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Starting reception aged 5.3

19 replies

giraffeski · 20/02/2007 21:46

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pinkbubble · 20/02/2007 21:49

I have a feeling he will go straight into YR1 and miss Reception altogether, The school also may say that they will only except child into YR1 if there is a place for him, they probably wont keep one for him.

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cece · 20/02/2007 21:51

I think pink bubble is right. Would go straight into Year 1 and miss Reception. It is quite unusual for children to be in the wrong year group.

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tinkerbellie · 20/02/2007 21:52

why not just start him in reception he will miss loads

ds started in sept and they are already reading and writing etc and all making friends

am sure there will be loads of other kids that are a similar age in ds's they all seem to be pretty spread out over the year (birthdays that is)

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Saggarmakersbottomknocker · 20/02/2007 21:52

Pink is right. He would go straight in to Yr1, but they won't save a place for him.

My ds1 has a very late August birthday so started in Reception at 4 + 1 week. He did struggle a little at first but soon settled in. Ds2 is a July birthday and he had no problems at all.

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Biglips · 20/02/2007 21:52

mine will be 4.11 yrs old...is this the same as 5.3yrs old or is that a big difference?

sorry to hijack

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giraffeski · 20/02/2007 21:54

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Saggarmakersbottomknocker · 20/02/2007 21:54

Yours will be one of the oldest Biglips rather than the youngest.

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JodieG1 · 20/02/2007 21:55

Agree with others, he'd go in to yr 1 but no place guaranteed.

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pinkbubble · 20/02/2007 21:56

Also another point to look at is at alot of friendship groups will of already been formed and they may finder it harder to settle. I would seriously think twice about starting a yr later, cant your friend ask for child to start just mornings only to at least Christmas.

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Aloha · 20/02/2007 21:57

I have a July birthday and never felt young for my year tbh, and was never behind.

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giraffeski · 20/02/2007 22:06

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roisin · 21/02/2007 08:58

DS1 did this (moved house: change of counties/change of school entry policy). He went straight into yr1 (July birthday) and thrived. He could read before starting school, but had hardly done any writing at all. By Christmas he was consistently writing more and more enthusiastically than his classmates!

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frances5 · 21/02/2007 22:47

If you pick a school with mixed year classes then going into year 1 might not be too bad.

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ManchesterMum · 21/02/2007 23:11

DD's birthday is early August, so was 4+1 when she started in September and is the second youngest in her year. She absolutely loves it. Reception teachers are well used to addressing the different needs and skills of the age group but believe that the Reception year is used as much to familiarise the children with the way school works as well as with each other. Imho it would be a shame for any child to come to join a year later than his classmates if it can possibly be avoided.

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Biglips · 22/02/2007 11:36

well when mine will be starting her preschool she is the oldest as the teacher told me that as i asked. Will she always be the oldest due to her bday on 1st october??

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mankyscotslass · 22/02/2007 11:55

If the cut off month for school continues to be September, as I understand it, then yes she will always be one of the older ones. There are a few in my DS reception class who have a birthday in September. Also a few who are in the middle/late August birthdays, so his class has a wide age range. (they do not do January intakes in his school)
I believe in Scotland (where i grew up) the cut off was February at one point (dont know if it still is)....

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LIZS · 22/02/2007 12:14

giraffeski if your friend sends her ds to a preshcool or similar in theory they follow the same curriculum as the Foundation Stage of the National Curriculum goes up to the end of Reception year. Socially though he'd be with much younger children in preschool as his peer group will have moved on and it may prove harder for him then to integrate into an already established group, mainly older who are used to school routines . Perhaps the school would let her start him at after Christmas or Easter to allow him a little of the Reception year but policy rather varies form one to another and may depend on what her concerns are? I believe once you have accepted the Reception place they cannot legitimately stop you deferring as long he starts within the same academic year , whereas if you delay a full year they can offer it elsewhere. Some schools with their own nursery class phase the move up to Reception anyway, so they go for the term in which they turn 5 (Our July born nephew did this). They may not be as supportive of doing so otherwise though.

Biglips, the cut off for LEA's in England is end of August so Septmeber/ October b'days will usually be the older children in the year group, starting just before their 5th b'days. We have an August born dd who is more than 11 months younger (started at 4 and 10 days) than the eldest in her class(turned 5 a week after term started) but they get on famously

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miljee · 22/02/2007 17:05

Sorry to possibly be seeming to throw a spanner in the works here- but personally I think it's a huge shame our UK 'one size fits all' school entry system. I agree with everyone who says, basically, that come what may, the DS HAS to start in the 'correct' school year so as not to be hugely disadvantaged ie in being shoved straight into Year 1, missing the potential social development of his peers in reception but the statistics back up the reality that older kids do better. 70-odd% of Oxbridge entrants are Sept-Dec babies, apparently! I'm not for a moment implying that academic success is the one true measure- obviously it isn't, but it DOES demonstrate that a child with the potential to do well academically is far more likely to do so if older! My DSs are May-born and they've both struggled, academically and socially. Even in year 3, the 'young' factor is STILL in evidence, according to the teachers, especially amongst the boys! However, every child is different and whilst the statistics demonstrate a 'trend' they can't speak for individual children, so all is not lost! I just wish ALL kids here in the UK could go to school when they're ready, not when they have to.

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goingfor3 · 22/02/2007 17:12

My daughter also has a late June birthday. Her school had a staggered entry so she didn't start until January. Now she is in year one she has caught up with most of the children who started in september and in on a higher reading level than many of them. It really depends on the child but the socialising they get in reception is really important.

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