anyone for a summer born kids academy in London?

[FedericaO]

my dd is a late august born, she is doing fine a school (entering year 1) but we are in the private sector and the ambition of what she should be able to do to pass 7+ in 1 and half year time is high
we want her to be a happy, confident girl that is happy to do sport, feel she is clever and do not find difficult everything in the class. She is now biting her nails and eating her hair and she is not even 5!
We want top class education in a enviroment that understand the difficulties of her birth date. As they say ""she has potential" (I hate it as there is always a but after) and I want her to be in a school environment that allow that potential to come out
We are planning to keep her a year behind with the risk that many school will close the door and I found this inflexibility so frustrating as her birthday is only a week away from a different academic year
Anyway - I was wondering if there is anyone that feel the same. I was thinking it might be time that we as parent, take that inflexibility away
So I have a though to create a summer born academy - primary school from year 1 I think initially
Does anyone think it is a good idea?

[Scarydinosaurs]

Are you being serious?

Do you know anything about education?

Why are you referring to your made up school as an 'academy' rather than a 'free school'? Do you know the difference? Are you planning to charge fees? Appoint yourself as the head?

[Just5minswithDacre]

I got confused at the hair eating.

[AnotherNewt]

If by academy, you mean a state school, then you will be bound by the Admissions Code and whatever the Gvovernment of the day says about out of cohort school admissions.

If a private school, I think London is buoyant enough to support more. But you will have to think about what year groups it covers and how to ensure successful transfers for your pupils at the end of it.

The solution (such as it is) in the private sector are the schools which go through from 4-18.

The solution for you right now might be to find a school which is a closer fit to your DD (for a school should not be producing stress symtoms as you describe, and not all do). Or consider an ad hoc move to a school which finishes as 11/13 so the 7+ is sidestepped completely.

[Just5minswithDacre]

Also quite odd to start a primary school 'from year 1 initially'. Nothing to do with the age of your DD?

[FiveFullFathoms]

Firstly, I think you mean free school not academy. Secondly, I'm pretty sure it would be a breach of the admissions code to select children based primarily on their birthdate.

[Dozer]

You mean a free school. Sounds like pie in the sky.

Try out the facebook page on flexible admissions for summer born children for current options. London isn't the most flexible place in terms of summer born admissions "out of year group", but if you can continue to pay you will have much more choice.

[LadySpratt]

Are you interpreting the nail biting and hair chewing as signs of stress? If so, speak to her teacher. As a parent with an August born I can tell you that you have to expect, as the teachers will, that there will be a broad range of abilities at this age, and you'll have to sit it out. So what if she's not ready for 7+? She'll be ready at 11 or 13 when the gap won't be so great, if at all. I wouldn't even bother tutoring as she's so young, now that might really stress her out! In the long run she'll be fine. I'm a summer born and so is MIL, and we've done just fine!!

[HarveySchlumpfenburger]

Isn't the issue the 7+ rather than being August born? I would have thought that if the pressure you are putting on her to get into a school at 7 is too much then aiming for a different school might be a better option.

[cexuwaleozbu]

You don't need a special school for summer born kids, you just need a different school that doesn't put that much pressure on tiny kids. Forget about the 7+ and start thinking about what is best for your DD.

My DS is summer born, in a state school. In reception he was clearly much less advanced than the autumn born kids. In a good school reception and year one don't fret about getting every child to an arbitrary standard but focus on each child developing at a pace that is right for them, stretching when appropriate but only ever with attainable goals. And low and behold a few years later there is no longer any discernable divide between summer born and autumn born in the class. There are summer borns on the "top"/most stretching table for each subject and autumn borns on the "bottom"/most accessible table. It doesn't have to be a big deal.

[CuboidalSlipshoddy]

we are in the private sector and the ambition of what she should be able to do to pass 7+ in 1 and half year time is high

Sounds like a reason to get out of the private sector.

[UnikittyInHerBusinessSuit]

Surely if you're thinking of going private then that's the answer right there. Private schools are much more flexible on age boundaries than state schools because they're setting their own rules so it should be pretty easy to find a decent school who'll consider her within the next year's intake.

TBH I've heard sillier ideas than a small free school for July/August born kids, catering for parents who worry about the negative effects of always being the smallest and clumsiest at a key stage in their school experience. I don't it would be fall within the scope of the admissions code though.

[mouldycheesefan]

Lots of research that telling kidsthey are clever or wanting them to " feel they are clever" is counterproductive as kids do better when effort is recognised rather than "cleverness'.
Your dd sounds stressed at a young age find a school where she can enjoy being a child and where a love of learning is developed rather than this race to the 7+.

[ReallyTired]

I don't think the op is being entirely daft. Dd's two form entry school used to seperate summer and winter born children for reception and then mix them up for year 1. They stopped doing it because summer borns underachieved. Sometimes low expectations of summer borns is unjustified. Bright summer borns benefit from the company of older children.

You would not be able to open a free school for exclusively summer born, but you could have seperate streams. However I think you would find that intelligence becomes more of a factor than age. I don't think such a school would work.

[Scarydinosaurs]

I completely agree with really.

Low expectations of summer born children baffles me. We all accept children reach milestones at different points- and then seem to totally ignore this when it comes to school!

A school just for summer born children...I can't even begin to start with why this is utter madness.

[SisterViktorine]

I have a late August born DS and totally understand how the OP might look at her DD and think- everybody is telling me this child is average, but if she was in the year below she would be exceptional. I get that, I think it about DS (about to go into Y2) and it is hard. I'm sad that he has to work his behind off to keep up instead of being confidently at the top.

However, OP, I think you just need to opt/ buy your DD out of such a competitive environment. 7+ is probably not going to happen- most of them are in January so your DD will only be 6.4. In many countries kids are just starting school at this age- never mind doing a comprehension paper and writing a 2 page story 'on command'.

Find a 4-18, or at least 4-13 school, where your DD can have time and space to develop without the pressure. Don't leave her to the nail biting- it doesn't have to be like that.

[Wiifitmama]

I don't think it is so ridiculous. I used to teach in a state infant school many years ago where there were 3 reception classes. They were separated into summer, spring and winter born. I taught the spring born (back in the day when I had 30 in my class with no teaching assistant!). The summer born started half days only for a whole term and had a full time teaching assistant in the class. They absolutely did things differently for the summer born. By year one, once they had a nurturing first year, they were all mixed together.

[zad716]

Wiifitmama its still ridiculous as you are saying two children born a day apart could be treated totally differently. Its more ridiculous as there is a chance the 'younger' child could actually be more ready for school.

[mrz]

History has shown that type of organisation disadvantaged those it was intended to support.

I'm wondering how the OP thinks her child will cope with the 7+ when they will be compared with Autumn born peers.

[CuboidalSlipshoddy]

History has shown that type of organisation disadvantaged those it was intended to support.

Indeed. Rising five policies were a disaster. born Dec, you got a term in a 10 person reception, a term in a 20 person reception and a term in a 30 person reception. Born May you got just the term in a 30 person reception. disaster.

[Toomuchthinking]

I don't think being a summer born impacts as much on the academics, as it does on the social and maturity expectations placed on a just turned 4 year old starting school. That's what my late August born DD has always struggled with. She has just finished year 6, and primary school for her has been quite a roller coaster at times, but she has always been a very able child. (Apart from sports and handwriting).

[NobodyInParticular]

Can't tell how serious you are OP, but why don't you just send DD to a school which doesn't prepare for the 7+!!? It's hardly an essential hoop to jump through. AFAIK 7+ sucessful candidates, especially the scholarship ones, are predominately the oldest third of the year, and if you're indicating she is immature by comparison and hasn't shown massive academic potential then maybe she isn't a great candidate for it? Why not let her wait for the 11+ which she will probably have to do anyway?

[NobodyInParticular]

I saw a brilliant chart on MN demonstrating how summer borns (defined as April to August) do on average perform worse throughout their school career compared to Lent term babies, and the same for Lent term babies in comparison to Michaelmas term babies...... But there must be so many who buck the trend?? I only have a point of comparison wrt reading ages, but I would imagine that reading ability in our Year 2 class ranges from a few kids with a reading age of under 6ish to some with a reading age of 12. That's a big difference, and I'm sure it's not all neatly correlated with age.

[NobodyInParticular]

So in your "Summer Born School" OP, March would become the new August? This is complicated.

Could you not just have a school not bound by the National Curriculum which sets children by ability for lessons so that every child is working at the correct level for them...... Like a lot of private schools?

[zad716]

NobodyInParticular That's the problem - unless the educational system start (and finish) at multiple points throughout the year some children will always on gain an advantage because of what time of year they were born.

Setting children by ability for lessons helps them progress at the right speed for them, but it doesn't get round the problem that tests and exams will usually be at certain times of the year.

DS born early summer (mid-April but 8 weeks premature) who has just finished Yr1is currently one of the many who bucks the trend.