Mnhq -Error in your lead article

[reawakeningambition]

New researcher?You can do better than this chaps:

Summer-born babies

As part of an ongoing reform of primary education in England, if your child is summer born (ie has a June, July or August birthday) you now have the choice of them skipping reception and going straight into Year 1 from nursery. There is a huge amount of debate about the pros and cons of this on Mumsnet Talk.

You have to start your child in full education the sept after their fifth birthday. Your statement sounds as though this "choice" (I see you've just copied the government's misleading language - choices ought to be between two things - think about it) is something new. But it isn't.

[HelenMumsnet]

Hello reawakeningambition. Can you tell us where you saw this please?

[reawakeningambition]

www.mumsnet.com/education/primary/how-to-apply

You chaps are good journalists so I know you can do better than repeating "choice" language when used to convey the opposite. The history was:

1. Ed Balls commissioned a report and said "shall we allow year-deferral of summer -borns?"
   
2. Jim Rose wrote the report saying "no, but give parents the right to hold the place till the January term/ the April term.... but not till the following September term - if they want to do that, the child must go straight into year 1".
   
3. Ed Balls says "ok" and (as Governments do) presented the "must go into year One" as a "choice" (which of course, it isn't - it's the opposite of a choice). But there is a choice of waiting one term/waiting two terms, and schools have to hold the place - that's the new choice element I think (I'm assuming that pre-Rose schools didn't have to hold the place)
   
4. You then dragged Jim Rose on to mumsnet (well done you) who accepted he'd never intended there to be no exceptions to the rule about starting summer-borns at 5.0-5.3 in reception.
   
5. Now, as tiggytape as posted, the actual Admission Code does still allow for children to start reception in England out of year - its guidance notes say though that there is no research supporting a general right (some of us disagree there of course) so there must be "cogent reasons" why a particular child defers.
   
6. BLISS (premies support charity) is currently campaigning to change the guidance to point out that special circumstances apply to summer-borns who are also prematurely born.
   

And that's where we are.

[RebeccaMumsnet]

Hi reawakeningambition,

You're right.
Thanks v much for pointing it out, we're amending the page forthwith.

[reawakeningambition]

You're a star, thanks.