School System - Primary School in Scotland

[Mama0ftw0]

Hi all

Hoping for some guidance on the Primary School System in Scotland.

I am potentially moving to Scotland this summer therefore, I am looking at everything to do with the move.

My child is currently in Reception Class aged 4 and will turn 5 this May 2024. Therefore she completes Reception class July 2024.

I would not have posted this post however, I am a little confused.
I am also fully aware the School system is different in Scotland and start of school age is.
I spoke to one Primary School in Scotland and they said that my child would start from the beginning in Primary School this August if we moved there and given that my child gets a school place.

However a friend has said that they would start in Year 1 this August.

If anyone has any information/guidance on this I would appreciate it.
Do you think my child will have to repeat Reception year or will they continue as normal?

Finally, I have looked online at the Scottish Education page etc however I just wanted to ask on here with the confusion.

Thank you !!!!!

In my area of Scotland ( assume same as rest of Scotland) children attend nursery when 3 and 4 then start school at 5 so your child would go into primary 1 in August.

Not sure if reception is equivalent to primary 1 or 2nd year of nursery though.

I'm not Scottish but my brother's kids go to school there.
Scottish primary starts in P1. There isn't reception. Kids in P1 will be age 4-5 because I understand the cut off for birthdays is February unlike England where it is August. So in England there will be reception children with an August birthday - youngest in the class age 4 whereas in Scotland the youngest child will have turned 4 in February before they start in August. So if you were living in Scotland now your daughter wouldn't have started school yet and she would be one of the oldest in her class rather than now in England when she will be the youngest.
Fast forward to end of senior school. My nephew will finish in the summer of his 17th birthday so will start uni age 17 before he turns 18 in January because he's one of the youngest in his year.
And open to Scottish mums correcting me but I'm comparing my kids education with my nephews.

There is no reception year. They just start primary 1. What the school said is correct .

Thank you very much for this. I didn’t expect any replies so thanks.

This is what I am trying to figure out that if my child’s Reception is Scotlands Nursery year.

I have tried to find a Early years teacher in Scotland on Socials but can’t.

thanks again.

Sorry this was for you.

Thank you very much for this. I didn’t expect any replies so thanks.

This is what I am trying to figure out that if my child’s Reception is Scotlands Nursery year.

I have tried to find a Early years teacher in Scotland on Socials but can’t.

thanks again.

Many thanks.

Just wondering if this means she would technically be repeating a year.

thanks again.

I'm not familiar with the English system but at her age I wouldn't worry about her repeating a year. I wouldn't see it like that.

P1 and p2 in Scotland are learn through play based now. If she repeats some academic work in terms of phonics and early numeracy etc it will even out very quickly. She's only wee.

It's the perfect time to move and have her transition right at the beginning and she'll slot in no problem.

Thank you so much for this info.

im wondering if the first year at school in Scotland is the same as Reception class in England. I know not exactly the same but I was wondering if it was all she would have done this year.

thanks again.

They’re not directly comparable because Scottish children start school on average 6months older (youngest would be 4.5 and with routine Jan /feb birthday deferrals actually youngest are likely to be 4.8ish)
Scottish kids also have 1 year less at school overall (7 years in primary and up to 6 in high school)
So it’s not really repeating a year as they’re not directly equivalent. Reception prob half way between pre-school
year and P1.

@Mboscodictiasaur Thank you very much. Made me feel lots better.

I was also worried about should we return to England I wondered if she would then go back a year to that school system and therefore finish school a year later.

Thank you!

The other posters are correct. I'm a teacher in Scotland. With a birthday in May your little one would start P1 in August this year. In Scotland eligibility for starting school runs from 1st March to end of February. However, any child who is not 5 by the time they start school is entitled to defer.
We don't have Reception. We start school in Primary 1 and it goes up until Primary 7, then on to secondary school. Prior to that, all children are entitled to funded hours at a nursery (school or private). I wouldn't worry that your daughter has already had some experience in school as children come in to P1 with all sorts of experiences and abilities.

Sorry everyone if my messages are all over the place. I have clicked reply to each individual question.

@Glasgowgin thank you very much. Really appreciate all of the info.

thank you!!

I'm not sure if reception is the same as Primary 1 (P1) or not but he would definitely start in P1, first year of school this august if he turns 5 in May.

Age 3&4 - Nursery, funded place (not compulsory but free so everyone goes). Doesn't necessarily have to be in a school nursery, you can also get funding through childminders, playgroups etc.
Age 5 - You go to school, Primary 1 if you turn 5 anytime after March you start that August (this has slightly changed in the last year but would not effect your son with a May birthday)

Not sure if this is helpful but below are the ages he would be in each school year
P1 - 5 years
P2 - 6
P3 - 7
P4 - 8
P5 - 9
P6 - 10
P7 - 11

Secondary school/academy - 12

Learning wise I think Reception is similar to P1 as it's when children start more formal learning, although still in a play based environment. But that is when we begin phonics, reading, writing, number etc. I wouldn't worry that your daughter has been exposed to that already as there will be a huge variation already in ability and the teacher will plan for and manage that. I've had P1s coming in who can read, know their times tables etc. But I've also had P1s who come in who can't dress themselves or hold a pencil. You just plan for the pupils you have.

@chocolatenutcase is half right, but typically Jan-Feb babies get deferred a year as they'd only have had one term in antipreschool and then their second preschool nursery year so if deferred they then get the full two years plus the term they started, either way they're 5 when they start P1 and leave at 17 with highers or 18 with advanced highers which are equivalent to A levels.

Long story short, the school is correct but you could always ask them to start in P2, taking the chance they'd defer a year if there were any problems. I don't think P1 would be a bad start, they'd be in the same boat as the rest of the children starting a new class and making new friends, plus it's mostly play based which is proven to be beneficial over formal learning for that age group.

@Jazzberryjam23

Thank goodness :) a teacher! Thank you very much. I have been trying to find a teacher to ask or I was going to send another email to the school.

Again, this has made me feel better thank you very much.

I would love to see the English schools versions of the wee age/primary school year that Broodywuz has in the post as would help with threads when people say my Year 5 child or Year 11 child to know the age. 🤣

@Broodywuz

Yes really helpful thank you!!!
I think ages 10/11 is the last year of Primary in England. However I read on the other post about school finishing sooner for secondary. Thanks so much.

I appreciate all responses.

I have kids in primary school in Scotland. Yours will turn 5 in May and start school (P1) in august. She wouldn't be right to start in P2 because she would be quite a bit younger than some of the kids in P2.

As it stands she will be older than my daughter who will also start p1 in august and that will be an advantage to her. And an advantage over the situation in England where she would be young for the year. Depending where you are living a lot of schools do 'learning through play' now in P1, which is a bit of a repeat of nursery with a bit more structure, but there's no harm in that.

@Jazzberryjam23
Thank you.

I know I just said this but I really appreciate all of the feedback.

If you don’t mind me asking when are the summer holidays the long break before returning in August?

Holidays depend on local council area but ours in South Lanarkshire, kids finish up on 26th June & return on 14th August.

@Lejuge28

Academic year is September around the second week of Sept until July

Reception 4-5

Year One 5-6

Year Two 6-7

Year Three 7-8

Year Four 8-9

Year Five 9-10

Year Six 10-11

No problem, I'm glad it's helpful.
Regarding holidays, each council area sets its own holidays. However, generally speaking, summer holidays are normally 6 weeks. Usually, we are off in July and the beginning of August. School usually resumes around mid-August.
If you know the area you are looking to move to, I would just google the council area name (e.g. City of Edinburgh, Aberdeenshire, East Lothian etc) and school term dates, and it will be online.

@Lejuge28

I’m not a teacher or anything :) but
also, Reception isn’t Compulsory here. You can just start school Year one but many children start Reception.

She will still do seven years in primary in Scotland but will be slightly older when she finishes. Obviously she had already done the reception year but I think that's just really what we have here in the pre school year in nursery.

Overall this is all a good thing for her, as I say she will be older versus younger in the year and will also have done an extra year in school with the reception year. So she will have an advantage if anything.

The summer holidays are hard to get used to (I'm not Scottish myself), I've been here for years and still feel like they are going back in the middle of summer!