To ask to start in September rather than August

[Boystomenslowdanceatweddings]

I'm changing career and have been accepted to start a placement based course which starts at the beginning of July. The first few weeks will be remote virtual learning and then we start our placement on the first week of August.
I pretty much assumed that it would start in September as with most universities. Now, I'm worried.
I have two primary aged children. I usually work through the summer holidays but I am admittedly a bit all over the place due to childcare. I often have to drive for over an hour to drop my children to various places and so I will be doing this on top of an hour long commute to my new placement. Plus my daughter has additional needs and often is upset and hard to drop off at holiday clubs.
I can't afford to pay for the one she really likes more than two days a week especially as I'm not going to be earning much for the next twelve months
Would I be unreasonable to ask to start the placement in September? I mean I know it's unlikely as the whole of the cohort are starting in August. I just worry that I'm in the same placement for a year and I really want them to see me at my best, not my scattiest!
I deferred last year and the year before and they told me that i can't defer again (obviously). There's only 160 places offered to the whole country and I don't want to seem ungrateful, I'm just so worried of mucking it up.
No else one around to help unfortunately as their dad can't drive and works ten hour shifts in retail. There's a holiday club next door to us but it finishes at school time and I don't know what I could do after that (nanny?)

I don’t know how people don’t strangle their other half’s who “don’t drive”.

This. He has 6 months to learn.

I think you should ask the placement/course provider about the likely schedule, so you can start working out childcare unless they have told younthis already. I'm sure you aren't the only parent on the course, so they may have taken it into account. My friend on a social work placement had the first week working from home reading policies and procedures etc, and another friend on a healthcare course had similar, plus one day a week at home to do reading and writing essays throughout her placement. If this is the case for you you may find the childcare easier to manage.

If you are able to defer you are just creating an issue for the summer holidays the following year, when yo lu are going to be more skilled and they will prefer to have you at the placement rather than working from home.

He'll be lucky to get a test booked before August even if he passed his theory tomorrow

Is the placement full-time or do you get a study day each week? What are your plans from September for after school?

Even if he rang an instructor now, there's no way he'll pass his theory and practical test ready to drive in six months time. The waiting lists for driving instructors are YEARS long in most areas. COVID really fucked a lot of people over in that respect.

Years long? Really?