Delaying start at reception - experiences?

[MarianaTrench]

I am thinking of delaying my daughter's start at reception for a year. She is a July baby, born 11 weeks premature, so actual DD was mid October. I want her to go to school with her peers, following her due date, rather than her actual birthday.

There is a lot of information available on the Southwark website, the Bliss website and various FB groups but was just wondering whether any of you have deferred your child, what your experiences were both from the child's perspective as well as dealing with the local authorities.

Another question I had - if I defer her, will this then mean she will have to start in year 8 in stead of 7 when she goes to secondary school? Anyone any experiences with that in particular?

[ech]

We are in a similar position. I understand that if you defer they essentially miss thereception year and go straight in at year 1. Sadly the rules mean they still have to have left primary by the same point irrespective of any deferred start so they end up in the academic year as they would have anyway.

Having spoken to loads of our teacher friends, they all feel that missing reception would exacerbate the issue of them being the youngest and instead we'd be better off trying to work with the school on what additional we and they could do to ensure they cope.

However, I'm still really conflicted and would be interested to hear others experience.

I heard that Belham are having a deferred intake starting in January (like the old system for summer borns) and something like that sounds like it could be a good solution.

[Mellors]

Have you considered part time schooling? My daughter is 30th August, and I discussed it with our school who would have been happy for her to attend reception on a part time basis for a while until she was able to cope with full weeks (in the end she loved it so we didn't, but the idea was a good one I though).

[Jules-and-Boo]

I think you'd confuse her by giving her an imaginary birthday. She's the summer baby in the class and will be the youngest - is there anything wrong with that? What happens to babies born on the cusp of academic years?

Most schools do an intake after Christmas, so it's only half a year rather than a full year at Reception - and then you've caught up.

Primary school only really 'ups a gear' in year two - and most children are ready for reception in advance of actually getting there...it's not too much different.

[MarianaTrench]

Well Jules-and-Boo this really all depends per child but in our case, yes, I think there is something wrong with being the youngest in class if you were born 11 weeks premature.

Ech- If you read the documentation on the Southwark website you'll see that you can ask to start in reception rather than year 1. They don't need to miss out on reception if you don't want them to.

If the deferral is accepted then they will just go with their class they are in, so they won't get kicked out of school in year 5!

Mellors - I did ask about flexible schooling but the school I spoke to wasn't really up for that and I am personally also not sure that that is what I want.

[astrid83]

We are in the same boat - i would also like to defer a year. My son is born in June, he was diagnosed with ASD a few months ago and isn't speaking much yet and has limited understanding. I just can't see him being able to cope with school in 15 months time!

[Jules-and-Boo]

#astrid83 - have a good review of the schools - some are more supportive than others and the right environment will do wonders for your child.

My friend (who is a TA in one school) had to fight to get a special assistant at school for her son - which she did after a relentless campaign. Another friend now home schools and finds things more manageable...

[espelli]

Jules-and-boo it is now possible to delay school entry by a year and still go into Reception. Most schools now start all the children in September unless their parents defer their start. I work in primary education and in my experience there are big advantages to being one of the oldest in the year. There are Summer born children who are ready for school and flourish but in my experience many do not find it easy and this effect can last well into KS2. The levels of maturity between children who are 9 months apart in age at 4 years old are quite marked. For many years the progress of summer born children has been a cause for concern with some studies even linking the effect to impact on degree results.

MarianaTrench in terms of your daughter being premature it could be very beneficial for her to be with peers of her adjusted age rather than with those who would be a year older. My son was premature and he is much more in line developmentally with those who were born around his due date. It would be worth checking with the Southwark admissions team, but I can't imagine that a secondary school will want a child to skip Year 7 and go straight into Year 8, and if a child started at my school having deferred a year, I would not want them kicked out in Year 5. I am so glad that they have changed the rules on this as it can make a huge difference and if my son's prematurity meant that he would straddle a year, I would definitely be considering it. You know your daughter best. Is she at Nursery at the moment? How old are her friends?

Astrid83 it could be helpful if you spoke to the SENCo at your your nearest/preferred primary school about how flexible they are willing to be with children with SEN. Starting with part days and deferring start of school are all options they could consider. If you are considering an Educational Health Care Plan you can specify how you would like your child to start school. We have a child who was part time until the first term in Year 1 as he is July born. He is now managing very well in school full time even though he is one of the youngest and has ASD.

[astrid83]

I've also hers that government guidelines have changed and that all summer babies have the right to defer a year and start reception when they are 5 , not being forced to go straight in to year 1. I wouldn't like this for my son as I think he would miss out.

I found this which might be interesting!

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/458797/Nick-Gibb-open-letter-summer-born-children-admissions.pdf

[devsdev]

This is something I've been researching as my now 2 year old was due in late July and born 10 weeks premature. It is already clear to me that she will be "young" for her school year and I fully intend to apply for a delayed start to schooling for her. I think it would also be good for her to not follow in the school year directly after her very bright October-born sister and be compared to her constantly (even if not vocally). As I understand it the approach now is to start them in Reception and not skip to Year 1 so they should always be in a different cohort - schools are still trying to figure out what the impact is in the future re: secondary school but it's nonsensical to have them skip a year (straight into yr 8). Besides clearly being in the worst interests of the child, the teachers would struggle with a child who has missed a whole year of schooling!

There's a very helpful FB group called Flexible School Admissions for Summer Borns. Loads of experience with successfully applying for delays. If your child is due to start this September and already has admission, you should move quickly to speak to the school and the LA. Good luck!

[MarianaTrench]

Yes I am a member of this FB group too. The website of Lyndhurst school also has a good list of links to the relevant rules and regs for Southwark.