To ask any teachers this question please

[Desperatetobeamummyonedaysoon]

Do you believe summer born children.. particularly aug born are at a disadvantage or do you believe it's not an issue.. as in they are all in a class and taught the same and irrespective of age they are either "academic" or not and will do well (or not) irrespective of age. I.e it depends more on of they are academic or not, not their age?

I have an aug born boy and i think hes fairly bright/ average but compared to his peers..not so nuch!

Also what about socially? He seems youngs for his year group... which he is! I worry he will get easily led when hes older? Hes only 6 at the mo lol!

I teach Reception. I have the March to August birthdays in my class. Yes, some summer born do take a while to catch up. I've read that it can take boys in particular to year 5 to start showing their true potential. DS 1 is end of July and has coped well since his first day in nursery. DS 2 is August 27th. He needed lots of play and practical activities In the early days to develop his gross then fine motor skills. His concentration also took a while to match some of his peers. He is now in Y5 and it seems to be less of an issue. All children are different I guess.

Secondary school English teacher here.
It makes not a jot of difference when talking about GCSE and A Levels. The biggest factor by far is family/home environment - that makes a much bigger impact than birth month, as do a plethora of other factors.
Also both my kids are August babies!

OTOH September born can be at more of a disadvantage as people expect a lot more of them.

Yes it makes a difference. There is loads of research which supports this. Of course there are always exceptions but if you are a September born you have almost 20% more life experience on entry than an August born in the same class. Those September born children were probably already walking when their August born classmates were brand new newborns.

I have a July born girl. Academically she is totally capable (fwiw she is y2 now & greater depth across the board, she exceeded all early years learning goals in reception) and was on starting school. However I KNOW she would have done even better had she started school the following year. We decided not to delay entry for a range of reasons but I absolutely considered it. Now my April born boy has started school I watch him enjoying school in a way his big sister just wasn’t ready for.

As for the ‘someone has to be the youngest’ argument...yes, they do, but children start school far too young in this country anyway. If it became normal for summer borns to delay entry as in other countries the benefit would be all children would be starting school between 4.5 and 5.5, instead of 5 and only just 4. Especially now early expectations are SO high (too high, not so much in reception but in year 1 especially children are now expected to do things they really aren’t developmentally ready for) this would benefit all children in the class as you would have fewer children needing such extensive support.

It works in other countries like Scotland and Australia, we shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss it.

I have taught summer born children who are top of the class.

I have also taught September born children who were the least able in the class.

Depends completely on the child.

It matters more for boys ime. Younger girls seem to be able to get on the treadmill more quickly than boys. I think it's because they're better at mimicking more mature behaviour.

I teach year one and there is a differenvery. You notice the difference less as they get older.

In secondaries, I have noticed a bias in low ability and "difficult" classes towards summer term births June-August.

If there is any other kind of disadvantage going on, those fewer extra months to mature put children on to "catch up" from the start. Some of that can be self-fulfilling if their confidence is low. Some of that is more gap of experience and skill than they can close up with time. These are children doing SATs at 6 & 10, GCSEs at 15 and A-Levels at 17.

Bright and well supported children will do well regardless of when they fall within a school year.

One of my children has an autumn term birthday and I'm glad he was nearly 5 before he started school as it gave extra months of speech therapy. Reading didn't really click until 6.5 well into y1... a summer birthday would have put him into y2. It's not that summer birthdays cause problems, it just means less time to mature and catch up if issues are present.

My summer born DD couldn’t read when she started reception unlike a lot of her school friends. By the beginning of year 1 she was on the top table for reading and still is in year 5 (and quietly despairs at the crappy books her peers enjoy).

Reception was fine but year 1 was a write off thanks to a really stupid teacher who told me that DD just “didn’t get it” (maths) and was one of those people who would never be able to do joined up writing. She’s now good at maths and has the loveliest handwriting, which everyone comments on. She just needed a teacher who could adapt their teaching style to her age (or to put it simply a teacher who could teach!)

All this to say, forget the stats, support you DS at home (no-one else will) and ....read to him. Facts, fiction, read, read, read. It is the key to everything.

Listen to teachers but make your own opinions, push, challenge and make sure they’re aware he’s summer born.

To add to this, as a secondary school teacher, what I’ve noticed every year across the classes, is that i may have 1 or 2 max children in the bottom set who are not pupil premium, and 1 or 2 max in the top set who are pupil premium.

There are other factors in play beyond when they're born. Although I did ensure I didn't have summer babies!

Spaniel - yes, you defer for the whole of their educational life. You have to reapply for that deferral in year 5, but it’s decided in the best interests of the child, and no school/ MAT/LA is going to say it is in the best interests if a child to skip a year of school. It’s a formality.

So they are in school for the same time, just starting the process at 5 plus a couple of days, rather than 4. It’s a total no brainer.

Secondary teacher here. It does make a difference. I often find immature boys turn out to be summer born. If you want them to start school later you need to discuss with pre school before they start.

Statistically there is a grade difference between Sept born girls and aug born boys at gcse level.
So it hasnt evened out.

I think the issue is if you have a relatively immature child who is then 12m younger. Apparently adhd children may be only 2/3 of their age.

It is sad to say that of my 2 summer born dc the less bright? One may actually have done better in their correct year as my bright one is just too sensitive and difficult she needed to be one of the eldest.
I think energy levels make a huge difference schools are so full on .
Dance/gymnastics playtime sitting down to learn.
I think all the setting doesnt help the youngest as they can get further behind.

Dd1 was affected socially at primary school. It affected her confidence and social standing. I know she would have been better off staying in nursery another year.

The set up of my primary schooling in the 70s would have suited her better.
You didn't start til the term you turned 5 and you were in a class with others who turned 5 that term, so less variation within a class. (3 form entry.) Dd was in a 2 form entry school but mixed with Sept- Aug births. I'd have preferred the 2 classes to be split by age.
We played every afternoon throughout KS1 but dd didn't play in lesson time after Reception and she found it hard, although she didn't struggle academically. Classes were remixed in Juniors for me, but never for dd1. So she couldn't start afresh socially when she'd matured a bit. Playing every afternoon in ks1 can't have done us any harm as a couple from my class ended up at Oxbridge.
Seems like things were better set up for summer borns in the 70s!

If you posted this question on an Irish parenting website you would get almost universally opposite replies to the ones on here.

Where I live, the trend is to send as late as possible. While you can enrol a child age 4 by end of June, it is very common to wait till 5 if your child is born after Feb/March.

Commonly people would say you don't notice much in primary but it makes a big difference in secondary.

I think they changed to 4.0yo brcause by april they were already behind and going into a formed class. But 4.0 is just too young for many.
But also sept have 2 terms of preschool more and march 1 extra. So they may have already formed more bonds with school friends before even starting.

It's odd to think these preschoolers will start yr r at 5.0 so older than 2/12 end yr r. And 3/12 probably when they get assesed at end of eyfs.

What I always find amazing is the difference between August born children in one year group and September children in the year below. These children are only a month apart in age yet I can rarely imagine them fitting into the other year group at all. The August child tends to be not only socially and emotionally older but physically bigger and older looking. It's like children develop along with their peers and stay within certain limits.

I don't think that observation applies academically though. Academic progress just depends on the ability and application of the individuals.

I only teach children from age 7 upwards so don't see the stark differences between Sept and Aug of the same year group in the same way that EYFS teachers would.

I have a June born DS. I briefly considered delaying entry. A momentary consideration. The thing is, he is bright. He is eager to learn and please. He is the kid at toddler group activities that the leaders say "gosh, isn't he so ready for school". Yes, he is. I know he is. He attends preschool 3 full days a week, and those days are his best days ever.
His recent parents evening was a delight, he was described as social, emotionally mature, they had seen real empathy from him when it is unsual in children of that age (he offered a crying child his toy because they had lost their own).
I have zero qualms about him starting this September.

Now. My other son... he is November born, and is autistic and has adhd. He was barely ready for school when he did go. He is 6 now and still isn't truly ready although he loves school. Had he been my summer born, I would have 100% deferred his start, and I know his school would have supported this.

What it boils down to is, you know your child. You will know if they are ready.

I'm a primary teacher and I've always had this asked of me. I think in the early years yes, it does make a difference. Especially emotionally. My own belief is that children start school way too young in the UK. I kept my own August-born son at home with me and he didn't start ft school until he turned five.
Having said that, said son took tests in Year 6 for a partially selective secondary and gained top 5% of all applicants. Last week I was informed he was in the top 15 for academic performance in his year group at his new secondary.
So proof that summer-borns can and do achieve!
I have also had questions asked re background and financial background etc re achievement and impact of this on achievement. My response again to that is my own son has had separated parents since the age of 6 (a very nasty divorce) and lives half of the time with me and his younger brother in a tiny two-bed.
I hope my son just goes to show that with apparently even the "odds stacked against you" children can absolutely achieve regardless 😊

My dd is almost 8 and in year 3.
There are 2 top tables of 4 children, 6 girls and 2 boys.
The 2 boys are the youngest in the class.

Of the 6 girls, it's an even split.
3 of them are September-December born and the other 3 ( including my dd ) are February-May born.

I can certainly tell in my class (Y1) who the youngest are. In mine it’s the girls who seem particularly young but I think that’s just coincidental. They seem to find the change from Early Years to National Curriculum a big jump and spend a lot of the time saying they don’t want to do any work! I’m hoping the gap will close a bit by the end of the year though.

Summer born ds. Ahead of all others going into reception- already reading etc. More mature etc. More able in literacy and numeracy. By year 3 he was still top, but many children were catching up, by end of 6 there was a group of 5 of them at the top. Throughout high school he was always in set 1, but middle of the set. A&B’s in his GCSE’s, and B’s in his A Levels. Being summer born made no difference.

@spanieleyes

No, that argument doesn't make sense at all. By deferring, the August child will start school days or weeks after turning 5. There will be children who turn 5 days into September in the same class. They would be 11 going into year 6, 12 going into year 7...so the appropriate age going into each year group.