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!

DS needed that time. It's only in the last few years that it appears he needs OT input too, so I have referred him over. Possibly dyspraxic, really struggles a lot with coordination, and processing things like the steps of completing a task can be a real challenge. Without that extra year in the formative years I would dread to think how stressful it would have been for him.

I dont live in Scotland but we have extended family up there. I’m not familiar with the way the differing works at all and I was wondering if it’s only 4 year old who can be deferred? So if the child is say 5 years and 3 months with no behaviour issues or challenges and is not ND, but the parents are insisting on wanting to wait another year, would that be allowed? For reference yes I think this would be bonkers but I’m not getting into a debate with them
on this I just wondered if it’s even possible?

@Avocadot0ast if a child is delayed in some way through maybe illness or special needs then you can deferr but its probably rare., and on a child by child basis.

Oh I meant to say my friends Dd1 missed the cut off by 1 day and went to a small nursery then primary so was allowed to start school early and she was 5.

My brother was born in December and my sister in February. My parents chose not to defer my sister’s entry to school and my sister managed absolutely fine at school. My brother was born after the Christmas holidays had started and so deferment was also an option for him and so my parents chose to defer my brother’s entry to school. He was definitely middle of the road academically but passed all his exams. He was born in 1990 though and there were boys in his year who were born in February 1992. Going out was harder as some of his friends were not old enough to go out for over a year after he could.

@Avocadot0ast it's only children still 4 who can be automatically deferred by parental choice.
I would imagine for a child older than that they would need the support of nursery professionals that there was SN requiring school deferral

I have a Dec birthday at the other end of the school journey and I can't imagine him being a year below. Yes when he goes to University he won't be 18 for the first few months but other than that he would be too mature for classmates a year below. I think we just need to accept that some children are not born at the optimum time for school entry and that's life. I also wonder how this popularity for deferral will increase the attainment gap with disadvantaged children starting at 4 and more affluent children starting at nearer to 6.

We're in this same boat. Our wee boy is 5 at the beginning of October. Academically and socially but emotionally not so. He can't sit still nor listen to and follow instructions. All the research you can find screams defer due to the research behind it all and how it gets them better prepared for their future - exams at an older age is always a benefit too (I'm a secondary teacher). Swedish schools don't start until 7!

My concern is that my wee boys been going to the P1 transition days etc and is really excited and it only came to light 3 weeks ago through nursery that a deferral may be on the cards which in my opinion they've left that far too late!

I'm swaying to deferral and I know he won't be the oldest in the class - there's 2 I know of with August and September birthdays who are being deferred until next year.

Being older isn't a bad thing. Being really ready is better. They'll be in a uniform for potentially 12 yrs remember...

Honestly deferring an October child should not be taken lightly.

You need to look for the thread around November 23 with the parents who's 5 yo was bored in nursery and they were looking to try and get their kid into school.

Read here

It’s such a hard position to be in! We’ve spoken with nursery & they recommended deferring, they don’t feel he’d cope this year socially and I am inclined to agree with them so we’re going with their advice. Terrible yours have left it til now to discuss with you! Four others in his group with Sept-Dec birthdays are deferring so he won’t be the oldest one moving up next year, and the nursery are really good at adapting their activities to age groups so I’m not worried he’ll get bored. DS has also had a lot of upheaval due to multiple house / nursery moves since he was born, he’s just getting settled and finding his feet so we don’t want to move him again too soon and undo all the positive progress we’ve made.

I think all any of us can do is make the decision that’s best for our individual child, but I think the problem is that as parents, we’ll always worry we’ve made the wrong choice! I do feel much better with our decision to defer now though. Good luck with whatever you decide! X

Both my sons have November birthdays and I deferred both. No regrets at all. They weren’t bored at nursery as the teachers there were able to do extra/harder games/tasks with them to keep them engaged. They have always absolutely thrived.

It’s been most noticeable at high school that the extra year has been good for them. That little bit more maturity when making choices, doing exams, friendships, etc

If you were in England, that would mean he would be 9mths older than a child starting school here ( excluding those who defer).

I’m not in England though?

Do it. I didn't although my son is a February birthday and regretted it. He changed schools in high school and repeated a year then, he wasn't struggling but it made a huge difference to him in choosing subjects etc. He went to uni, came out with a first and is now in a very high paying job.

Children start here younger than they start in countries in Europe, in Europe they tend to advance more quickly as they're more ready and able to learn. You won't regret it.

Deferred our eldest last year who will turn 6 this October. In our authority they call it the 'bonus year' Best decision we could have made as he's now more than ready for school and sailing through the transitions. He has started reading and writing this year at nursery so an extra year of play hasn't hindered him academically at all. He is now emotionally mature enough for school which he wouldn't have been last year. Highly recommend deferral to anyone who has the opportunity.

We were in the same position last year OP and like you found it a difficult decision but felt a huge sense of relief once it was made.

LO is also October born and we deferred. I think it’s difficult to explain to people with older kids as deferral simply wasn’t an option for this age a few years ago. Our nursery (attached to the primary school) recommended deferral for all the eligible kids after the rules changed last year, and after researching benefits of later school starts and looking at other European countries, it seemed to make sense. She has loved her extra year at nursery and there are a large group of deferred kids so she has plenty peers her own age.

For us it wasn’t just about the age starting school, but also the benefits of being a little older when it gets to the time for moving to secondary school, choosing subjects etc. She is now getting ready to start school after the summer and no regrets here. The majority of parents in the year below here have made the same decision so there aren’t really bigger age gaps than there would have been in the past.

I deferred my Jan-born, but not my Nov- born. No regrets either way. One practical thing to bear in mind is that most sports clubs we've been involved in seem to classify kids in calendar years. So Jan / Feb deferrals are able to play in a team with the rest of their classmates, but older deferrals haven't been eligible to. Might not seem like a huge deal but I think for some boys in particular, sport can actually form quite a big part of their social life. I wouldn't have liked either of mine too miss out on that.

So it would be the equivalent of deferring a March-born child in the English system? I'm a massive believer in the benefits of deferral for summer borns and timed my own child to be an Autumn baby for that reason, but I wouldn’t defer a middle of the age range child.

@ClonedSquare yes the school year runs Mar-Feb so October is practically the middle of the year.

Until recently Sept-Dec babies could defer but weren't guaranteed nursery funding without good reason.
Jan-Feb babies would get funding regardless.

Now half the year can defer but I'm not convinced it's going to help anyone. And they want to have play based learning until P3 they'll end up with kids barely starting school at near 6 and still play based learning at 9!

It goes back to closing the attainment gap. More than one way to do it, bring the bottom up or the top down.

Do we honestly think this is going to push the bottom kids up?

Sorry from the rant but I hate to see what SNP are doing to Scottish Education System.

Mine both deferred (Jan / Feb birthdays). I have had no regrets, I would say that my oldest who is in P7 has got a bit bored with primary over the past 6 months, but I don't think he would have been ready for secondary a year ago.

The other thing to consider is if they don't defer they will only be 17 when they finish S6.

@DreamLengths there's a difference between deferring Jan / Feb kids and October kids.

October kids will be nearly 13 at the start of 1st year 16 at the start of 4th year. Able to leave school without sitting a single exam!

18 in 6th year getting pished at the weekend, school tie on for Monday driving to school.

Yes, my Sep born DD will be 13 in S1 just 3 weeks after term begins. She will be 18 and a half leaving S6.

She's currently at the end of P6 and no where near socially and emotionally ready for secondary school. She is predicted 3rd Level achieved for Writing by end P7 so she clearly would've coped with the curriculum.

I have a December born in the days when you could only defer Jan/feb. He’s now going into S6 and overall definitely think he’s better in the year he’s in. A bit frustrated by not being able to start driving yet and he’ll take a year out before uni, but socially and academically he’s been fine.

I think the sports thing is something to be aware of- he’s played rugby and football, and being ‘out of year’ esp in football would be an issue- eg he was in the 2007 team with his classmates but if he’d been deferred he wouldn’t have been allowed to play in the 2008 team with that year group as far as I know. They may change that though if deferral becomes more routine. In rugby it’s your age on the 1st September that matters eg for under 14/15/16/18 teams.

I live in Scotland so know the system. TBH I can see why Jan/Feb babies are deferred, maybe Dec at a push, but unless there are developmental/learning issues I struggle to see how folk can justify anything earlier than December tbh. October birthdayis fine - DC is had birthdays ranging from previous Dec to the Feb after in his year - the older ones didn't really do any better because there's so much more to it!