him up at 3 the 4 days a week I work.

DS2 will be half days until Christmas. So the full term. No way will the CM pick him up at 1, then go back for DS1 at 3! DS2's nursery would have him in the afternoons but how on earth do I get him there when I am working in London? No way is getting in a taxi, that might have a different driver each day, he'll be barely 4....

Oh the irony that when my kids are both at school it will be harder than ever for me to work.....

Original poster

morningpaper · 04/01/2010 11:42

Yuck TGB that is MAD. A whole TERM?

I think that 4 weeks is perhaps reasonable but plenty of these children will already be at nursery full-time - I know the benefit is mainly for the teachers but when both parents are working it is MADNESS. I just can't see a way around that doesn't involve both me and DH sacrificing a whole year of decent holiday-time together as a family.

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TheGoddessBlossom · 04/01/2010 11:49

I know MP - DS2 is already at nursery 8-6pm 4 days a week. I know it is a different kind of tired, but I do think he would cope fine. Might stop him waking up at 6am anyway!

I really don't know what we are going to do. As you say, it means taking holiday, but DH and I will already have taken all our leave (DH unpaid as self employed) separately, to cover DS1's summer holidays.

We have no help from parents (Mum has Alzheimers and Dad cares for her). I am going to have quit my job I can feel it. The alternative is just patched together childcare that will not be reliable enough and I just can't do that to my boys, and just generally too much pressure and stress. I am under pressure as it is to increase my days from 4 to 5....

ronshar · 04/01/2010 11:55

Morningpaper can you not contact the school and ask why they have such a ridiculous school starting policy. 6 weeks is of no benefit to anybody.
DDs school do Mon-Thur of alternate mornings and afternoons then Friday all day. The next week as normal for the rest of the year. Summer babies go full time after Christmas.

6 weeks. I am staggered where they have plucked that figure out of the air from. Do they offer some kind of wrap around care? All schools are supposed to now I think.

FabIsGoingToBeFabIn2010 · 04/01/2010 11:57

Ours does mornings only from September - January for the younger children. The older ones get to go full time from October.

ronshar · 04/01/2010 11:58

TGB, would your nursery be able to pick up DS2? It may be worth asking.
Also I dont really see why the CM cant/wont do both pick ups. Not that unreasonable, parentsd have to do it and they dont get paid for the pleasure either

FabIsGoingToBeFabIn2010 · 04/01/2010 11:59

I have to disagree that it is for the benefit of the teachers. Our reception teachers would love to have all the children full time much quicker but the head decrees otherwise.

Original poster

morningpaper · 04/01/2010 12:01

Hmm there doesn't seem to be ANY consistency about this does there?

Does anyone know what the school's obligation is regarding wrap-around care because there was a lot of talk about this but no one seemed to know the definitive answer...

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BoysAreLikeDogs · 04/01/2010 12:02

I too am interested in the wraparound scheme which seems to have died a death here (SW)

alana39 · 04/01/2010 12:08

Morningpaper that sounds ridiculous. Ours does 3 weeks - first week they stay until start of lunch (11.50), second week they stay for lunch (12.20), third week they stay for lunch and lunchtime play (12.50) then fourth week they go full time.

That was bad enough (easy for me to say as both DSs were settled in on about day 3) but not sure how I would have coped with twice as long.

As the school switched from 2 intakes to just the September one this year they did want the younger children (who would previously have started in January) to do mornings only until half term, but most of the parent protested and so only about 4 children actually stayed on mornings. Was good to have a choice I thought.

ronshar · 04/01/2010 12:08

I dont really know much about the Wraparound but I do know that here in West Sussex the schools seem to HAVE to offer something.

Is it worth contacting the school govenors to find out why the school has chosen such a drawn out, long winded approach to reception starting.
It does seem to be very poorly thought out, especially given that very few families have a parent at home nowadays, in order to go back and forth to school each day.

BoysAreLikeDogs · 04/01/2010 12:11

wrt to settling into school I think that the school has to demonstrate they deal with each child as an individual per EYFS as opposed to a cohort, hence drawing out the process

Or summat

FabIsGoingToBeFabIn2010 · 04/01/2010 12:18

Parents have complained at our school for the last 5 years that it changed. Makes no difference.

TheGoddessBlossom · 04/01/2010 12:29

We were asked whether we would be interested in wraparound care (answer obviously a vehement yes!!) but there is so little call for it at this school they don't provide it.

I do seem to be in the miority of about 2 of mums that work out of mum's in reception year.

However I do know I am not alone in terms of mums in this country that work.

Hadn't thought about whether the nursery could collect DS2 but I cannot imagine they would. Would they? Nooo.

And yes maybe CM would do two collections. As you say, I would be paying her to do it....

madamearcati · 04/01/2010 12:39

Ours start full time from day one.

blithedance · 04/01/2010 12:54

Ours were full time from day one; there were a few who were part time last term at parent's request and school were flexible on that.

6 weeks sounds completely OTT. Can you complain to the LEA? It is not worth losing your job over just one term.

My friend is also one of the few working mums in a v. posh village school near us - the "wraparound" care involves children being minibussed to a not-very-nearby nursery.

On the plus side, our LEA uses taxis (scattered villages in catchment) and they are generally one of 2 or 3 regular drivers.

eshermummy · 04/01/2010 13:48

MP - is your dc already 5? I think I'm right in saying that they not need be in full time school till term after they turn 5 so if your dc not yet 5 they not need be full time till after Easter. On that basis I would be inclined to say you will take up your place at Easter and leave dc in nursery till then or simply ignore the first 4 weeks of the 6 week plan and simply do the last 2 weeks of it. Would that work/help at all?
Obviously school not going to like that but they will have to lump it if theu are not prepared to be more flexible.

Only issue I can see is whether you would still be entitled to LEA funding for your nursery place for that term if you choose not to take up place till they are 5 but tbh can't see why not as people can claim funding for private school reception year if their child not 5 yet.

ronshar · 04/01/2010 14:14

Thats a good point. There is a girl in DD2 reception class this year who did not start until after halfterm. No problem with her settling in, just her dad who never seems sure of where to stand in the playground
Tell the school that DD will not be starting until after half term. They can't refuse you a place as it should have been already allocated. And the law states full time the term AFTER the 5th birthday.
That'll show em.

Original poster

morningpaper · 04/01/2010 14:40

It is a possibility but I think she would miss out too much on the start of school - particularly when all her friends at nursery are moving up.

At the mo, DH is blocking off half the days as annual leave. It's CRAP though.

OP posts:

Runoutofideas · 04/01/2010 15:45

My dd1 started in Sept and was part time up until the Oct half term. At the time I was moaning like mad, but with hindsight I wish she could still be part time as she was absolutely exhausted and fed up with the whole school thing by Christmas. She's been lovely over the holidays but goes back tomorrow when I'm sure evil child wil reappear!

emy72 · 04/01/2010 19:48

My local school does this and this is one of the many many reasons we didn't send our children there. The school our children are in does 5 days induction - most kids have been to the preschool nursery anyway, worn uniforms, already know all the routines, all the kids etc so there would be no point in dragging the process out for longer.
I think if the school does this sort of thing for 6 weeks it ought to at least provide wraparound or link up with someone that can.
Grrrr
Emy

Builde · 05/01/2010 09:39

Nothing is 'normal'.

Luckily, our school only does 3 weeks of setting in, but all the others do a full half term.

I hated all the uncertainty...

camaleon · 05/01/2010 09:55

Wow,
Our local school in London has this kind of policy... Worse, they do not inform you about how long the process will take. My dd is a winter child (December) and she started full week just before Christmas. No care provided by school. It was very very difficult for all of us because they would not tell us how long it would take (depends on 'individual' needs of child) which seems a good idea if you are not working and have no other child to look after and the child going to school is not stressed about not knowing herself what the following week will look like

Since this is my first experience with school I thought this was the 'rule' for every school

Acinonyx · 05/01/2010 10:13

What a nightmare for working parents! Our school had one week of half days then the option of going FT or staying PT. Dd is a July baby but used to a 9-6 day at childcare - she went FT from week 2 with no problems or extra tiredness at all. Do you not have many working mums at your school? I think our settling in period was reduced under pressure from the very many WOHMS/WAHMs.

After school care only starts from normal school day's end.

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