Deferring primary school in England

[Runningbutnotscared]

I'm trying and failing to get my head around primary school entry. I wondered if someone here could explain it to me?

In England you can attend primary school from age four? Age five is generally accepted but age six has to be by special arrangement?

I have a mid - December born child and am trying to work out what age he must attend school by?
Must it be 4 almost 5 or can it be 5 almost 6?

[MissAsippi]

I believe it is the school year in which they would turn 5, so yours would be entering aged 4

[SocksRock]

Term following 5th birthday. So compulsory school from the January after his 5th birthday, but it would be considered normal to start in the September before. If he's just about to turn 4 now you have about a month left to get an application for primary school done.

Deferring to the wrong year group (so starting in reception when he's 5, nearly 6) is extremely difficult to get permission for, and would only usually be considered for summer born children who are only just 4 when they start.

[Caroian]

As above. "Compulsory school age" is 5, so you must make arrangements for schooling by the term following their fifth birthday - so January for a December born child. Schooling arrangements can include home education.

If you apply for a state school place, it will start in the Sep before they turn 5. It is possible to negotiate with the school for part time attendance until they reach compulsory school age. But schools don't always make this easy. If you don't send your child until they are 5, the school is not obliged to hold the place open.

You can defer for a year, but for a winter born child this would mean starting the following year in Year 1, this missing reception. (Only summer burns can defer to start reception late.) Bear in mind that many, many "good" schools are oversubscribed and so getting a place outside of the normal admission point can be difficult. This may mean you don't get a place at a school you like.

The application deadline will be the January before they are due to start. So if your child is 4 this year, you need to make an application soon.

[LIZS]

He'd typically start the September he is 4 , but legally you could delay that to the following January. You apply for a (state) school reception place in the previous January.

[meditrina]

DC in England are eligible for reception year at school from 1 Sept when they are 4 (and if parents apply for a place, they have to receive an offer at this point).

As PP said, education is compulsory from the start of the term following the 5th birthday.

You still need to apply for a place in the main intake round for September admission. You can then defer the place (must be taken up some time during the year, cannot be held over to the next one).

And summer-borns cannot necessarily start reception the year after their cohort. It is not permissible for councils to have a blanket ban, and it has always been legal to place a pupil outside their usual age cohort, but they do not have to agree to every request and council practice varies.

[BigWeald]

"It is possible to negotiate with the school for part time attendance until they reach compulsory school age. But schools don't always make this easy. If you don't send your child until they are 5, the school is not obliged to hold the place open."

Actually, I believe you can choose to defer your child's start in reception until January (April for children born between January and August), and the school has no say in this, and they are obliged to hold the space open.
If you would like your child to attend from September, but part-time, then indeed you will have to negotiate with the school. Usually they should be amenable to finding a solution that works, as your alternative would be to just not send them at all until January.

So in your particular case, you apply for a school place by 15th January when your child is (just) four. You are allocated a place in April. Your child can start in September, at age 4 (nearly five). You can accept that place but choose to not start until January, when your child will be just five. Or you can accept that place and arrange with the school that your child will only attend part-time until January.

School is not compulsory. It is every child's right to have an education, but it is up to the parents to decide which form this education should take. It is the state's obligation to offer your child a space at a school if you ask for one. Therefore you can choose to home educate your child until whichever age you deem appropriate for them to start school. Then you apply for a school place and the state is obligated to find one.

There are a few things to consider with this approach:

• In the highest probability, your child will join their 'correct' cohort, that is, if you decide for your child to start at age 6 (nearly 7), they will have to start in Y2. Whilst academically, your child may be at the same place as their new classmates (or they may not, and have lots of catching up to do), the others will have had two years to get to know school routines and structures and discipline.
  
• You most likely won't be able to choose a school. Popular schools will be full, so whilst the state is obliged to find a space for your child, it may well be at a school you don't like and is 30 minutes in the wrong direction. (However, you may not have a real choice in schools anyway, if you live in a very oversubscribed area. And if you live in a 'undersubscribed' area, you'd have good chances to get a space in a school you do like/is near by, even in Y2)
  
• Most nurseries/childcare settings will take your child until they turn 5, but not beyond that. So if you decide to delay your child's entry to school beyond then, you probably won't have access to easy outside childcare.
  

It is all different if you're considering private schools! E.g. the German School in Richmond has a later starting date (I think age 5/6) and does not expect children to have been at school before. Other private schools require registration years before the child is due to start. Some have several entry points, others not. If you're considering private, you'll have to check out each individual school's requirements.

[prh47bridge]

It is possible to negotiate with the school for part time attendance until they reach compulsory school age

No negotiation required. You have the right to send your child part time until they reach compulsory school age. It is your choice, not the school's (although some schools would like you to believe it is their choice).

If you don't send your child until they are 5, the school is not obliged to hold the place open

They are indeed obliged to hold the place open provided you are not deferring for a full year. So, provided she tells the school what she is doing, the OP can defer her child's start until the January following their fifth birthday and the school must hold the place open.

[ICantFindAFreeNickName2]

Although you do have the option to defer your child's place or send them part-time for a while, you also have to consider the impact it may have on your child. In September there will be a well planned induction process, where the children get to know each other, the staff, school routines etc. I doubt the induction process will be as smooth in January.
If a child goes part time, they will miss out on various bits and pieces. Some will not matter to your child but other might, such a 'golden time' on a Friday afternoon.
I nearly deferred my sons place to the January, until a teacher friend pointed out the things above, which I had not considered.

[BigWeald]

I have known a few kids who have started off part-time with their parents thinking they'd go part-time until January, but after a few weeks the children asked to stay full time. I think if you have a NT child and you send them mornings only, they'll soon realise they are the only one/one of very few who go home at lunch time and may well choose/ask to stay longer. It may be different if you find a part time solution that involves 3 whole days or some such. (That's what I meant above about having to negotiate with school about going part-time; I'm not sure if you can 'dictate' to a school when exactly your child will attend e.g. three out of 5 days or 5 mornings or such. Even if you can, I'd listen to the school's recommendations; they know how their days are structured!)

I disagree with above poster regarding easier 'induction' process in September. I think the first term, that is, September to December, can be extremely stressful for many children. There will be some social place jostling going on that can cause anxiety to some. Also some children like to copy everyone else and find it easier to join a group that already knows what it is doing rather than start with a crowd of nervous children. In contrast if you start as the only new starter, you'll get lots of extra attention and teachers certainly have experience of late starters so should be able to run a smooth induction with them.
In any case, the child who joined DS' class in February had a start that was a lot smoother than it was for many of the September starters.

Also a school that has 'golden time' in reception (and claims that children would 'miss out' if they'd miss it) would make me sceptical right away. Golden time is great because it is child-led, play time. What reception should mostly be about anyway.