Delaying primary school.

[AmyG2012]

Hello, Please bear with me it's going to be a long one! I was hoping for a bit of advice regarding delaying sending my son to infant school.
My son should be starting school next September, he was born in June 2014 so will only just have turned 4 when he starts. Normally this would not be too much of an issue BUT we are hoping to move down to Cornwall before he has to start school.
This gives us less than a year to sell two properties and move and enroll him in a school! I get stressed even thinking about it!
I don't want him to be the new boy in a class of children who have already been together a year. I didn't even realise until today that primary school could be delayed a year. This would obviously be ideal as it buys us another year so there is less of a panicked rush.
Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has done this and if anyone has any advice I would be very grateful! Thank you.

[SnowiestMountain]

I'm not sure if it's a great idea to delay your DC's entry into school just because of a house move, I think it's really meant to be more for developmental issues etc.

Is there another way? Could you sell one property, move to the new area and rent initially? I appreciate things might not be as simple as this...

[Antoniacaenis]

Check out www.facebook.com/groups/121613774658942/?ref=ts&fref=ts. There is a wealth of knowledge on there about starting school at Compulsory school age.

[AmyG2012]

Thank you for the FB link, I have asked to join the group.
I would still send him to preschool, so he would be around other children, I wouldn't keep him home. Do you think preschool would be enough for his development or does it need to be infant school? I already worry about him being in a class of 5 year olds when he's only just turned 4.

[GU24Mum]

Is your concern that the whole thing is going to be a bit rushed (TBH it should be fine) or that there are specific reasons why your DS isn't ready for school? Unless it's the latter, honestly, I think I'd send him. June isn't really that young - late August for a premature child is young but someone has to be young in the year. Good luck with the move.

[HarrietVane99]

I already worry about him being in a class of 5 year olds when he's only just turned 4.

They won't all be five, will they? A quarter of the class is likely to have been born in June, July and August. Those with July or August birthdays will be younger than your ds.

[MirandaWest]

I think if you are deferring the place then you need to apply at the usual time so you would still need to apply by January 2018 anyway.

Also if his birthday is in June then he wouldn't start school with a class of 5 year olds - nearly all of them will still be 4 when they start school and some will be younger than him as well.

[AmyG2012]

My concern at the minute is that it is seeming like it might not be possible to move that fast. One of our properties had been for for sale for a couple of months and it's not sold yet. Until that one is sold we can't sell the one we are living in.
And we really don't want to sell one and rent the other as we really need the money from both to start our new life.
I would really like him to start school on time and will try my hardest to make that happen. But it was just in case it didn't go to plan, it was reassuring to know that maybe there was another way.

[newmumwithquestions]

You have the right to start him at compulsory school age - that is the term after he turns 5. So whilst his 'normal' cohort would be September 2018, you can choose to start him in September 2019.

BUT your local authority (or school if you send him to one whichever is their own admissions authority, like an academy) has the right to put him straight into year 1 rather than year R so he'd miss a year of school.
To get him admitted in year R in 2019 is the thing you have to fight for if that's what you decide you have to do. I don't know what Cornwall is like - look at the Facebook group - it's a wealth of information. Some local authorities make it very very hard to do.

[newmumwithquestions]

To add, you could send him in (e.g.) January 2019. That would mean he gets most of a year of reception but you get an extra few months to sort things out. If it's a big school, there will probably be some other summer born children starting then. Would that work?
Do you know exactly where you want to move to - i.e. What schools you want to apply to?

[meditrina]

If you wish to defer a summer-born child for a year, then you need to approach the LEA now in order to ascertain their current policy.

You need any discussions on whether your DS can defer, and certainly the final decision in writing because you will be relying on that for his application to be correctly handled the following year.

You really need it all sorted out as soon as possible, and certainly before the Reception application window closes, because if the answer is 'no', you will need to make an application this year, and it is better if that is on-time not late.

[Stinkycleanhouse]

I wouldn't start a school just to move the year after.
That would seem massively unfair to me.
Are you a stay at home parent? As the reception year is pretty much free play, phonics and learning to read.
I'm sure based on a one to one level ( unless uou have other children ) compared to a thirty to one ratio you could teach your son the basics for him then to start year 1 if you couldn't get him a deffered start.
My brother did this and his son is now in year 3 and top of the class

[whoareyou123]

You really need it all sorted out as soon as possible, and certainly before the Reception application window closes, because if the answer is 'no', you will need to make an application this year, and it is better if that is on-time not late.

I didn't think it was usually possible to make an application unless you had a permanent address in that area. Hence if a on-time application could be made (before mid January) then there would be no need to delay.

[meditrina]

You can make an application to any school but as most prioritise by distance you are, realistically, looking at only undersubscibed ones or those which tiebreak by lottery.

OP needs to understand the timelines, and not miss the boat on making a reception application in the relevant window (depending on whether she can secure a deferral). It might mean that she chooses to resign herself to being a late applicant, but it is as well to know what the implications of choices made now could be.

[Toomanycats99]

Given there seem to be no developmental delays with your son I don't see how you an consider holding him back just to fit in with a house move? Plenty of children move school in the first few years and from what I can se they all seem to slot in fine to the new class. WhT you are suggesting impacts him further down the line - he will either miss a year of primary school or be out of synch all the way through school. If you are looking at next September starting you would need to be moved by January anyway to apply at the new address.

[meditrina]

Or, as the timelines for the move are not yet known, and if a deferment cannot be secured, OP might want to consider whether she wants a reception place by where she lives now.

[AJPTaylor]

I think you really need to reconsider the logistics. Where in Cornwall are you moving? Are the schools oversubcribed? If not, i would just go with the flow. Your ds would probably be fine in his real age group starting a little later.
If schools are oversubscribed you need to rethink. Move down and rent. It may not be ideal but if you want to relocate you need to be flexible rather than hanging on for it to be perfect. We relocated recently to improve our quality of life. Dd is about to go into year 5.we compromised on the house to be in catchment for the right secondary and are just taking pot luck on the last 2 years of primary because all local schools are full. However secondary is within our control.
I think you need a plan b and c and d.

[LilyDisney]

A lot of this doesn't make sense to me....

Basically all kids are 4 when reception starts.....he certainly won't be "the only 4 year old in a class of 5 year olds"

And if you delay a year then he'll start at Year 1, not reception and will definitely be a class with kids who have known each other a year. So that point of yours also makes no sense.

[whoareyou123]

Lily the OP would like to delay (start in reception outside of the usual year group) rather than defer (miss some or even all of reception).

[newmumwithquestions]

OP do you know exactly where you want to move to?

This might be useful:
www.cornwall.gov.uk/education-and-learning/schools-and-colleges/school-admissions/deferring-or-delaying-admission-to-school-and-educating-pupils-out-of-their-chronological-year-group/

[lacebell10]

Lots of kids start reception in one school and end it in another. My dd has had 3 new class mates this year. If your child is ready for school then it makes no sense holding them back. A third of both dd classes were after May birthdays.

[LittleBearPad]

At least three of the children my DC started with left and were replaced within their first year of reception. It's quite normal.

It also don't be full of five year olds when he starts.

[ujerneyson]

June will make him one of the younger children but far from the youngest. My eldest had at least 8 or 9 who were June - August babies. I would start him wherever you're loving at the time and transfer him to a new school when you move but keep him on his correct year group.

[my2bundles]

You might be able to defer him depending on a Particular policy. The problem would arise when starting secondary as most would expect him to join his correct year group so you might find he has to miss year 6 completely to start year 7 in his correct year group. You need to find out what the policy's are starting primary and secondary and work out which us best for your son,not what works best for a house move.