Are children born in may summer-born

[Fazerina]

Just that really. DS is born 9th of May, would he be considered summer-born in England?

[waikikamookau]

yes imo that is,
summer term starts after easter. i think
not sure now

[HenriettaPie]

DS is 8th May. I wouldn't class him as having a summer birthday- I would class a summer birthday as June July or August!

[TerroroftheAutumns]

Yes. May is Summer term. Youngest third of the year group.

[Fazerina]

Yes I don't generally consider May summer either, but having read the Dailymail report about summer-born DC today, it talked about children born between May and August so I wasn't sure what the cut-off date was.. But yes it must be the summer term after Easter hols. So does this mean my DS could have a deferred entry and start at Reception (not Y1) when he is 5yo 3months?

[waikikamookau]

my dd, birthday end of may, went full time after easter, all children born after easter when full time then.
he could have deferred entry by that reckoning but you might lose your preferred school?

[TerroroftheAutumns]

Could defer entry, but would go strait into yr1 (if they had space)

[TerroroftheAutumns]

Or even straight (wtf ipad??)

[LifeIsBetterInFlipFlops]

Yes, I would say so.

[Helspopje]

actually - may be able delay entry to YR the following year if you apply to the LEA. All cases to be judged on individual merits but there is a bit of a head of steam about all this since the gvmt report on the topic in July.

[Helspopje]

media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/a/advice_summer_born_children.pdf

[Fazerina]

That was a helpful link and answered all my questions Helspopje, thank you very much.

[Fazerina]

Hm, I wonder how difficult it would be to get an application for a deferred entry and start at R-class rather than Y1 in London, where most schools are oversubsribed..? I'm sorry if my questions are a bit naive; I'm not English and I'm only just starting to investigate the school system more.

[Fazerina]

*to get an application accepted ..

[waikikamookau]

is the reception class all day from september? because sometimes reception is just play, often like nursery. but with a bit more structure, but not much. and often nursery can go on longer than a school day.

[waikikamookau]

i think you need to ask your local council/schools admission

[Helspopje]

I'm not English either - prevailing thought and practice seems startlingly inflexible relative to the govenrment advice.

Apparently it varies council to council, but if the facebook group
flexible school admision for summer borns is to be believed, then there is past precedent in many London boroughs.

[Fazerina]

Yes I did think the general attitudes to this would possibly not be very positive.. Thanks again Helspopje I requested to join the group.

It is encouraging to know this is not unheard of in London. Where we currently live is less than ideal with regards to quality of schools, so a move from the area is imminent. It will be helpful for our family to find out a bit more about the London boroughs where there is precedent for deferred entry + starting at Reception class.

[vkyyu]

Summer borns get shorter pre school education already. Ok if you don't think your dc is ready for school then you can defer for a year, right! The price for that is miss-out Ryr. Can you afford to take it???! That 's the choice!
If everyone starts school in September why don't everyone starts pre-Ed in September?

[vkyyu]

Sorry re typing errors.

[Chocovore]

I think you will find it impossible to delay him a year. For what it is worth, my son's birthday is also 9 May but he is doing very well at school. I have a younger DS who has a later summer birthday and just started this year and is also doing fine. It will be OK - honest!

[lougle]

The new Admissions Code allows for this, from this year. It's still at discretion of the LA/HT, but it is officially recognised as an option to 'place out of year' - so a Yr R child could start school a year late and continue to be a year out of age throughout their school career. I still think it's going to be very rare, though.

[AbbyR1973]

I would just add that all children are individuals: having a birthday after Easter does not necessarily equal not managing at school. DS2 is 30th April and started year r this year. He is working ahead of most children in his year group and is happy sociable and incredibly confident. There is no way in a million years I would have deferred him. Neither would I have started him later in the school year.
My best friend at school was a late August birthday and studied Medicine at Cambridge.

[Fazerina]

Hello all and thank you for your replies, I only noticed them now.

I do appreciate that all children are unique and hopefully this will be taken into account also at school, where there's 30 kids in a classroom . I am also fully aware that trying to analyse what my two-year-old will be like in two years' time is near impossible: if he is ready and able to start at Reception by then, by all means, he will. If not, I like to know what other options may be available for us and where we stand legally.

Of course, I understand that many parents deferring their children's start date at R-class and effectively deferring their children's whole time in compulsory education would place a strain on local authorities. However, if I have any doubt when DS is 5 of his abilities to sit in class and learn, I will refuse for him to take the hit for the greater good..

[bananasontoast]

It is the governments view that there does not need to be an exception reason or special need for a summer-born to start in reception at compulsory school age. Feel free to verify this with the DfE via their contact us page.