Can anyone else in Scotland with primary school-age DCs help me with info on this?

[Shitemum]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/43/448630?stamp=080102171352
Thanks for any general tips about age at entry or applying for school place from abroad.

[Shitemum]

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[Shitemum]

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[TheGoatofBitterness]

my dd is 4 in january and we have the option of defering until the following year. tbh it is a right pain in the ass as it is an almost impossible decision to make. we will probably defer as most folk seem to think it is better to be older and not just for starting primary school but also when they move to secondary school and beyond.

we had to register dd in november but can defer in february.

[ihateironing]

my ds is only 4 in january and i spoke about this the other day.

this might sound selfish but i couldnt afford to defer him!

[bogwobbit]

My youngest dd will be 4 in Feb and therefore has the choice of being other the youngest or eldest in her class.
I agree that it is an almost impossible choice to make, but I am pretty sure that we will defer her starting school, mainly because I know quite a lot of people who regret starting their children early and no-one who regrets waiting a year.
I do sympathise, ihateironing, as the cost of pre-school childcare is a huge consideration .
I also remember reading somewhere that if a January/Feb child starts school early, they have the option of leaving at any point during that first year and restarting the next one if things don't seem to be working out.

[suedonim]

You can probably contact the Education Authority by email, afaik, they all have websites now. You need to show the birth cert but I'm sure it would be fine to do that when you move or m,aybe you can scan it in and send it.

The Scottish system admits children to Primary 1 in August whose birthdays fall between 1st March that year and 28/29th Feb the following year. So this August, 2008, children in P1 will have been born sometime between 1st March 2003 and 28/29th Feb 2004.

If a birthday falls between the start of the school year in August and 28th Feb 2009, parents can delay school until August 2009. Ime, it's usually only the children who are born after Nov/Dec whose parents delay them and it's mostly boys who benefit.

If a child is delayed they they will begin in P1, they don't miss a year as in England. Nursery in Scotland goes from age 3-5 and is independent of primary. Some areas won't fund an extra year of nursery if parents delay a child but as you've not had any free nursery I assume that wouldn't apply to you. HTh.

[AMumInScotland]

I'd say in general children will be most comfortable in the "right" class for their age, in which case she ought to start P2 in the August when you move back.

The reason is that I think most children don't like to stand out as being noticeably older or younger than their classmates. It's different for the Jan/Feb birthdays where it's about equally common to start early or defer, but with a September birthday in Scotland, she would be much the oldest if she started P1 at almost 6. A boy in my son's first class did this, because his parents felt that we start school too young even in Scotland, and he always stood out as larger and a bit awkward in some ways with the rest of the class.

She would soon catch up on the work, especially if she has already done some letters and numbers at nursery, so I think the social side and the longer term effects would be the higher priority.

As to applying from abroad, I don't have any experience, although when we applied we had not yet moved to the area and were treated as a "placing request". We did not have the same rights to a place as we would have done if we lived in the catchment, and this could have been an issue if the class was already full - there is a maximum class size in Scotland which they will not normally exceed, even if you move into an area.

If you know which area you'll be moving to, then the education department should be able to give advice on how and when to apply, and whether particular schools are likely to be a problem.

[Lucewits]

We have recently moved back to Scotland from England and were able to apply for their places from the previous area by contacting the correct pupil placement advisors in the local council.
We have placed two dds straight into school. One was 7 and went into P3 and is the youngest in her class but is quite bright and has coped well. The younger dd was 5 and although she had done the equivalent P1 in England we dropped her back a year when we got to Scotland.
I really think that for the younger children with less school experience that they they do much better when they are the older of their class.
I have found that the scottish schooling is different to the english system and that children are pushed to do better at a much younger age which is why I would recommend that they need to be a bit older when they start if they haven't been in the school attatched nursery class.

If you know what area that you are moving to then you can contact pupil placement from that local council and they will send you the information that you need on both the schools and the associated nursery classes.

[Tamum]

It's true, you can only try for a placing request unless you have actually moved by the time they allocate places. Are you planning to come to Edinburgh in time for this August? You might be lucky or you might not depending on what school you want- as AMIS says the maximum class size will be an issue, and I think they're planning to drop it even further. If the issue if starting in P1 or P2 then you might even need to wait and see which classes have space. I would generally say aim for the lower class, personally, unless your child is very confident.

[Shitemum]

Thanks everyone. Will contact the council as I am now worried that we'd have to have moved by time they allocate places or even be resident when we apply. Was hoping to sort it from Spain and move back at the beginning of the summer hoidays 2009.

[Tamum]

Shitemum, see what they say but I'm afraid you will almost certainly have to take your chances. I know quite a few people who've been in this position and the schools have never been able/willing to guarantee a place until a lease has been signed or a house bought- you usually have to show utility bills when you register. Registration is normally in December and places allocated in April, so if you come in early summer I honestly think you'll just have to see what you can get, I'm afraid. It might be worth getting specific advice on which schools they are expecting to be undersubscribed, even, or factoring this into your decision about whether to defer entry.

[Shitemum]

Thanks Tamum, it's all sure to be more complicated than i'd hoped....

[PrismManchip]

Does the local authority you're moving to have a helpline?
I rang ours, and they clarified a few things.