31st August born... Can I keep back a year? Thanks!

[SabsMatthews]

:)

[angeldiver]

I might be wrong, but as I understand it, the child has to leave primary at age 11. It is exceptional reasons that a child is allowed to remain after that.
So, if you kept your dc back a year, they'd have to go up to yr7 at the end of yr5.
I shall wait to stand corrected

[SabsMatthews]

But he would be leaving primary at 11 as he would turn 12 in the summer holidays.

[LIZS]

How old is your dc now? If he/she has n't started reception yet you may be able to hold back a year although it is still unusual in practice in England and the norm would be to start with peer group, some of whom will be 364 days older. Alternatively accept the place for his peer group year and wait to start until January or Easter.

[angeldiver]

Yes, technically he would be 11 but the age runs from Sept 1st to Aug 31st, so he would be 12.
What are your concerns?

I have a mid August born.

[SabsMatthews]

He's not at school yet. My issue is he was premature... So he was due at the end of September.

[angeldiver]

I would look into starting him later on in the year, as a p.o. suggested, rather than a whole year late.
My friend has a 29 weeker who she moved to a different school that was better suited to him. He's not statemented but lacks concentration. He moved to a more relaxed school and he is thriving.

[angeldiver]

Pp that would be, not post office

[MrsCharlesBrandon]

I would also look to start him a bit later rather than taking him out for a year. I may be wrong but i think that if you waited till he was 5 he would have to start in yr1, thereby missing a whole year of creating friendships and getting used to being in school.
Reception tends to be easygoing anyway, and there will no doubt be others in the same boat. My DD2 is a late August baby and there were at least 2 others younger than her in her year group.

[SantasLittleMonkeyButler]

Yes, you can defer starting Reception for 12 months.

A good friend of mine has done this with her twins, who were summer born & premature (also due in September).

They will turn 5 this July and start Reception class in September.

They had to apply to their LEA for permission to defer, which was obviously granted.

I'm not sure what the arrangements for moving up to secondary school will be. My friend is a teacher herself, so I'd be very surprised if she hasn't already thought of this aspect.

Come to think of it, DS2 is in Year 11. One of his class mates (so same year group) turned 16 in August last year. No idea what the circumstances of him being in the "wrong" year group are/were - but it clearly can be possible.

[SantasLittleMonkeyButler]

That said - my own DD is August born and started Reception class at 4 years & 2 weeks. It did seem very young at the time, but she has coped really well.

[Ontopofthesunset]

I think LA's tend to consider each case on an individual basis so you might need to demonstrate why in particular your child would benefit from deferring.

[ECR123]

I'm born a week before your DS and was 2 months premature. I was one of the youngest in my year but it was never a hindrance or a problem.

In hindsight I'm happy that I was the youngest rather than the eldest - but that's just personal preference!

[JamieFraserskneewarmer]

You may also need to consider what the position is if you are in a grammar school area and thinking that he might to the 11+. A friend kept her daugher back (very similar birthday to your son) and then found she wan't allowed to sit the 11+ since she was "out of year"

[talulahbelle]

It's your right to start your child in school at Correct School Age - the term AFTER they turn 5. School is not compulsory before this. At CSA the school have to argue/demonstrate why Yr1 would be better than reception for your child. .
We are currently considering this for my July born DD, but we are also considering taking up the place in reception the September after she turns 4 and then only sending her part-time.
There's a really helpful Facebook group about it all, can't remember the name offhand though.

[KatherinaMinola]

The Tories did recently change things Draylon - or rather they recommended that LEAs be a bit more relaxed about allowing summerborns to defer and start in YR. A friend of mine deferred with no problem.

[PatriciaHolm]

The ease of this will essentially come down to which LEA you are in, and the approach they are taking to summer born admissions flexibility.

Your child does not have to start education until the term after they turn 5. In this case, that would be the Sept after he turns 5, which would normally place him in Yr 1. You can request he is deferred a year, and the admissions authority have a duty to consider that request on its own merits (they cannot have a blanket ban).

Different LEAS approach this differently though. Some have effectively said fine, it's up to the parents to decide, so any request is granted; others have said no, it's still our decision and we are going to set a high bar on deciding whether to allow it.

You don't have a right to part time education either; this is down to discussion with the school, but they don't have to allow it.

So if you are interested, it is best to start the conversation as early as you can in order that you can get a feel for what the LEA's attitude is likely to be.

[DENMAN03]

My birthday is on 31st August. Was the youngest in my year but it didn't affect me in anyway at all. I wouldn't worry about it.

[DrDiva]

My DS went up a school year by being 2 months prem. we let him enter in his year of birth rather than due date. He is just finishing reception and is doing fine.
HOWEVER. He is very tall - the tallest in his class, and third tallest in the cohort. he is also in a school that suits him on the whole. And we are both teachers and have grandparents and aunts who also are, so he is kind of surrounded by education! We really thought about this, and I think it does depend a lot on the school and the cohort. I think we were lucky.

[fannydaggerz]

Depending on the birthday. My son will have 3 in his class who will have recently turned 12 in P7 before they move onto secondary school.

[catslife]

My issue is he was premature... So he was due at the end of September.
My understanding is that the effect of being premature is greatest for the smallest babies i.e. those born earlier than 28 weeks with birth weight less than 1kg.
Having said that the premature baby society Bliss may have more up to date info about the effect of prematurity on education and delaying entry to school see link www.bliss.org.uk/starting-school-from-september-2016

[cantkeepawayforever]

fanny, Scotand has a significant history of allowing deferral - in fact for deferral to be a) quite common and b) something seen to be educationally advantageous by parents.

In England, until recently, the push has been to get children into school, or school-like pre-school settings, early to 'give them a head start', and deferral has been rare, esopecially because essentially a child deferring for a full year had to enter year 1 not Reception.

This is changing now at primary entry age, with more summer-borns deferring. HOWEVER, IME this change has not fed through to the primary - secondary transition, with it still being very unclear whether the child has to skip Y6 or Y7.

f considering deferral, ALWAYS establish the likely secondary school's policy on out of year admission first, before making a decision. i have taught a year-deferred child - but we had documentary evidence from all future schools that the change of year would be honoured at all transitions (3 tier system) BEFORE we made the change of year.

[iseenodust]

How old is your DS now? If they are not meeting milestones then I would consider it but if they are then maybe not. DS is end of Aug birthday (early as planned c-section). He started school unable to read, is now in year 8 and all is fine. He has friends who are also Aug birthdays as well as others across the year. He knows he will be late to drinking & learning to drive.

My main thought now is that as he is doing well academically to have held him back a year would have lead to a very frustrated learner. Being the oldest in a school year is not necessarily desirable either.

[prh47bridge]

You don't have a right to part time education either

Generally agree with the excellent advice from PatriciaHolm but don't agree on this point. Under the Admissions Code paragraph 2.16(c) parents can decide whether or not their child will attend school part time until they reach compulsory school age. The school has no choice. So technically your son could attend Reception part time and start full time in Y1 after their fifth birthday. I am not saying that is a good idea but it is possible. What is not possible is for him to attend Reception part time for 12 months then repeat Reception full time the following year.