Parents in classrooms

[Over40]

Should parents have completly free access to the classroom at the begining and end of the day? If not, why and what do they have access to?

What she said.
Plus, all it takes is a couple of minutes from some parents and suddenly you are 15 mins late.
Whereas wandering out ten minutes before means that parents can chat whilst being aware of the pressure...as you take the class in and mummies are still kissing and waving and draping bags off their children. (I have Y5)
Then you enter the building and the time is up.

Our school has classrooms that open onto the playground.
In the morning an TA stands at the door and greets the children ticking them off the register as they arrive. Parents accompany the children in and go into the corridor to hang up coats etc and change reading books.
The first ten minutes is an activity that the parent starts with their child they leave when the child is settled. Parents have the opportunity then to speak to teacher or TA if needed.
At home time the children are let out through the same door once they have identified who is collecting them.

At DS's school parents have 10 minutes in the morning. Most use it to get their chidren sorted out, change reading books, check work on the wall, talk to the teacher is they need to and say good bye. It's an infants school and by Year 2 most children are going in on their own.
No access at finish time.

At my son's school parents have no access to the classroom. The school states it is for child protection issues and TBH I'm happy with it. I think the children settle better without their parents in the classroom too- it is less disruptive for all concerned.

At my son's school the teacher comes out to take them in in the morning (they line up outside) and so is available for a very quick word and the same at home time. If it is pre-arranged one can stay behind to speak with the teacher at the end of the school day.

I am out in the playground for 10 - 15 minutes every morning before the bell goes so that I can talk to, and be found by parents in the morning.

Our school access route is just too small to be safe with anymore than the 2 x 30 groups of children. I can't imagine what it would be like if there were 60 sets of parents, plus pushchairs (most of ours have at least one younger sibling) all trying to hang coats, put away bookbags/water bottles etc. I think it would make the mornings much more stressful for the children (and teacher). Any benefit gained by a child having their parent there would be lost in the chaos. Perhaps it would work in schools which were better designed!

I agree that the really disruptive thing is when children come into school late. Late arrivals are brought down by our school secretary, but it is a really big problem in my school, with two children in my class regularly arriving up to an hour late in the morning.

I think it could work well if there is a staggered start to the day, but really don't see how it can work if there is a set start time.

In my DS's primary, there is an 'open door' policy for what is called 'early bird' that starts in Y1, where the classroom doors are opened at 8.50am in the infants and the parents accompany their dc's into the class if they wish, can bring up quick questions/issues about their dc and sort out lost items etc. The parents then leave when the 9am bell rings. It is the same in the Juniors, except 'early bird' is from 8.45am and the bell for lessons rings/parents leave at 8.55am. You can also briefly chat to the teacher at pick-up time as well. This usually tails off by the end of Y4/start of Y5 though, as parents are too embarrasing to be seen with by then!

TBH I don't know what I'd do if I wasn't allowed free access to the classroom in the morning, certainly for DS2, as if I couldn't take him into the classroom, he just wouldn't go at all!! I'd probably move schools if there was no classroom access, this is one thing that is quite important to me as a parent. DS1 on the other hand, already mostly waits outside his classroom by himself in the morning despite only being Y3, as either he or DS2 would be late if not, as their classrooms are at opposite ends of the large school building!

I'd be surprised if this wasn't a safeguarding issue tbh. In which case Ofsted are coming down hard on safeguarding and it is the first thing to be inspected, if your school is found to have issues re safeguarding (as simple as having one not-signed in person in school) then the school will be given immediate notice to improve before the inspection is continued.

I would imagine a lot of schools will have to abolish this policy.

lol at parents hanging children's coats up! There's no one there to do it at lunchtime and playtime you know. They CAN do it themselves - they pretend they can't so you do it for them!

It is a nightmare -I quite agree unless i had to see a teacher or something I never went in my dcs class however the headteacher would hang around in the yard and if there was crying/upset/snotty children she would always say -'oh mrs nickschick will take you in so mummy can go and do her jobs'-so most mornings I ended up taking someone elses dc into school and wiping snot or finding packed lunches.

This was apparently because I was CRB checked and a nursery nurse and so could supervise some children ....and I was free.

I was also the finder of lost stuff- dont know how I got myself that job either.

Ive seen some parents still saying bye to dc at 9.15 am even answering their childs name at register .

At our school the TA greets each child at the gate, they go through to the cloakroom themselves and then at the end of the day the TA lets each child out individually.

It works brilliantly. My ds are year 1 and year 2. In reception they used to allow parents into the cloakroom (but asked parents to limit the time they spent in there and only to help out if their dc needed help) - which meant my ds getting trampled and backed into as he tried to hang his coat up for himself while I waited outside. And a lot of the time the parent wasn't actually helping their dc but was chatting to another parent or the TA at the classroom door (with said TA desperately trying to get away so she could get on with her job).

If you need to speak to the teacher you make an appointment, which is done easily by text or email. Any concerns like a bad night's sleep or whatever are written in the daily diary. As I say, works fantastically well.

Parents coming in for a quick chat, fine. Parents coming in to collect little Johnny's books/coat/personal CD player he is not supposed to have in school anyway, not fine. In reception, children need the settling in period. After that, parents do not need to be in the classroom unless they are seeing the teacher.

When things go missing, the first question asked is 'Who was in the room?'.

OFSTED insist on CRB checks for anyone with access to chidlren not supervised by a teacher. At the end of the day, if the teacher is in the corridor and a parent is alone with some children in the classroom, there could be a problem if an allegation was made.

It is in the best interests of the parents, teachers and pupils not to allow parents to roam in and out of classrooms, but to allow them access when necessary.

OooohWhatAFuss-that would honestly stop me from getting my DS2 to actually go into the classroom. He has SN, and if I couldn't settle him into his seat, he just wouldn't go in.

At DS's (small) primary, all parents of infant-aged children may take them into their classroom and settle them in. DS (Year 1) loves this, and likes to show me how he can write his name on the white board, or a collage the children have been working on. His teacher also welcomes questions and contact from parents at either end of the day, although I should probably keep an eye on the time and not chat about reading and spellings after 08:55, which I did today. She seemed fine about it, though.

I can't imagine it any other way.

Having no access to classroom ever would be awful.
The number of times I've gone in (after school finished) to search for gloves/waterbottle/other items, or to change a reading book, or to find teacher to ask a question. I'd feel so shut out and unwanted if the school went for the all-exclusive policy as suggested here. It'd really kill communication.

Or do you simply waylay a TA/teacher and ask them to drop everything to go find your child's forgotten gloves??

It hasn't killed communication at all in my DCs' school. They are really good about phone contact, even making the first call if an issue is developing. I have found that expecting the children to take care of their own belongings, books, lunches, etc., and not running around finding lost items teaches them to do it for themselves. It might come across as a bit brisk, but ultimately the goal is to have the children able to take care of details themselves, imo.

Ours fosters independence from Yr 1 (as in 'go away hovering parent you are not helping your child') but does allow those in Reception class to help with settling in, sorting out belongings etc.

I find that now my DCs are Yr 3 and 6, they do not want me anywhere near the school gates at drop off and are more than happy to go in by themselves. If I need to speak to their teacher I make an appointment for after school because, as a former teacher myself, I know how frantic the start of school can be.