Unfair to defer summer borns

Thought was 3 in Wales

He must be late August Born? A 1st April born deferred child would be 18 months older than my 31st August child. I’m assuming it’s that kind of gap people are referring to.

I am August born and diagnosed with combined ADHD. I would not have benefited from being deferred, I don’t think. It’s an issue of focus and executive functioning that would have been there regardless of the year. I was lucky to have a massively supportive school though, even though they wouldn’t have had a clue what ADHD was back then, and the structure alongside their support, was massively more beneficial than I think an extra year at home would have been. But we’re all different and what worked for me won’t work for everyone in the same position.

Exactly!

People assume that the deferred children are SO much older than the rest of the class and it’s so unfair…..when in reality that’s hardly the case.

My deferred son is the oldest in the class, but only by 3 days.

In the month following my son’s birthday, another 4 children have their birthdays and turn the same age as my son. There are then another 3 children who turn the same age as my son the month after that.

How is him being the oldest by 3 days putting him at a massive advantage and one that should be taken into account by Universities?!

I think your judgement is uneducated. You do you and your child and let other parents handle their own.
If you were to research anything in line with deferring a child you would see the benefits of doing so for the child.
I am a mother that has deferred their child, which statistics show is in my child's best interest.

I think universities will do this in the future.

I doubt it.

It makes a few months difference, it's been common in Scotland for years to defer. Kids in Scotland, and many many coming from abroad, sit exams at slightly different ages to English kids.

They're not going to change a whole system based on a handful of English kids starting school a few months older.

In NI the age cut off is the end of June for September start and Scotland is March/April for August but deferring is v common in lots of Scotland

One of DD's friends is a summer born who was deferred at school and she is not allowed to play in the same football team (grass roots league) as her classmates as she is the age bracket above, so has to play with kids in the year above her school year. DD is U11 but her friend has to play U12. You're right that it is your team for the whole year, so next year DD will be U12 and her friend U13.

Deferring summer borns would make them the same age as the rest of the year group when sitting exams surely? I’m not sure what weighting you could give to someone who is a month or two older than a September born.

Education is competitive though?
For secondary school admissions tests they weight by age - I know 11+ in our area is weighted (one mum said to mum of Aug born (my friend) only reason your child got in was because she got extra marks for being young!)
But the uni tests lots need to sit aren’t age weighted as far as I know - ucat, tmua etc - I know lnat law aptitude isn’t. Not aware uni interviews take into account age. For competitive courses with low acceptance rates it’s tiny margins between A* predicted applicants. Do older in year have advantage? Not aware of any stats but I’d say yes.

I don’t think anyone thinks july/august borns will suffer later.
However April/may borns that were deferred to give them an advantage (not SENDs, premature birth etc) do have a chance of suffering for it late, mainly socially, but also being bored silly.
As usual, there is no one size fits it all. But deferring is not always the best choice.

I think universities will do this in the future.

@headstone I had no desire for my child to be the oldest. But he was born a month premature, at the very end of August, and he wasn’t ready to start school when he had only just turned 4. If I could have deferred I would. Nothing to do with my socioeconomic status. Just awareness of what was best for my child. What is the basis of your sweeping generalisation?

I think you're naive if you think society is a shared endeavour. Capitalism is about competition and survival of the fittest, with the absolute bare minimum given to those who 'lose'. Probably just so they don't revolt and cause trouble for those who win.

I think the previous poster means starting school nursery at 3.
My friend’s son is in his 20s but was youngest and smallest. He actually started ft reception class at school at 3 (term started August as they still had wakes weeks then) 100% would have had an easier time in yr below socially and done better academically. His youngness stayed apparent all through school/uni.

I definitely am in the UK, a school with a nursery a child can go the term after their 3rd birthday, it isn't compulsory but it's there to use.

That's not going to school though.

That's going to nursery in a school building.

Totally different thing.

Mine went to a nursery in a hospital building. Didn't make them patients, or doctors.

I definitely am in the UK, a school with a nursery a child can go the term after their 3rd birthday, it isn't compulsory but its there to use.

I honestly thought deferring meant you just skipped reception. It is really odd to be a year group spanning 18 months- the differences might not be obvious at 4 but they will be obvious at 11.

I do persoanly think people would think hard about deferring. Every summer child is super young and small and that year between 4 and 5 is massive. It is so easy to look at them and think they aren’t ready. I remember my 4 year old August boy going into school and he looked so tiny. My heart broke as he walked in and I looked at the much larger children and I wondered if that was for the best and should I deferred. He cried for the first week and I felt awful

Fast forward to year 6. He got the top SATs in the year and was one of the tallest children the year. I keep telling him how lucky he was not have been born 2 weeks later and be stuck in the year below!

how a child seems at 4 isn’t how they likely will end up. Deferral should be only be used in only the rarest of situations. I dread to think how it would have affected him if I had deferred him and he was allowed to start reception a year later.

@YourWildAmberSloth in what way will that year become significant when they’re older? If a child born on 31st August was deferred, they’d end up being one day older than a child born on 1st September in their class.

My DS is at uni now, and several of his friends took a year out after A levels, so they’re a school year above. But it’s not caused them any bother.

At what point in their lives do you feel deferred kids will suffer?

Scottish kids are at least 4.5 when they start though. In England some are literally just turned 4.

That makes a huge difference in some kids at that age.

In England and Wales we send our children into full time school stupidly early. Many, many little four year olds just aren't ready for a 9-3:30 day, five days a week.

Even my Feruary-born child used to fall asleep within 10 minutes of getting home from school. My summer child had a hellish start, which affected his relationship with - and attitude towards - school for the rest of his education. Sadly, deferral wasn't available back then. His SEN weren't picked up until high school. More time to get equipped physically and emoptionally for scool would have probably helped him a lot.

If parents feel their child would benefit by delaying full time school, good for them. They are assessing their child and deciding on what will most suit that child's needs.

It doesn't matter if it's August 31st or May 17th - if the child is not equipped for a full school day, deferrment is as valid option.

No one is disadvantaged by another child's deferral. Education isn't a competition against other children, it's a bid for each individual child to achieve their potential.

The boundary is already drawn in that children can defer if needed.

Beyond that, no boundary is needed.

Kids can’t start school in the UK until they are 4 so you can’t be in the UK.

I'm August born in Scotland, I didn't even know this was a thing.
The oldest in my year was born in January 1992 and the youngest March 1993, so quite a big range.

@ifyoudont what country and what is the cut off date>> i started school at 4 and it did me no harm in scotland. our cut off date is 28th feb/