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Original poster

Deferring school start as summerborn

23 replies

summerandschool · 28/01/2020 10:42

Has anyone done this ? I’m due in August and we have decided this is what we will do when it’s school time

Will they then let him/her join reception a year later is that how it works ?
Is it hard to get the LA to agree or is it an easy process

OP posts:

KindergartenKop · 28/01/2020 14:52

As far as I know you can defer summer borns to join reception a year later. But some schools might force them to join year 1 (not ideal, reception is a great introduction to school, y1 requires sitting still and writing stuff). The other issue is the transfer to secondary. They wouldn't be able to take an 11+ exam with their cohort and secondary might put them straight into y8.

Maybe baby will arrive in September???

Henlie · 28/01/2020 14:54

Op - isn’t this a bit premature? Surely it’s best to wait and see what your dc is going to be like? They might be ready to start reception when they turn 4....

NannyR · 28/01/2020 14:59

I agree, worry about this later, some August babies are more than ready for school at four, some may benefit from deferral, it's not a given that all babies born in August will struggle starting school at four.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

General education Primary education

limpingparrot · 28/01/2020 15:16

Really you need to wait and see what your child is like. My son is an end of August born but he’s ready for school and has excellent concentration and attention. I was completely willing to delay start but it turns out it’s a non-issue. To answer your question it depends on your local authority. Here, you apply as normal and then defer the place when it’s offered. The child can join reception rather than year 1.

Orchidflower1 · 28/01/2020 15:23

@summerandschool enjoy your pregnancy and your beautiful baby when he/she arrives.

There are so many things that you can worry about between now and then so pop it on the back burner and enjoy the now.

Besides as a pp said you could be late and have a Sept 1st baby or have a prem born in July.

Wishing you a happy and healthy pregnancy🌺

Notmynameok · 28/01/2020 15:30

My daughter was born in August. I didn't defer but at the time felt like she was very young compared to her peers, however a psychologist friend advised me against it and explained it would be more of an issue for her starting a year after her peers and will be very far behind with regards to phonics numbers and following the rules etc...

So I started her in reception class a week after her 4th birthday and I have not regretted it. She enjoyed school albeit had a nap in the afternoon for the first 6 months in the reading corner . She wasn't behind her peers and is now a very confident 8 year old.

I would wait to make that decision until the times comes so you can assess whether your child is ready emotionally.

Original poster

summerandschool · 28/01/2020 15:30

Will def be August as due date is 20 but I will be having elcs
So I don’t have to worry that I’m meant to notify the LA at any time before he/she is 4 ? I wasn’t sure how it worked

OP posts:

Notmynameok · 28/01/2020 15:32

You only notify them when you would normally apply for the school place.

Russell19 · 28/01/2020 15:35

You might find they'd miss reception completely and go into yr1 which I would really not reccomend because reception is a great start to school life.
Even if they go into reception they'd have to miss a year out at some point.
My baby is summer born and I would never consider it, EY teachers are great at meeting different needs and levels of development. It gives them a good start in my opinion.

JacquesHammer · 28/01/2020 15:38

You don’t need to notify anyone until the usual time for apply for schools.

Don’t make a decision now, do it when you’ve noted your child’s needs, progress and personality.

DD was in full time formal education (prep school) at 3 (turned 4 in the September). She was more than ready!

Original poster

summerandschool · 28/01/2020 15:40

Thankyou

OP posts:

EssexGurl · 28/01/2020 15:49

DS is late August birthday - never occurred to us to defer. At nursery they were good at including him with his school year cohort - his best friend there was a December birthday - so he naturally was with the right school year.

He’s doing his GCSEs now and is top sets for every subject. Only limitation I can see is he is a lazy little so and so!

Don’t write your child off at this stage - as others say you don’t know how they will be and also what is possible when they start school.

Ginbauble · 28/01/2020 16:04

My DC had a child in his year who deferred starting school for a year and started reception a year later than her peers.

She had to go straight from year 2 to year 4 as secondary schools here will only take children in the 'correct' year for their age.

She's left all her friends since reception behind and is having to make new ones in her new year group. Plus she's having to catch up on the entire Y3 curriculum as well as completing the Y4 one.

So I'd consider the possible long term implications very carefully.

And be aware that Reception is a lovely place with teachers very supportive of all individual children whatever their needs are.

NotExactlyHappyToHelp · 28/01/2020 17:06

DS is a very late August baby. I was worried about school. He turned 4 on a Thursday and started school on the Tuesday.

I spoke to his nursery teacher about deferring and she advised against it. She said the gap between them closes very quickly whereas deferring could have long term effects such as the PP who mentioned secondary schools not honouring they deferment.

TreeClimbingCat · 28/01/2020 17:22

Both my sons are summer borns, they have excelled academically, never been socially immature. It all depends on the child. I know there are statistics out there that suggest summer borns are disadvantaged but lots of things disadvantage a child such as poverty.

What I will say is my friend's DD's birthday is 4th September so she spent another year in nursery which was hard for the staff to keep her engaged and stimulated.

My worry would be that a child would be bored shitless in reception if they spend 2 years in a preschool.

neddle · 28/01/2020 17:34

My dd’s birthday is August 29th and she started reception at 5.
She won’t ever have to skip a year, as not only are the schools ok with it, but if they weren’t, they’d have to prove that it would be in her best interests to miss a whole year.
My LEA and infant school were very supportive and it was easy to defer for the year and have her start on time, at compulsory school age.

Frazzled2207 · 28/01/2020 17:45

Don't panic about this yet! It depends on your authority, mine doesn't allow it.

I have an August born and I thought about trying to go down this route but actually decided that waiting a whole extra year would be ridiculous. He was a bit behind in year r but still did ok and came on loads in year 1. He is mostly "exceeding" now in year 2.

The best advice you can get is on the fb group "flexible admissions for summer borns"

SuperMeerkat · 28/01/2020 17:50

@summerandschool Your baby won’t definitely be born in August. My DS was due on 26th Jan and was 13 days late so 8th Feb! Could easily be a sept baby.

UnleashTheFury · 28/01/2020 19:12

As an August baby myself I never felt too young or not as clever as the others.
I think it all comes down to the child themselves.

For example my daughter (June) is very clever and switched on. Very wise and old for her years.

Her friend (October) is really behind and babyish etc. Yet she’s one of the oldest in the class.

Original poster

summerandschool · 28/01/2020 19:19

Latest would be 38 weeks the consultant said if they can get me that far but could be 36/37 weeks so 100% will be August
I do feel a bit less worried now tbh reading of people whose children were ok I was just worried about being only just 4

OP posts:

DownWhichOfLate · 28/01/2020 19:21

As they will only just be 4 they don’t have to be in school full time until the following September. So you could start them but just a couple of hours a day. If you have childcare to work around this.

Original poster

summerandschool · 28/01/2020 19:36

Oh that might be a better option just as my older dc still had afternoon naps till 4 and a half so that was something I was thinking how will that work

OP posts:

Wheresmycider · 28/01/2020 19:49

I was really worried that my second would be a smidge early and be an August born. He came in September on schedule, but it would have been a needless worry as he would have coped.
Now i am stuck paying nursery fees till he is almost 5 and he is trying to get into his brothers classroom at school everyday.

My point is dont overthink it. Wait and see how your little one gets on. They may be a summer born who blooms faster than their slightly older peers. There is really no way to predict it.

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