Deferring primary in Scotland

[hownowpurplecow]

Posting here as the Scotland boards are quiet. Just looking for some opinions really. DS1 is a late October birthday, we have the option to defer him starting P1 under the rules in Scotland brought in last year. My husband is very pro deferral, sees it as no disadvantage and lets DS have an extra year of play. I’m less sure, he’s bright, no developmental concerns, would turn 5 11 weeks after starting school so not youngest in the year. Most people I’ve spoken to say nobody regrets deferring but I still can’t shake my uncertainty? I don’t want to academically disadvantage him by sending him too soon, but I worry he could be socially disadvantaged as he gets older as he could potentially be a full year older than other kids in his year which would be more noticeable if he turned 13 in a class with 11 year olds? It would be much easier if they hadn’t brought in the new rules for deferring so I didn’t even have to think about it!

I work in early years and we advise deferral on an individual basis depending on each child.

we have 2 children who have September and October birthdays who have been deferred and behaviour has escalated this year, I think boredom of nursery sets in, I feel that unless it’s a 1-1 basis then these children aren’t being challenged and they get a bit bored of nursery , the routine etc which affects their behaviour . It’s so hard to devote 1-1 attention to challenge these children when you are also working with just turned 3 yr olds.

i can understand deferral for Jan and feb birthdays and some Dec birthdays but any older and I’d put them in school.

I can understand why it might seem attractive and only you know you're own child. But both of my ds's would have been bored out of their tiny minds if they didn't start until 5yrs 9months. They were both 4 nearly 5 in P1.

P1 - P3 is now entirely play based (in my council anyway) and my very bright, capable, sociable child struggled with that format. Especially after private nursery since he was 1. He was ready for more challenge and just wasn't getting enough from school. They didn't have desks until P4! The lack of structure just meant he was quite bored a lot of the time. Another year of that would not have been beneficial to him.

I'd think carefully, as he might find it difficult to be lumped in with 4.5yr olds when he starts school, depending on his nature and ability. Deferrals can be great for some children but I don't think it should be the default.

Are you likely to move back to England while they’re school age? If you do, then you may want to consider the impact deferral may have if you transition education systems mid school years.

@Mrsjayy yes, there would be 8 of them with the youngest P3. It’s more going to high school. He would be going himself v going with a classmate.

My daughter is October as is her friend - we didn't have the option to defer when they were kids and they have been fine academically. However we've discovered that it can be a problem for certain uni courses - friend applied to dentistry and because she won't be 18 at the start of the course there are a lot of places in England she couldn't apply to. Same is true for medicine, I think, but my daughter applied to Scottish universities so it didn't apply. I think it would be better to be a bit older starting university tbh.

Ah that is forward thinking.

Deferring October borns is a new trend. It’s pushing the age range of children in a class to up to 18 months which seems crazy to me. Also separating the very old, usually middle class children from the very young, usually less advantaged children who weren’t deferred

i didn’t defer my January born as he was ready and I thought 4.5 was well old enough for school. He thrived. Now 13 and doing brilliantly

some children have to be the youngest. Deferring to give your children an advantage over their classmates (I know you didn’t say this OP, but some of the replies have) is abhorrent to me

I also think deferring sept/oct are ridiculous , it means there could potentially be some children who are 4.6 years old being taught alongside 5.11 year olds!

that’s a huge gap at that age.

at our early years centre I feel the parents did the deferment so they had another year of full time childcare rather than having to find school holidays as it certainly hasn’t benefitted their child.

My kids have October and November birthdays and I wouldn't have deferred them even if the option had been there as they were ready for school. In my experience only January and February birthdays deferred starting P1. Maybe some December born children could also benefit.

P1 is just playing really so I wouldn't defer of your kid is bright...at the other end he willl be very bored by high school...

I think your point on class is pretty valid too. Most people (not all) I know who have not deferred the fact they are struggling to afford childcare is a big factor

I think your point on class is pretty valid too. Most people (not all) I know who have not deferred the fact they are struggling to afford childcare is a big factor

I know it's done for freedom of choice to suit the individual child but I think there's going to be many parents agonising over this decision now. And as people are pointing out it can make for a wide age range in each year group with all the maturity issues that brings.

Don't know why they didn't just move the cut off point from February to end of, say, November.

Yes it would have made it easier. We would never have considered it if it wasn’t given as an option for all children, and I think on balance (and DH agrees), we will send him this year. I’ve asked nursery if he can join the settling in sessions at school and will call the school on Monday, luckily it’s a small village primary so spaces aren’t an issue. If he really struggles with the settling in sessions then we will revisit the idea of deferring, but as I said previously he’s changed so much in the last few months that I think he’ll do fine! It also means if we move back to England (not the plan but plans do change), he won’t be totally out of place with his year group. I think it’ll be interesting to see how the new rules pan out across Scotland over the next few years and whether more children from the October / November birthdays end up being deferred, and what impact that has on early years provision.

That sounds a sensible approach @hownowpurplecow
You've got to remember all the people saying no-one ever regrets deferring but plenty regret not deferring are talking about Jan/Feb born children

We've had a few children whom nursery have suggested defer, but the parents wouldn't hear of it - "I'm not having my child kept back etc etc" One was the most immature wee boy - the parents insisted he come to P1 but he honestly seemed like a toddler compared to the others.

We also had a family move up from England whose son had done reception but was very young for the school year. It was suggested that he start in P1 but the insisted he went into P2. By the time he got to P5 they asked if he could repeat the year as he was struggling with the work.

I deferred my Sep born DD1 long before the law change. She's now in P6 and it was the right decision. She is intellectually ready for S1 (predicted 3rd level writing next session) but not socially or emotionally.

It's the P7/S1 transition that P1 deferral is for. Pre-schoolers nearly always cope with the N/P1 transition but you have to look ahead.

There is also the S6/Uni transition. I was a Feb birthday not deferred so I chose a gap year to avoid being 17 in 1st year of Uni.

I think if you have doubts, defer. You know your child.
I did not defer my late Jan born DS1, and he did really well with absolutely no issue througout his school years, he was more than ready for school. He did well socially and academically.
Whereas my July born DS2 who was 8 months older than his brother when he started was not keen at all and did struggle in P1. All mostly good though from P2/3 onwards though.

DS1 only frustration came much later, his pals turning 18 up to a year before him and he could not join them at the pub!

Joking aside, every child is different, you know them best and if you don't feel they are ready then defer.

Unless there are ASN issues deferring a September child is ridiculous.

I deferred my Feb child and have had points when I wonder did we or didn't we do the right thing.
I think he was bored at the bottom end of primary but wouldn't sit still either.

One of mine is a Feb birthday, I didn't defer at some points through her school days I wish I had but other times it was fine.
They have a particular SEN that wasn't detected till p3 because they said oh she's young which was bloody frustrating she wasn't particular immature tbh she coasted along with her friends.that were older than her. Deciding.whether to deffer is a total headache.

My Dd had extra time for exams but got average to good grades , I'm not sure if we had kept her back the results would have been much different really.

I didn’t defer either of my kids (December & January birthdays) and never regretted it, although I will admit I had real issues with my kids nursery and was desperate to get them out. However I could have switched them to another nursery and would have done so if I had deferred, but ultimately think that option was necessary.

My friend, whose son is a December birthday, did defer him. He undoubtedly benefited from some extra time in nursery but by the end of the extra year he was bored and didn’t want to go. He was also the only kid who was deferred and he missed his friends. My friend hasn’t regretted it but she did spend a lot of time questioning her decision.

One of my four DC is September born and was deferred due to SaLT concerns. It did him the world of good.

I certainly think it makes sense if there are specific issues, that another year preschool will help.

But I don't think it's right for NT kids to end up with 18 months in a year group and who know what sort of age range in a composite class.