Staff comings and goings in Reception - would this worry you?

[womblingfree]

DD started school in September, just before turning 5. She was showing signs of anxiety prior to starting which eased off after a couple of weeks (all her friends from nursery went to another school as her nursery was in a different catchment), but they came back around half term and have continued ever since.

What is really concerning me at the moment is the inconsistency they seem to have with staff. She has a teacher and 2 TA's, all of whom are lovely, but her teacher seems to have a day off virtually every other week for training or sickness, and virtually every week DD comes home talking about another new TA working with them or supervising them.

They also have a 'buddy' system with the Year 6 kids which (even the teachers admit) has been badly organised, resulting in some kids (DD being one) having 2 buddies, which has caused a fair bit of aggro, and also Year 4 kids helping them at lunchtime. The impression the headteacher gave us when we visited was that reception is very much a 'bubble' so the kids can adjust without having to cope with older kids yet this doesn't seem to be the case either.

DD is obviously concerned about all these things and I am not terribly happy about it so am planning to raise it at parents evening next week. Would be interested to hear what other mums think and if this is 'normal' as it seems really weird to me, but sure if I'm being a bit PFB.

[SE13Mummy]

As a Reception parent, but also as a teacher, I don't think it would worry me but I would probably appreciate the school sending home some kind of timetable so I knew who would be teaching my child on which day. Teachers have 10% of their teaching time as non-contact time (for planning, preparation and assessment) which, for full-time teachers with no additional responsibilities will probably work out as half a day per week out of class.

Different schools manage this differently. Some will employ a floating teacher to cover the regular teachers each week, others will use supply, some will use higher level TAs, some schools will give PPA time weekly, others will do so fortnightly.

TAs may not be changing as regularly as your DD is suggesting - it may be that she is working with someone different, that the lunchtime person she encountered one day was a new face, a volunteer came in to listen to reading etc.

I do think schools have a tendency to overlook how confusing it can be for new parents to work our exactly who's teaching their child on a given day and unless new parents point this out they will continue to do so. I'd recommend that you ask the teacher if she would jot down for you a list of the adults who work in class with her so you know who your DD is talking about. Also ask if she could explain how her PPA time is covered e.g. weekly/fortnightly so you have a clearer idea of how things work.

When I was job-sharing a class (albeit Y5) we sent home a very clear and visual timetable so that parents and children could see which one of us was teaching which subjects and when. It was also on the classroom door so any parent who wanted to could check who was in class that day. If the timetable needed to change for any reason we'd tell the children in advance and also put a note on the door - lots of children get anxious about the unexpected and there's a lot schools can do to reduce this by being upfront and organised.

[womblingfree]

Thanks for that. TBH I am probably more anxious about it myself than DD is as I know changing teachers (when I wasn't expecting it) bothered me a lot when I was at school.

DD's teacher has probably had a good 3 or 4 days out doing various kinds of training - which seems a lot to me in about 1.5 terms. That said she is very nice as are the TA's and DD seems to get on very well with the staff and be very fond of her 'regulars'.

I think as you suggest, it's a case of just wanting to be kept informed of what's going on as there seems to be such a lot of comings and goings. Obviously hearing about it from a 5 YO a certain amount is bound to get lost in translation, so will mention it at parents evening next week and hopefully put my mind at rest.

[smee]

Actually I disagree as I do think it makes children anxious. DS is in yr1 and for various reasons his lovely teacher's been out of class a fair bit this term. A lot of the children are finding it hard - it's really noticeable we've had far more tears in the mornings. Even though DS admits all the supply teachers have been lovely, he's still anxty every morning until he sees if he's there or not. The weekly prep session isn't a problem as they know when it is and they always have the same teacher to fill in. It's the unpredictable absences which makes them wobble.

[womblingfree]

I was really impressed when we visited the school originally and met the head teacher as they seemed very keen on stability and easing them in. They only have teachers in Reception with a minimum of 5 years experience, and have a completely separate playground for the 3 reception classes.

However they have introduced a buddy system, pairing the kids up with Yr 6 children who come and do activities and and reading with them etc. This has been really badly organised and as a result DD has acquired an extra buddy. Apparently the 2 girls aren't very happy about having to 'share' her (her 'official' buddy is a lovely girl - haven't met the other one yet). She also tells me that they have Yr 4's going in to help them at lunchtime.

I can see the benefits to a certain degree (although more for the older kids) but not at this stage and it certainly wasn't what I was expecting when I signed her up for the school. Am just feeling a bit let down and not v. happy with it all at the mo.

That said DD seems to love the academic side of things. All she wants to do at home is play schools with her teddies !

[smee]

wombling, on the older kids helping, I'd guess it's just a couple of yr4 kids on dinner/ playground duty making sure nobody's eating or playing alone or upset. If it's that then it sounds like a good idea. As does the buddy scheme, though it's sad she's got stuck between two different girls. So I'd say both sound like rather kind, caring ideas that aren't working yet for your DD, so the school need to know that. fwiw DS had similar at his school and he loved it - he got loads out of knowing the bigger kids and feeling they were his friends and looking out for him. Was most lovely to see him running up to them after school and them taking time to say hi, etc. So I'm sure you'll get the same with your DD in time. And definitely tell the teacher about her being away causing problems - maybe if she knows she has training days coming up she could warn you, or give parents a list. We had a similar moan last term and after a few of us mentioned it, they made sure that the class always had the same TA's to compensate. It helped lots. Good luck.