To ask if you did / will you defer your summerborn child?

[Chillisauceboss]

I feel hugely passionate about deferring my summerborn child - research led / emotion led and I just think they have so many years in education / work life that they should have another year 'at home' (nursery play based informal learning)
But... most people around me think I'm absolutely barmy to consider going against the norm.
What did you do / plan to do?!

To add - no SEN I'm discussing just summerborn as a criteria

I think it depends on the child. My DD is a summer baby and was definitely ready to go to school aged just 4. If she hasn't been I might have considered it but tbh it might have been a case of needs must as a single mum with massive childcare bills

DS was born in July, should have been an August baby (premature). We will absolutely be deferring him, and have already spoken to his future headteacher and secured agreement (he's only 2).

I did not defer my daughter, she was raring to go. I knew she was and was led by her, not by my own personal emotions.

@HavelockVetinari have you had many people look at you like you're crazy?!

It wasn’t an option for my child at the time but if it had been I would have deferred him without question.

@Freddiefox such a shame it wasn't an option. What negatives did you see sending at just turned 4?

Did not defer my end of July dd. She was totally ready aged just 4 and is doing better than my older winter born dd was at this age.

@Wearywithteens thanks for the tip, I'm as clued up as I can be on the process so fingers crossed

I think you know your child best but just to make you aware I had a child at my school do this (June birthday, no SEN) and whilst the school agreed he could go a year later if parents reapplied in the meantime they became an academy and would no longer allow him to enter Reception.

Another issue was even though the parents had made an informed choice at the time when it came to this summer and accepting a school place they were told by the LA he would either need to skip reception or year 7 to catch up with his age group. The idea of him going through primary school and then leaving his peer group to jump into year 8 wasn’t great so they decided to skip Reception which is obviously a crucial year particularly in phonics and early reading/writing.

A few have questioned why we've decided that already - I just point them to the stats, which speak for themselves. Premature, summer born, boy, bilingual - it's not rocket science that holding him back is better for him.

No. My daughter is born 30th August, she’s in the higher levels for reading and spelling. There is no need to if they are ready.

Yes I’m going to. She was born a month early which put her into a different year group, so I’m planning a CSA start in reception. It’s something I feel very strongly about. I don’t think most people understand why I’m doing it but as a teacher I’m pretty confident in my decision.

My smallest was born on the 24th August, his friend was born on the 1st September , the day my son started school his friend started nursery.

I didn't defer him but I wish I had. He has autism and is well behind his classmates.

I'm so glad this wasn't an option when my late summer born was starting school as I think I would have felt a bit pressured into deferring and I cannot imagine him in the year below now. Plus if it had been an option and I hadn't deferred he could have been the youngest by 16 months rather than just 12.

It never occurred to me. I’m not from the UK, though my summerborn child is at school here, and nowhere else I’ve ever lived has had the obsession of this country with the extent to which the youngest children in the school year are disadvantaged. I mean, people recognise that older children in a school year have advantages, but they don’t see it as an emergency or something hugely problematic.

My birthday is at the end of July and I have two August-born siblings, and we always did well academically. My July-born child is the second youngest in his class, but just had a stonking parents’ evening report.

But you know your child best.

Yes I did. Best decision I ever made. My child was still sleeping 3 hours in the day at just 4. At just 5 she was ready and is now thriving. She is just a few days older than her peers, she fits right in. I literally cannot imagine her in the class above.

You can’t possibly know that at 2. Stats mean nothing. Mine is end of August, 9 weeks premature.

Did it, had a massive fight with the local authority to get reception start. Worth every minute and grey hair.. Was talking to the headteacher just before summer and she was saying how worth it is. Join the Flexible Admissions for Summerborns group on Facebook if you haven't already for help and advice. No one can tell from looking at my child that he's 12 days tyo old for his year group - it's irrelevant to other people now he's there.

I deferred and it was absolutely the right decision for my ds, who has just turned 4. And I'm a teacher in an infant school.

I really wanted to with my third child, but he was having none of it.

I'm a montessori teacher, do you have access to a montessori school in your area?

Mine was mid-August and should have been late-September. It wasn't an option to defer back then, but had she needed it I would have been pushing for it, on the grounds that developmentally we were told to work from the due date. However, she was absolutely ready to start at just turned 4, and I think she needed the new interest that school provided. So make sure you decide on the basis of your child, nothing else.

We have for our august DS as we felt he wasn't ready.

So he'll go into reception next year with the following cohort. Our LA have assured us he will remain with that cohort throughout his school years.

We had some people disagree with us, but the majority agreed that we are best placed to make the decision based on our son's best interests.

It did help with some to cite the example of my husband (DS' father) who grew up outside of the UK, went to school when he was 6, nearly 7, and went on to achieve high academic results, including a PhD.

It’s a hard one isn’t it? My first two DC are winter babies, so pretty much half way in the age range. Then dc3 is a July baby, and I felt so sad that she was starting school at only just 4 years old... but she was soo ready for it, as in looking forward to it, and being prepared for it.

She was very tired, and not keen on friends coming over to play for most of Reception and Year 1, which would have worried me if she wasn’t dc3 but dc1 is a quiet introvert and DC2 was a social butterfly at primary and I figured she was more like dc1. But she has always been happy, keen to go, thrived, and her teachers have always been pleased.

DC3 is now in y3, and she’s absolutely fine. Exceeding targets, etc, but more importantly very happy and increasingly confident. I see how ‘young’ she seems compared to a couple of the September birthday Queen Bees and my heart does ache a little, but she is blissfully unaware.

I think it is a case by case thing: you know your own child, you will have the best idea of how they will cope. What does their current nursery/ preschool day? Do they have a view?