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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

Juggling staged starts to Reception

17 replies

MammyT · 23/05/2010 22:11

How do working parents cope with staged starts to Reception class?

My child won't be going full time for most of the first term and can't use the breakfast club for the first year at least.

Of course I want my child to settle into school successful but short of taking a year off work to cope with the staged hours (which isn't possible), what can I do? I have tried hiring a nanny for after-school care but as the hours are going to vary so much in the first year, I am having no luck.

So how do working parents cope with this?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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thisisyesterday · 23/05/2010 22:13

wasn't a problem for me personally but friends of mine who worked used nursery places either morning or afternoon to cover it

a lot had to use their lunch break to do the switch over

do you have a lot of choppinh and changing?

paisleyleaf · 23/05/2010 22:15

Might they offer full time to your child?
A lot of schools are now.

paisleyleaf · 23/05/2010 22:17

Or, I do know some nurseries offer those hours (and some even pick-up) as it's a common problem.

ageing5yearseachyear · 23/05/2010 22:39

what age is your dc?

i am resolutely determined with dd3 that she will go to school when they can offer her a full time place.

the nightmare i went through with the first 2 was unbearable! i was so worried that everyone else would make friends and my poor children would be left out and have no one to play with.

the reality for me was that i realised that new kids bowled in frequently through out the year and we all absorbed and made to feel happy.

i have heard that our catchment school does a half term of afternoons from 1.15-3.30, then mornings from 9.00-11.30, then 9.00-1.15 and finally the whole day. omg i am not going to do that. dd3 can stay at nursery until she can go full time

redskyatnight · 24/05/2010 14:44

I am fortunate in that school offers wrap around care for working parents. (the children are cared for with the Reception class which kind of seems to defeat the object of making them go p/t though). Our "phase in" is only 2 weeks though.

FabIsGoingToGetFit · 24/05/2010 14:45

You don't need to take a year off.

Your child needed looking after before they started school so who did it then?

Mine wasn't full time until mid January but the mothers who worked used child minders.

Bramshott · 24/05/2010 15:10

A childminder might be a good bet - once your child is at school they are counted as an over 5 for childminding numbers (even if in fact they are still 4).

Kismet2010 · 24/05/2010 16:07

We have to face three weeks of staggered starts, but the school offers a wraparound service to all parents until they start full time. Costly, but worth it. All school should offer this or offer a full time start straight away. Good luck with solving the problem.

Original poster

MammyT · 25/05/2010 00:05

There are no registered childminders picking up from this school so no luck there. My daughter is currently in a nursery who aren't keen on her staying there once she starts school due to some problems with school kids unsettling the others last year. It's a dilemma alright.

OP posts:

muddleduck · 25/05/2010 09:48

its a nightmare - you have my sympathy.

I would advise asking to speak to someone in the school. Say that you have looked into all the possibilities (nursery, CM) and can't find a solution. They may have some useful suggestions. At the very least it will help to make them aware of how problematic this issue is.

Failing that, I would delay you lo's start date and keep them in nursery a bit longer.

Bramshott · 25/05/2010 10:42

Have you called childminders to ask, or are you just baseing that on what's listed on Childcarelink? It's always worth calling a few and asking IMHO - it may well be possible, especially if you are talking about pick-ups in the middle of the day.

Original poster

MammyT · 26/05/2010 09:12

You all raise some interesting points on the CMs. I went through the council list and rang the local ones (only 2 so not much choice!). Is there another list of CMs?

Last night I heard of a school in East London which does staged starts for less than a week so well done to them!!

Thanks to all for their excellent suggestions.

OP posts:

muddleduck · 26/05/2010 09:30

the only other 'solution' I've heard is for the parents to club together and take it in turns.

DebiTheScot · 26/05/2010 10:08

we're dreading this happening too. My ds1 starts reception in Sept. He's an April birthday so is classed as 1 of the young ones and in the past they've done some of the silly dys that ageing5years mentioned. We've got a meeting tomorrow night where hopefully they'll tell us what's happening.

I'm a teacher so can't nip out of work to take ds to a childminder. Luckily we've just found a new childminder who is willing to help out during the staggered days if she can (obviously if she has other children she might not be able to) and my husband works flexitime so may have to do some odd hours for a few weeks. But it was really hard for us to find a childminder who had space and could do that school pick up.

A lot of the schools round here have realised that as a lot of children now do full days at pre-school they can cope with full days and are getting them in much quicker so fingers crossed that'll happen with us. Partly from the selfish point of view of making my life easier and partly because he's ready for school.

And I don't get the logic of the school offering wraparound care to the part timers but not having them in the classroom full time.

wheelsonthebus · 26/05/2010 11:33

Is there an after-school club you can use occasionally?
Is it worth putting a notice on the school noticeboard appealing for help (in a recession, people may be prepared to work irregular hours, ie out-of-work mums, to help you out)?
Does the PTA have a newsletter where they could put out an appeal for help on your behalf?
Cd you do any deals with any other mums?
I remember the nightmare myself and can only sympathise...

wheelsonthebus · 26/05/2010 11:34

The other option as someone else mentioned, is to keep them in full-time nursery til they are 5.

Rollergirl1 · 26/05/2010 22:42

Hi, I have had this problem too. DD starts in Sep but because she is an April baby will go mornings only until Jan. She goes to Nursery at the moment and they are happy to take her in the afternoons when she starts school but I have no means of picking her up from school and getting her there. So I have managed to find a childminder who will take her in the mornings and pick her up at lunchtime and then have her until 6.00. Once she starts full time in Jan I will possibly put her in after-school club on the days I work instead.

With regards to the childminder lists. Have you had a look on the DirectGov website? I contacted loads of CM's, even ones that I knew wouldn't be able to help me, just to get my details out there. I don't know if it is the same in your area but in mine there are CM rings so my details were circulated by CM's I had contacted to others they thought might be able to help. I had at least 3 CM's contact me that I hadn't seen on any list. It might be worth asking if they can do this for you?

Debi: I think every school is different with how they stagger the intake. I think it is all to do with the goverment funding. They don't get the full funding for your childs school place until the term before they turn 5 so some schools decide to limit their hours to pre-school hours. I think it is outrageous as I can see precisely no benefit for the child and a massive headache for the parents!

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