Gates

Having recently moved to south-east England, Mark and Helen Pearson's daughter Chloe is about to start at a new primary school, but it's the parents with first-day nerves!

The daily drop-off and pick-up is a minefield of social politics. Having recently moved to south-east England, Mark and Helen Pearson's daughter Chloe is about to start at a new primary school, but it's the parents with first-day nerves in this premiere episode.

Helen warns the family that the critical minutes at the entrance must be executed with military precision. If they can't resist being sucked into the world of after-school coffee clubs and 'volunteering' for events now, there'll be no escape.

However, the protocol is all new to Mark and it doesn't quite go to plan. He knocks over a pupil's father, gets roped into giving a presentation to the students and Ofsted, and is followed home by a horde of parents and children expecting a drinks do. And it gets worse.

Given the motley crew greeting them, it's no surprise the Pearsons want to keep their distance. Mia patrols the gates with various schemes designed to get the parents together, but she's got competition from Sarah, a
fellow mum who always has a proposal of sorts, particularly for Mark. Her husband Aiden uses school participation to feed his ego, which aids the young headmaster Mr Gould's futile experiments to hike the school up the league tables. He doesn't get much help from co-worker Miss Hunter though. She might be the sort of teacher whose sheer presence makes children sit up straight, but given that her hangover is the subject of her lesson, it seems she's not too concerned about shaping the minds of the future.