Great news for summer borns...

[satinpillowcase]

www.theguardian.com/education/2015/sep/08/parents-of-summer-born-children-get-right-to-delay-start-of-school

[GudrunBrangwen]

Yes...but what about the childcare and other issues that go alongside this? Will single parents still be made to go back to work when their child is four?

Otherwise I think it is a good plan.

[Lowdoorinthewall]

Bit gutted for my August born DS who has just gone into Y1. I guess he will be one of the last 'summer borns'.

I wonder if I should put him back into Reception.

[LaVolcan]

They can do this in Scotland already though - not summer born as such because their year starts at a different time. How do they find it? Perhaps a Scottish parent could come on and tell us.

I suspect it won't be all summer born children - more like the August, and perhaps July children.

[mrz]

It's April to August birthdays

[CrotchetQuaverMinim]

I think it's a good plan.

Where I grew up (abroad), parents are allowed to do this - for children born in the last 4 or so months before the cut off date (and possibly earlier, with special permission/extra needs), they can choose whether to start them in that year or the next one.

It works well - it isn't the case that parents automatically decide that children should defer so that they'd be the oldest. Some children are very ready to start in the original year, and do. But equally, there is no stigma to other ones starting later, for whatever reason. It doesn't mean that there is a new cut-off that makes a different cohort automatically youngest, because there are some who do defer and some who don't, over the span of a few months age range as well. So it all becomes more flexible, and more attuned to what fits for the child.

[CocoPlum]

Too late for DS who turned 4 less than two weeks ago and starts at the end of this week.

[CarlaJones]

Dd is 11 now and born mid July. I would have delayed if I'd had the opportunity back then.

[mrz]

schoolsweek.co.uk/nick-gibb-to-amend-school-admissions-code-for-summer-born-children/

[Itshouldntmatter]

Won't it just mean that the jan-March become the youngest and have some similar problems? Although the report I read commented that the issue was that in the UK children start so young, and that makes the problem worse.

[JollyGolightly]

I'm in Scotland and have deferred my DS's start of school. He's spending another year in the school nursery, mornings only. We organise childcare outside his 15 free hours.

[alltheworld]

My July born very young for his age speech delayed son is about to start reception next week.

Does this mean I can pull him out and insist he goes into reception next year?

Article says the govt want this to be implemented asap but there will also be a public consultation so when will it come into effect.

The only reason I didn't delay his start was because I didn't want him to start school in year one.

Am really worried.

[BrandNewAndImproved]

You can actually do this already. Ds is August born and I was given the option of delaying him until Jan or April. As he would of been in nursery anyway I didn't see the point. Tbh reception is still very child led and in the eysf or whatever its called.

[Badders123]

I would have delayed for ds1 (June b day) developmental delay.

[alltheworld]

No this would mean you could delay by a whole year which is important. I was offered ds da starting in January but he added have been the only one and it was clear the school had no plan for him to catch up.

[StetsonsAreCool]

I have a summer born who is just going into Y1, and personally I wouldn't have chosen to hold her back. But what happens if lots of people decide to hold their children back one year, and the following year hardly anybody does? Do you end up with a shortage of school places? Or does the LA decide to defer the youngest children the following year, and create a snowball?

Not being argumentative, just very curious.

[zoemaguire]

This actually made me feel slightly sick that our very prem DS has just missed out on this. He's just gone into year 1 and he would be SO ready for starting reception now, as he would have done if he'd been born on time (born in june, due in october). But no, he has to struggle being the baby in yr 1, smaller and more immature than everyone else in his class, and barely starting to read. If it was allowed, I would get him to repeat reception without a second of hesitation.

[clam]

Does anyone know how this is going to be managed on a practical level? If KS1 classes can only have a maximum of 30 pupils, how will they allocate places for the "actual" cohort, if there are going to be places taken up by children who should technically be in the year above?

[MrsJorahMormont]

Yes Stetsons I wondered the same. There might be one massively oversubscribed year in the year following implementation and some primary schools are already hugely oversubscribed.

[VeryPunny]

It's a stupid idea. Teachers will now have to potentially teach children 16 months apart in age, which when they are young is a big deal. And it will be pushy middle class types that defer, as they will have the financial wherewithal to cope with another year of childcare and the nous to reaslise that deferral may benefit their child.

Far better to move the cutoff from end August to earlier in the year.

[poocatcherchampion]

Ooh I wonder when. Dd2 might be well up for it in 2 years. Should be through by then...

[fkatwigs]

They can do this in Scotland already though - not summer born as such because their year starts at a different time. How do they find it? Perhaps a Scottish parent could come on and tell us.

The Scottish system works from March - February. If your child is born in January or February, you have the right to defer with an extra year of nursery paid. If your child is born Oct- Dec, you can also defer, but you may not be given nursery funding.

[alltheworld]

I am middle class but would struggle financially with another yr of childcare but would do it as ds clearly not ready. Have been treated as precious when clearly I was right

[Nc19999992]

Ds is an August baby, does this mean if I choose for him to start his 'proper' year not the deferred year that the next youngest child could be 5 months older than him? Doesn't this just mean everyone is forced to defer to try and keep their dc on a remotely level playing field?

I think that we should split the year groups further and have 1a and 1b for the oldest 6 months and the youngest..

[neddle]

CocoPlum and alltheworld
Not too late. Your children are not Compulsory School Age yet and you have no requirement to send them to school.
You could withdraw your place and reapply for next year, although you are not guaranteed a place at the same school. That may make a difference to your decision and also how your child may feel about the change.


Lowdoorinthewall and zoemaguire
You could request a repeat of Reception. There is no statutory barrier to that, but you would have to talk to the school and the LEA. If your school is oversubscribed, it would probably be a no. But if there are still spaces in Reception it could be a possibility.