Children start school at 5, oh no they don't

Sorry @Jellycatspyjamas . Just noticed you have highlighted Scotland so saves me repeating everything !

Just before he was four
I assume you mean nursery not actual reception?
Some children are just out of nappies starting nursery does it matter?

Yes, my son is a late birthday so he was only just past 3.

He was flagged as mal-coordinated as he couldn't hold a pencil properly! Given extra balance and agility classes

Fucking ridiculous

(Ofc he is fine now)

Not in Scotland .

We should stop talking about the UK, meaning England. In Scotland the vast majority of kids start school at 5, it’s generally the case that January/February born kids defer starting school in August it’s not unusual at all and very easy to organise.

Technically the legal age is from 5, so that happens whilst in reception. So people send from reception. I don’t know anyone that didn’t send to reception. especially as they’d be missing lots of foundation in year 1 if they started then
so a kid can be 4 +11 months and a kid can also be just 4…

It's a choice, surely? My son started school just before he was four (October birthday), but it was mornings only for the first term. He was ready for that and certainly not just out of nappies and bottles :-), you are surely exaggerating there. He loved it and thrived as did most of the others in his class. However he didn't have to go, could have waited longer. If it hadn't suited him I'd have taken him out until later.

I started school aged four and did full days. My first class was called 'Lower Kindergarten'. I still remember it well all these years later.

It's up to you, you know your child, we don't. There's no point in fretting about it but whatever you decide, it doesn't hurt to get your child's name down early for a school of your choice.

I agree year 1 is problematic for many and needs a reset (too many children struggle) but I think reception is a pretty big deal and is much less nurturing than nurseries.

You can do what is right for your child, nursery can't force you to give up your place, but honestly the older-toddler room at a good nursery and the reception room at a good school are virtually indistinguishable. They follow the same early years curriculum in both settings, with learning through play, story time/circle time and plenty of choice about activities. However your child will progress to formal education sooner or later and most parents see that by starting reception at the start of the academic year before they reach compulsory school age, it makes the transition into actual schooling much smoother and can be more gradual. You can keep your child at home or in nursery until compulsory school age but I suspect you will then find the transition to be quite a shock to the child and it may not go so well.

Our school nursery teaches phonics through play and most of the kids go there. Reception then leads on from there. Unfortunately I wouldn’t want my kid to join at reception age and certainly not at year 1 which is where the real ‘jump’ in expectations occurs. Both nursery and reception in my experience is mostly play and the long slow exposure to phonics seems actually better for my kids

He's not a baby though. And you treating him as one can make the transitions harder. Children of 4/5 are more capable and independent than we often give them credit for.
Plus, reception should still be about independent play, not sitting at a table

I honestly don't see it as an issue. DD2 was summer born, so started reception soon after 4. It was mainly play based and similar to her pre school. They were only expected to sit for max 15 mins more focused learning at a time - shorter than time it would take to sit and eat lunch so doable for most 4 year olds.
She was only out of nappies at 3.5 due to issues around constipation which we later found was due to coeliac disease.

They have lots of support in reception - her class was about 20 children with a teacher and 2 -3 teaching assistants/nursery nurses, and she made amazing progress - despite the learning being very fluid it's a hugely important foundation year so wouod never suggest missing it - my oldest missed much of it due to covid, and I can see the impact on her spelling even at 9. Summer born can defer and start reception a year later if really not ready.

My daughter turned 4 on the 26th of August and started school 10 days later. I wanted to hold her back but her dad insisted.
She's been lagging behind the other kids. She is, however, being monitored by the school nurse for her size (concerned about precocious puberty) and had she been the oldest in a class the size difference might have been even larger and made her uncomfortable in other ways.
Someone is always going to be the oldest, someone is always going to be the youngest.

I’m pretty sure it’s been this way for a long time… I’m 61, but I started school before my 5th birthday. I’m a September baby, but I’m certain I started in the term before my 5th birthday. Unfortunately , I have no-one to check with now…

My 3 were all 4 and a half when they started. I have two Summer borns and a New Year one. It’s never done them any harm, although I was worried my youngest wasn’t going to be out of pull-ups and would have to delay his start! Fortunately, he just suddenly stopped needing them over the Christmas holiday and could start as planned!

it’s tough when looking at your toddler to picture them as an adult/nearly adult, but to allow for parents doing as suggested here and deferring starting school for a year, the state pays for you to be educated up to the end of the year you turn 19. (So if you do defer a year and go into reception, your dc can still do year 13). The down side is by using this extra year at the start of education, you don’t have it to play with at the end. Lots of students start year 12 /A levels and then repeat that year with different subjects or a different 2 year qualification. Some repeat with the same subjects. If your dc fails their GCSEs, it allows them to do one year on a lower level qualification, then do a 2 year course that’s level 3 qualification (A levels are classed as level 3 for reference).

Most young people don’t need this extra year at key stage 5, but worth factoring in you are taking away some flexibility at the end of their education if you use the year now.

Also if you might use a selective school for secondary, check they’d be happy with your child taking the 11+ in year 6 when their date of birth would normally put them in year 7.

If parents are pushing potty training and other such developmental milestones later and later, no wonder they are uncomfortable with the idea of school at 4. English schools at 4 are absolutely fine and for most children, not an issue at all. I think by far the biggest issue is parents- there are some children who benefit from starting outside of their year, but the increasing number of parents delaying starts because of generalised fretting is not sustainable.

If it’s a real issue, then just move the cut off to 1st March, so children are 4yrs 6 months when they start.

My son will be 5 at the end of this month and will start school in August 2026. So he will be almost 6 then. It's different here in Scotland, if your child is still 4 years old when the August term starts they can go to nursery for another year. Great system.

DD has just started reception at 4 years old and she was so ready for school, she loves it, they play and have stories and she’s making friends. Don’t hold your child back from their peers, the friends they make in reception will be their friends through primary school and possibly for life.

This. My DD is September-born and has just turned 5 and started school. She was really upset last year when her preschool friends started school and she didn't. She's been ready for at least 9 months and it's been really hard work. She went off so happily when she started at last.

This. Some kids are really ready- I know on mn everyone thinks UK starts sooo early but my kids were so ready for school when they started! They still did loads of play both in and out of school so I don’t see the issue at all!

Yes. My daughter went to school at 4 and a half. She was well able, cognitively but I worried about her emotional readiness. She cried for her nursery the first few days.After that she settled in and absolutely thrived.

Stop assuming we're all living under the English system.

Move to Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 you can defer until they are 5 years 11s month now and the free funding continues at nursery until then. As you can defer from Sept bdays now!

My August born daughter started a year late due to health reasons. I then had a big fight when she got to secondary age as they wanted her to miss year 7 and go straight to year 8. They said they would have expected her to make up the year during Primary.
During the reception year they will build on what they have learnt in the Autumn term in the Spring and Summer term so starting late may have its disadvantages.
Go on open session for your catchment school and any others that you think you might get in. You will get a better feel for them and how the days are structured.

The problem with “Oh it’s Reception, it’s play based” is that Y1 is not play based. Y2 is not play based and so on. I am in favour of deferral. And I’m one of those lunatics who tried for Autumn babies partly with this in mind.