Taking your child into the class room

[kraftymiles]

My child starts school in Sept, he's a July baby and pretty confident but his mum isn't !. The school are really discouraging us taking our child into the class room from day one. We are expected to leave them in the playground to be collected. How will I ever get to see my childs learning environment or check he's happy ?. This is being done under the OFSTED blanket of safeguarding but is it really necessary. I've had a look at the OFSTED websites and Direct.gov to check but cant find the answer. Anyone experiencing something similar or can shed light on the 'proper' way to do this ?

The teachers and your son will let you know how things are going, and you are entitled to ask for an appointment at any time. You could also ask to pop in at the end of the day so that he can show you his classroom.
Sometimes mums finding it hard to let go creates more worry and unhappiness for the child than handing them over to someone in the playground, lining up and going in with your friends and hanging up your coat all by yourself. With help when you need it, rather than constantly.
It's not just safeguarding, it's building up pride and joy in their growing independence.
Talk to the teacher about how you feel. She will help you get through this. Talk to the Y1 mothers, they have been where you are now.

They do it this way because it's better for the child. Mums coming into the classroom can be distracting and the child is more likely to get upset, not to mention the children who's parents are unable to come into class.

Sorry but I hate when Sept comes and there are loads of mums pushing their way past tiny year one and two children so that their pfb gets safely escorted to the classroom by themselves and no one else. It's really upsetting for the other children. It gets very busy and pushy. Far too bolshy for even confident dd1. She cried last year after being hit by a buggy.

The school ask you not to go in for a reason. Please listen to them. The cloakrooms/classrooms are designed to comfortably hold 20-30 small children and a few teachers/teaching assistants, not 20-30 small children, 20 parents, 4 buggies and 3 toddling siblings.

You can see the classroom if you wish by making an appointment with your ds' teacher if you wish. Otherwise there will be plenty of parents evenings.

'there are loads of mums pushing their way past tiny year one and two children so that their pfb gets safely escorted to the classroom by themselves and no one else.'

Well, I wasn't going to mention that bit. Or the Loud Parenting in corridors.

agree with the others.

We were allowed to take the children into their class in reception and it was a nightmare to be honest especially if you have younger children too.

Too busy, too many people trying to grab the teacher's attention - much prefer year one when they line up in the playground.

DS1 an august boy so very young for his year but coped better when I stopped going into the classroom.

As your child hasn't even started school yet, I wouldn't assume that you will never see his learning environment. At our school there is an evening in Sept where parents come into the class and find out what the children will be studying that year. One Monday afternoon each month is Open Evening when you can go into the classroom and look at your child's work and there are two parent/teacher evenings during the year. Add in the odd class assembly and that's probably enough for a lot of parents!

On top of that most schools are desperate for helpers to go in and listen to readers or help out generally in the classroom.

We took ours in to Reception. It was optional until the October half term, then they said they would 'prefer' it if the children went up on their own. DD is in Y1, and I do up with her if she needs, eg, PE kit sorting out, or if there's some special message for her teacher. Her teacher is very welcoming. I think it's a shame to shut parents out.

At the new parents' evening for my DTD's school (they're July babies, starting in Sept too) they told us that parents can escort children into the classroom for the first two days, and thereafter they will be lining up in the playground. TBH, I was surprised that they let us do it for the first two mornings!

Is it common in England to accompany your child to the classroom every day?
I only ask because I've seen threads like this before.

I'm in Scotland, on the very first day of school the children are taken in in small groups, you are given a time along with 3 or 4 other children and the teacher meets you in the playground and takes the children in. Every day after that we arrive at the school in the morning, when the bell goes the children line up in their classes and the teacher comes out and takes them into school. I thought all schools did this.

Even stranger up here in the scottish highlands.... we leave them at the gate! No going into the playground!

I will for the first few days to be sure DD2 knows where she is going, but after that DD1 will look after her!

I found it very strange having to wait on the street for my DD1 to come out of school!

When we were in England (up until Easter) we used to all wait in the playground, kids would line up and teacher would come out and escort them in. At the end of the day the teacher brought them out into the playground but would not "release" the child until they had seen the adult collecting.

Things are so laid back up here! I didnt meet DD1's teachers until 6 weeks after she had started at the school!

I was lucky enough to have a classroom that was separate fro the rest of the school buildings for one Reception class I had.
On day one I stood at the door and welcomed the children into the class.I stood in the doorway and ushered the children through the tiny gap although this wasn't a deliberate act -it just played out that way.

There were no tears(from the children) and all of the children settled down well-they had all attended the attached nursery and the TA was also a NN. I was told later that the parents appreciated that I had taken the choice out of their hands ,felt that I was in control and the children were safe.

To be honest I would not have stopped anyone determined to go into the classroom with their child but it wasn't tested.

At the end of the day though the parents were encouraged to come and collect from the classroom as this was in place for the rest of the infant school.

no. I don'tthink it is. I have never done it with my children in any oftheir schools.

Itseems a barking idea to me. The children should arrive at the playground with parent /carer and then go into the classroom with teacher,prefect or support staff .
Although , like Riven, I just had to put bemused DS2 on bus aged 5 and wave....

In dd1's school you are meant to accompany them to the door of the tiny cloakroom and let them go in alone.

The school has to send repeated letters to parents, in September, requesting that they don't dome into the cloakroom or enter the classrooms and reminding them that if they want to speak to the teacher they can make an appointment to see them after school, as it is important for lessons to start on time.

After about two weeks it settles down and goes back to normal.

I really, really don't like the first few weeks back to school.

At my son's school, the reception class have to line up outside and been taken in by a teacher from the second day. (The first day they had timed arrivals, so one or two children arriving at a time). It works brilliantly- the children seem to cope much better walking away from you than if you leave them. Honestly, the children settled really well, including my august born, just turned 4 years old, boy.

Parents aren't allowed in the classroom unless they've signed in via the school office for safeguarding reasons.

At our school you are allowed in and to stay for a bit the first day, after this you are allowed in from when the doors open at 8.40 till 8.50 when registration starts until half term. For the rest of year R you can go in until 8.50 on a Friday. If you really need to speak to teacher/TA in the morning quickly you can pop into the cloakroom or classroom, but they clamp down if people start coming in too much or hang about chatting. There is always a TA or teacher at the entrance to help the children and take messages anyway. This works pretty well. They are strict about maintaining the 8.50 cut-off, after this the cloakroom exit is closed, so lessons can always start on time.

My Reception child takes herself into class and only very occasionally do I venture beyond the outside door. It's fairly laid back though so those parents who 'need' to go in and check that little X hasn't been abducted between the outside door and classroom door (approx. 1m) are able to do so. The needy parents are going to find September pretty hard - they won't be allowed in at the start of the day in Y1.

As a teacher I prefer to have children only in the building at the start of the day. Parents can speak to me about important things when I come out to collect the children or, if it's more than just a quick word that they need they can see me after school. Unfortunately some parents seem to think that classroom routines don't apply to them so will waltz in to hang up their 8-year-old's bookbag or rather, they will try - I stand in the door of the classes I cover so only the skinniest of parents stand a chance of squeezing past me without me noticing!

I do however encourage parents to come and talk to me at the end of the day or to come and see their DC's work/something on display but it needs to be in their time, not take time away from the other 29 children in the class.

See now I feel like a totally rubbish mum...

DD (admittedly my 3rd DC) started Reception after Easter. She turned 4 in February. They did two weeks of just afternoons before the Easter hols, and although I took her to her classroom door on the first afternoon after that I just left her in the playground. Once she started properly (full days) she was going to breakfast club every morning anyway, but she is often left at the gates and walks in with her brothers.

Although I was probably a bit more PFB with my first!

Pixie, there are 12 children in DD's class. That probably makes it easier for her teacher to deal with the parents!

Hers is just the kind of school where they welcome all comers. It's part of the school philosophy, I think. As I say, the general idea is to send them in on their own, but it's not an absolute rule and can be adapted to fit the child. Though I dare say that a parent who spent ten minutes faffing in the classroom every morning would be gently discouraged. The children have a 15-minute period before registration during which they go up to the classroom and get themselves settled in. So it isn't a case of the bell ringing and them all lining up or anything like that.

DS's school is very different - much less openly welcoming, and much more dictated by the bell. Once they're in the prep (as opposed to pre-prep), they're expected to organise themselves pretty well. That said, nobody turns a hair when I go to retrieve missing pencil cases, music, prep books, vitally important letters home and so on from his classroom or locker room. If I didn't go into the locker room, his entire PE kit and most of his uniform would be living in Lost Property.

I'm amazed how many of you have experienced this.

At my previous school reception parents took their children in (if they wanted too).

But at my current school they have a soft start which is brilliant. All it means is that you take your kids into the classroom before the bell rings, and when the bell rings (or before) you leave. It means you can help them settle, and have a good nosy around the room, and that they are at their desks with their coats hung up etc and ready to start the day when the bell rings, instead of being out in the playground. I love it.

Wow big response thank you guys. Think I will just take a big breath and let him toddle off on his own, can kind of see it from the teachers point of view now. 30 stressed parents hanging about must be a nightmare. Having said that my priority is obviously my little boy and not the running of the school so not sure I care that much. Think I might push a 'pick up' viewing or chance to say hi to the teacher. There is an open evening over 3 weeks into the term which seems like a long time to wait to find out he is alone and not happy, I really just want to be able to peer into a window at him and see him having fun.