Delayed primary school starting for summer babies

[bobby's bear]

Hi

My second child was born in late August and so will be only just 4 when she is due to start primary school, this is in contrast to my first born who is a September baby, there is almost two years between them but will only be one school year, bad planning I know!

I am worried that she will be at a disadvantage being both the youngest at home and at school and so was wondering if it is possible to delay starting primary school until the following year given that there is no legal requirement for schooling until she turns 5.

I have heard of children going straight in to year one, but we would ideally like her to start in reception just after she turns 5.

Does anyone have any experience of this? I am an August baby myself and although I turned out ok (I think!!) I hated being the youngest and it definately has affected me into adulthood.

Thanks

[bluesuperted]

You can hold them back but they would definitely miss reception and go straight into year one. I have been through the same thought process with my son who also has gender against him!

However, my husband who is a primary teacher, did some analysis of one of his class (Y6) birthdays and found no correlation between this and performance in SATs. Plus he has heard some teachers say that as schools are very aware of the summer born / September born divide and allow/compensate for this, often it can be the spring born who are actually worse affected!! So I'm trying to stress, hoping for understanding teachers who don't push my son unduly and let him be a 4 year old for as long as humanly possible in reception year!

[Knomester]

I have no personal experience of this (yet) but, like bluesuperted, I have a son who is a late August baby. We are still in two minds about what we will do and are waiting to see how he develops over the next few months (he isn't 3 yet). However, if we decide not to send him to school in the September when he will have just turned 4, we would put him straight into Y1 the following year (rather than reception where he would be a year behind his peers).

Every child is different, but as a parent who is not a huge fan of 'formal' education for under 7s, let alone under 5s, I will be interested to hear what decisions others have made in a similar situation.

[Heber P&F]

Wrong thread, sorry.

[redjam]

This has come up before, see: http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,967313,967488#msg-967488

I have a July child and she was absolutely fine when she started school. Reception is very play-based - you really can't call it 'formal' education. They get to follow their own interests and any learning is done in a fun and unstructured way (songs, games etc). I was more worried about how my daughter would cope going to the loo on her own, getting her coat on and off, managing at lunchtime etc, so we made sure to role-play it all before she started. Personally I think she would have found it much harder to transition into Year 1 if she hadn't already made friends and got used to the idea of school in Reception. Year 1 really is much more formal so it would be a big jump to start there straight from nursery, imo.

OP, I realise you hated being the youngest but I have a friend born on 31 August who absolutely adored it, and my own daughter also loves being the 'baby' of the class. So don't assume your child will feel the same way as you - hope not, anyway! Good luck...

[JulieP]

I agree with redjam. My daughter was born in August. She enjoyed reception as it was mostly play based and had a bit of a rude awakening going into yr 1. The group of friends she made in reception have remained close friends (she is now yr2)and she is quite nostalgic (as far as a 6 year old can be) about her time in reception!

[Pickle]

My summer born girl is one of the youngest in her class, but has made the transition to reception with no problem at all - the day is almost completely play based and she has a great time. I wouldn't like to put a child straight into year 1, it's a huge leap in terms of the learning they do (much more formal and structured) and friendships are well established within the class from their reception year.

[EDmummy]

Am I also right in thinking that they would not hold your child's place for the year? You may find that the school your were originally offered no longer has a place.

I also have a August baby. He has struggled but I only think a little of this is attributable to his age.

[Mrs TP]

You should be aware that if they miss school the school do not go over what they missed including all the early intro to basic maths / phonics etc. They are just expected to pick up from whenever they start. Also the child may find it difficult to 'break in' to existing friendship groups and will have missed out on play dates, b'day parties, school trips etc.

All kids settle down into the learning side when they are ready and for some this can be into the juniors!

There is loads of playtime in reception and a gentle intro to the formalities of how school works.

I have an August born daughter, who is now in secondary school, you would not think she is almost a year younger than some of her year group. She was quiet and shy in reception (started January as that what her school did at the time) and the learning kicked in for her in year 1.

It is a worry, especially as it was a bad experience for you but can you not use this experience to help her through it?

Good luck.

[Kate08]

It is also worth considering that it is not a simple choice of sending them for reception or not. It is possible to agree with the school that your child will attend on a part time basis until they are 5, this may be just mornings for a few months, or only on certain days. This may be a way to get round the issue of the school holding a place for you and then you can decide when you think your child is ready to attend on a full time basis.

[KatDew]

I have this worry as I have a pair of August born premmie twins. However, seeing my son in reception, I think they would be at a greater disadvantage missing reception than they would by being the youngest in their year.

[Renata Hamvas]

You can defer your child starting school until the start of the summer term. If you leave it until September, they would loose their school place under the central admissions scheme and they would go into year 1 and it may not be at a school of your choice. Some schools with attached nursery classes may agree for your child to defer and spend longer there.

Renata

[wellington]

My first son was born in November but we still choose not to begin his formal education until he was almost 6 and he went directly into year 1. At the end of year 1 he was one of the most advanced in terms of reading and writing and is still in the same position now he is in year 2. He started class 1 without being able to read/write or having any experience of numeracy but I don't think this was detrimental to his progress. He also joined class 1 without knowing any of the other children, and although he is quite reserved, still made friends.

My second son was born at the end of August and is supposed to start reception in September. We have put in our school application but will definitely defer his entry very possibly until class 1. Fortunately, I have spoken to his school where he also attends pre-school and they are very happy to let him stay in nursery until he is ready to transition to the formal curriculum (so go to reception at the beginning of spring or summer terms or start directly into year 1). Although reception is largely play based, my son has shown no interest in reading, phonics, numbers, etc. so I don't feel he is ready for the transition.

[bobby's bear]

Thanks everyone for replies.

What I understand from the postings is that it is not possible for her to start reception the september after she has turned five, ie holding her back a year and applying a year later. Am I understanding that correctly (Renata??)

[Smiler]

That's right bobbiebear, there is no flexibility to do what you are suggesting (which would be my choice too). In theory and by law, schools and local authorities have flexibility to enable children to start in reception a year later, but almost none allow it, presumably because then lots of people might want to do it and it could make planning difficult and increase admin costs.

In Scotland, the Government mandates that this option must be offered, and the majority of parents of children eligible to defer have chosen to do that.

[bobby's bear]

Thanks Smiler that confirms what I suspected.

[Renata Hamvas]

Hi Bobby's bear, smiler is right. I know of children who have arrived from elsewhere eg Ireland where they start school a year later. These children go straight into year 1 and therefore miss Reception. In the school system nursery and reception together are foundation stage and then year1/2 YS1. Reception tends to be far less structured than Year1, far more play based with more toys, home corner etc in the classroom. It is a link between nursery and school proper (KS1).

Renata

[Saffron]

Bobby's bear, I had some similar concerns as to yours, and Smiler's assessment of the situation is the same one I reached as well. For these and other reasons, I decided to look at alternative education styles.

I've found the Montessori style suits my daughter very well. She's in a Montessori nursery school (St Patricks, Waterloo) for 3-5 yos, and I'll be hoping to move her to a Montessori primary school when she's old enough to start reception.

Two striking features of the Montessori system are its emphasis --at all levels-- on learning through play & creativity, and mixed-age classrooms. In addition, rather than testing all children at set levels, the Montessori principle is to track the individual progress of each child.

If these sound familiar, it's because many of the Montessori priniciples have begun to filter through to state education systems both here and abroad. In particular, I've read that more and more state schools in Britain are beginning to adopt Montessori principles (though not experienced personally, as we're not at that level yet with Little Saff). There are also several private Montessori primary schools in the London area, including one in Forest Hill and one in Croydon.

[gwod]

I think schools try to tailor learning to children's ability, not to their ages, my summer born babies have not necessarily been any socialy or academically slower than their winter born friends and my winter born children are not necessily any more advaced than their summer born chums.

When they're little the amount they develop in 6 months can make you feel alarmed about their comparitive age in the year, but they might also be the smartest, and equally, the oldest child in the year could be one that struggles most. A good school will be tuned in to your childs needs, not their statistics....and if it isnt quite working, you can negotiate half days or some other compromise, but in my experience they wont want to miss any of the fabulous playtime that is reception!

Have you visited reception classes?...if you havnt had the chance yet, I think you will be surprised how play-based it is, not "formal education" in the way we remember from our education at all, and no more intense than nursery in my experience.

PS I am an August baby too and never felt out of my depth at school (though perhaps I would have been be a super wealthy alpha-female had I deferred!!!)

[telemum]

I deferred my July born elder daughter for a term. She stayed in the school's nursery (at a school in Forest Hill - Lewisham was still offering deferral as a choice on the application form, now think you have to talk to the school) and joined her class again in the January with about three others.

With the headteacher's blessing and a good early years department it went well - and she joined her Reception class for phonics every morning until she joined them agai. She integrated fine. That said, I will not be doing the same with her July born sister, as I know she'd be the only one this year and I think she's readier for Reception.

But it gave my big girl a chance to become more confident and be the oldest in her class for a while, which I think was good for her.

[espelli]

KatDew - if your twins would have been in the following year group if they had been born at term and you think that they would benefit developmentally, you can apply to defer their entry into school so that they go to school at their "adjusted" age. Bliss have some info on their website http://www.bliss.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Deferring-or-Delaying-School-Entry-resource-pack-Jan-FP-Update-20121.pdf

I currently teach Year 1 and while some of the younger children have taken a while to make the transition from Reception, I think that they would have been further disadvantaged if they hadn't had any time in Reception at all. Reception is a great start to school and the social development and connections are really important. It would be great if schools were able to extend the EYFS into Year 1, or if we had the flexibility to be able to give children an extra year in Reception if they need it, but ultimately moving the birth date cut off would make the most significant difference.

[Carrie]

Just for a bit of reassurance - one of my friends had very premature twins (28 weeks) born end of July - now both at university and doing well (one at Cambridge) and another friend's twins (not quite so premature) born on 20th August also doing well at uni in their second year.

I was born on 31st August and was always the youngest in my year and it has never held me back - the only downside I can remember was that as my birthday was always in the summer holidays it was difficult getting people together for a psarty on the day!

[BB100]

I haven't had chance to read the previous emails but you may want to consider this. Last year I had a child in my class who started in year one and skipped reception. He was really unhappy because everyone else had already made friends and there was quite a lot of learning he had missed and was playing catch-up the whole time. He was a very able child but he was constantly demoralised because he didn't know and couldn't do what the other children had already learnt and practised in Reception. Reception is largely play-based and is the stepping-stone to formal learning so skipping it, I think, just makes the step bigger. HTH