Scottish primary school deferring

[Pumpkinseason3]

Hoping I might catch some of you on here for your opinions if you have experience either through being a parent or a teacher!

If you teach, do you see any benefit in deferring? As parents, do you regret deferring your child or are you glad you did? Any main factors to consider when making the choice?

Im 80% sure I’ve made my choice for DD but would like to hear some opinions if I may?

@SnoopysHoose I don’t mean that to sound argumentative btw - I appreciate all the different inputs 😊

Herein lies the problem though. Everyone deferring in august/September means other people panic about age. The old jan/feb deferrals are a happy medium for this.

But I do fear it’s an attempt to influence numeracy and literacy rates..

My niece would have been at school if in England but being Scottish she's not, she is so ready for school and bored at nursery

I've been a teacher in Nurseries and now in P1 Scotland. Absolutely 100% for deferrals. There is no benefit or merit in early school.
The change from previously age related deferrals ( Jan/ Feb) has confused some parents. Not sure what the issue is .
The advice I would give is rarely about the immediate entry to P1. It's about the next possible 16 years of education and the related social and emotional transitions and milestones included in that. It's never really about are they academic enough to start P 1. Any child can start P1 and if you aren't worried about giving more time beforehand for readiness to learn then crack on into P1.
It's much more complex.
I deferred my Dec child 20 years . She was a first born daughter ( academic, organised, mini teacher, big sister etc.) but I don't regret that.

My younger one is November and not deferred. He's bigger and taller than most of his class despite them being older than him. He's been in a P2/1 composite both school years and was above average height of the full class in P1, now one of the tallest.

My older one is August and did reception in England before moving up for P1. Academically she's really the year above her proper year (been in composites until now) but socially much more on the fence, especially at top end of primary, largely in interests plus what we let her see...

Scottish schools seem better than English schools about differentiating work so being academically but not socially ready is less of a problem than it would be in England assuming a good nursery!

Both have quite dominant personalities, so neither would be great as the "oldest".

To an extent I'd look at who their friends are in nursery - if 75%+ of their friends are moving on then they're more likely to prefer school (assuming no other issues) but if they mostly play with the younger children not going up this would push me towards deferring. Obviously easier in a catchment nursery leading to 1 school rather than a less linked nursery.

My sister was not deferred and my mom always regretted it.

I deferred my DS and have never regretted it.

It was a total no brainer for me. Why put your child at a disadvantage right from the start.

Thank you all 😊

@Ghostofallnightmares This is where most of my thoughts lie tbh! It’s not really about now, it’s about potentially being over a year younger than those she sits exams alongside or still being 17 heading off to university if she chooses that route etc.

@Randomsabreur Friends are definitely also a consideration. 2 closest peers are spring birthdays and will be starting in August but will both be attending our local catholic primary rather than the non-denominational that DD will be attending. So there will be a split from them anyway