about summer born children and school

[chilled7up]

My DS a summer born (July). He is 3 and due to start Reception next year. I know that one year will make a massive difference in his development, but I feel he'll be too young and immature for school. I worry that a bad start will damage his confidence on the long run.

I'm I being unreasonable to think that parents should have a choice and should be able to decide whether a child should start school a year later? I know we can defer reception and go straight to year one, but that won't make any difference, just delay the problem.

Has he just turned 3? My dd June born and I was a bit worried but have found this additional year made huge difference to her. Plus reception teachers used to dealing with kids of different ages so I am more relaxed about her going into reception.

YABU because most parents would defer and your DS would be older but so would the other children so the problem would still be there.

Watching with interest as DS1 was born last June and DS2 is due in 8 days' time!

DH is quite concerned about this too, despite the fact that he is a July baby and never had any problems (top of his class all through in fact). I don't know about his early stages with factors of immaturity etc though.

I am a bit more sanguine because of my own schooling; I am a November baby, but went to school overseas. When my parents turned up with me for the reception year at 4yrs 10mo, the teachers said I was 'too tall' for the class (!!) and since I could already read they put me into Year 1 immediately - so I was a year behind my classmates IYSWIM. None of my reports ever indicated problems with settling in or handling the work and I don't remember ever feeling overwhelmed (mind you I was barely 5)!!

We also have friends whose 3 kids were all August-born and apparently the older 2 (who have both started school now) have had no probs either.

I do get what you're saying though - delaying the problem is not in itself a solution!

Dnephew is late August, just finished reception.

He read his whole school book to my bump when we visited a couple of weeks ago and has a string of dates for parties and friends to tea.

July is unlikely to be the youngest!

There is a huge jump in progress between 3 & 4. I'm sure you DC will cope my DS is a summer baby and more than ready but I'm also less concerned after seeing progress of my sister through school. DSis was born right at the end of august and was a tiny thing - everybody was convinced school would be terribly difficult for her.... It wasn't half as bad as everyone feared and actually on the whole she did really well (straight A student, good socially) it just took her a wee bit longer to settle than the older ones.

dd is late August born. I can see some merit in this, but where would you draw the line? There will always be children who are nearly a year younger than the others.

I think it might be better if everyone started school a year later. I think we start very early in this country.

DS is 7 next week so like your DS was a one of the youngest in his class when he started school a couple of years ago. I, like you, was worried (especially as we moved after the first term and he had to change school). He was very behind initially and I was concerned but the support from the teachers has been brilliant. They are very aware of the "summer born" DCs and have plenty of strategies in place to assist them.

DS has just done his sats and while he may not be top of the class his progress and subsequent results are very impressive. My DD a Feb baby is academically more able than DS but her confidence and determination is not as good as DS's.

I am sure your DS will be fine and remember reception is a lot about the social side of schooling and learning how to be in a group situation. They will bring him on gently and with support from home he will get there. If you are able to volunteering in his class (maybe to listen to reading) will teach you lots of tips to help him at home and also help you get to know his teacher

Thank you for the reassuring posts with success stories

alti home education is not a choice for everyone. Some people can't afford not to work.

My son was born 30th August and also had speech delay when he started reception. I was sooo worried about him starting so young, but he was absolutely fine, the school worked really hard at getting his speech on track and he is just finishing year 2 with above average attainment in all subjects. Reception is really a lot of playing, I used to ask him what he had done at school and he would say 'we played on the bikes and then we played with sand and then we played games and then we had lunchtime!'

It's really tricky as there has to a cut off somewhere and someone is always going to be the youngest. If all July/August babies deffered it would just shuffle the pile iykwim.
That said I'm an August baby and my sis is November and my mum said she did see a difference in the first year of our schooling my sis ways desperate to get to school and was ready before she went whereas I caught up while there. Hasn't done me any harm in the long run though, I still went to uni and got a degree etc.
I think hard as it is for the younger ones and their parents there isn't really another way, however you spilt it you will always have a youngest and oldest child ina class

Dd has her birthday at the end of July and was one of the youngest in her class, she is moving on to year 2 in Sept and hasn't struggled at all, she very much keeps up with her peers.

We actually found being with older kids brought her on better. I wouldn't worry too much!

Watching this with interest as I am due on 29th Aug, so my dc will defo be the youngest in the class. :(

There was an article in the Guardian a while back about the problems younger children face. It cited a lot of stats like how few august birthdays there were in the 'successful' occupations and professional spheres. Compared to those of other months.

I also can't understand why children start school so young in this country.

This time last year I would have said YANBU. I have a June baby who will finish preschool this week & this time last year I was seriously considering keeping him in a preschool setting until he was 5 (you are permitted to do this) because I felt he was quite far behind his peers.

I cannot believe the difference a year has made. He has come on leaps & bounds and seems to achieve things he struggled with in no time; one day it's an issue, the next is fine. For instance a fortnight ago he was struggling recognise letters written down, couldn't write his name etc, now he's making huge strides forward. He's had settling in sessions at his primary school & loved them, pushed me out the door to leave him. He's not the youngest by far, from discussions with other mums there are at least two August babies in his class.

Until recently they did a half year intake in January for children born after March/April but it was scrapped. I'm sure I read something about teachers feeling it didn't have that much of an impact. I did a fair bit of research & found out the majority of their learning in reception is play based anyway like a slightly more structured version of preschool.

I don't know if it will help but I'm a July baby and was among the top of my class by the time I was 6.

YANBU.

My boy was born at the very end of August, he was only a few days past his fourth birthday when he started school. We didn't have to send him, but the alternative was to wait a year and send him straight into year 1. He would still have been the youngest in the class, but would have missed Reception completely - I'm not sure that would have helped!

I would have liked the option to wait a year and send him to Reception then, so he was with the younger children rather than the older ones.

However it's worked out OK, as he is in a village school with a split year 1 - he has spent this year in Reception/Year 1 so has effectively done two years in Reception. He is still a bit behind academically, although I think he'll get there. Socially he's fine.

I now know why everyone was telling me not to give birth until September. As if there was anything I could do about it!

dd1 was born at the end of August, she has friends who were born just a couple of week after her but are a whole school year behind. Starting school was the making of her, improved her confidence and independence.

I agree chilled I started school at 5 and when i remember thinking the other children were quite 'behind' me. I had never even been to nursery and am an only child so had learned everything at my own pace - I would read to dad from the newspaper etc.

I think if i'd have gone earlier i would have been too distracted by the environment.

i'm work part-time as a primary school teacher and teach a year 2 class and a year 3 class. i don't have a lot of experience with foundation stage children i will admit but i know that my colleagues are aware that there is generally a difference between winter and summer babies, however, as all children develop differently, this isn't always the case anyway. i find by the time they get to year 2 it doesn't make much of a difference (the highest attaining child in my yr 2 class before i went on maternity leave had a late june birthday).
don't worry yourself about it, i can guarantee that the teachers will have looked closely at the ages of the children in the class and are prepared. even if there is a difference at first, this won't always be the case.

My eldest is a late july birthday so started school at just 4 +1 month (and was a 36 weeker so due late august). I know kids are individuals etc but she was fine. Loved it from day 1 (as I've said before I WAS the mum dragging a tantrumming child OUT of school at lunchtime when she wanted to stall all day!).

Academically she'd have been really adversely affected by a late start- being with kids older than her was great. She was /is able and socially mature.

If you hold a young for year child back and don't sent them at 4+ they have to go straight to yr 1 where they will be disadvantaged by being younger AND not having a reception year under their belt.

Oh and incidentally in Scotland the system is different again. The cut off is February and they do 2 years of preschool rather than one. Their higher/further education system is also different meaning you can go to university having done 5 highers (equivalent to our AS levels) & their degree courses are 4 years. My best friend is Scottish with a birthday in late February and went to university having just done highers. She was 16 when she started university, 20 when she graduated, 22 when she completed her masters & qualified. She now works in the NHS as the youngest senior in her field in the country!

Yanbu, I think those 6+ months make a massive difference.

My DS2 is exactly a year older than yours and due to start this sept. A year ago I was worried as you are, but am much less so now. He has matured in many ways and I think he'll be OK.

I wouldn't want to delay him starting. He needs to be there when the other children get to know each other and settle down. If he becomes truly exhausted I might sign him off sick for a couple of days, but I'd rather avoid this too, and just plan not to do too much after school, activities - wise.

My ds is 3 in aug (20th) and starts nursery in September so he'll only just be 3. He also has a speech delay and after waiting over 9 months has just had his assessment session. I am really worried about how he'll cope at nursery but I don't think I'd gain anything keeping him at home, he'll have to go to school the next year anyway and as the nursery is attached to the school the friends he makes will be the ones he'll be going to school with.

I have 2 other DCs who were born July & August and they have coped wonderfully.