School full time at 4

[Holeymoleyy]

My DC turns 4 at the end of July. I received the letter a few months ago and applied for her school place. The offer came back and it says she is to start school full time from the 6th September. There didn’t seem to be any option of part time

She currently goes to nursery, who are not able to keep any children on who turn 4 before the start of September term and they were encouraging all parents to apply for a school place

She is very bright and sociable and her confidence has grown a lot since going to nursery so I have no worries there. I just hope that I’m doing the right thing. Any opinions appreciated?

@Wenfy Its 31st Aug (my birthday in England)
💯 & I think I’d know!

Op speak to the school. Many schools are open to some flexibility eg staying home a couple of afternoons a week. But also ask them what your child will be doing. It won't be formal schooling sitting at desks all day, it will be lots of play and hands on activities which your child may well love.
I tried to keep my children home part of the week but very quickly they asked to stay in school because it was more fun.

Nope.

Meant to add, we went private, because the local primary wouldn't start her full time until the Easter following, and we weren't prepared to accept that.

Don’t over think. My late July thrived at full time school. To hold her back a year would have been terrible for her - turned out she’s an academic whizz ( she’s now 30)

I have a July baby who is just about to finish reception (I'm also a July baby myself). There is a statistical disadvantage to being the youngest and the difference between the oldest and youngest is obvious at that age. There is a girl in his class who was deferred and so will turn 6 a few days after he is 5 - seeing the enormous advantage she has does make me wonder if I should have done the same.

That said, some of the rhetoric around this can be extreme. Your child will not be a lone summerborn in a class of September birthdays, so although the contrast between oldest and youngest is clear your child is unlikely to stand out in the wider context of the class. I'm not sure another year of nursery would have been right for DS either. I really liked being one of the youngest, which maybe swayed me unduly!

The reason they stopped routinely offering part-time or delayed starts to summer borns is because it just further disadvantages them - they're still the youngest but they then also get the least time in reception and so are less prepared for year 1. If you're seriously concerned I would say deferral is a better option by a long way.

She was definitely the youngest. Poor thing was the last to turn 18 in sixth form. Didn’t help she still looked about 12 too haha

What’s the problem?

@Wenfy possibly though that might not be delivered

It’s never really free either, only subsidised.

I have mixed feelings about this. Just-turned-four is very young, but there has to be a cut off somewhere. And usually reception is nice and gentle.

I think some children are ready and some aren’t. You can’t say “my friend / daughter / etc who was born on 31 august loved it and did super well” and have this apply to all summer born children.

If you, as a parent, see that your child isn’t ready, then speak to the school about flexi-schooling. Lots of schools are open to this.

I say all this as a reception teacher, by the way.

We have had a few kids flexi-school all year this academic year (some go to an external forest school) and some even do it into year one. It isn’t disruptive to our class dynamic and I can see that the children do benefit from it. We’re also open to other flexi options depending on the child. It works well.

It really is down to the individual child and what the parent is willing to do. And you need a fairly progressive school that’s open to it!

This is one of the funniest things I have ever read on here. Actual LOLd.

My DD started school 3 days after her 4th birthday, was tiring for her at first but within a few weeks was completely settled and happy to be there full time.

Why?

Presumably as she's starting school in September you've been doing some induction days in the last month or so? How's she getting on there?

Conceiving a child isn't the same as ordering a new washing machine.

DS is an August birthday, he went in and never looked back
He had been in nursery since being 2 full time and loved it
He flourished at school

Also there are a lot of studies on summer-born children. Off the top of my head, although I’ll have to look it up, they are slightly behind until age 11 when most catch up.

Look at the stats on professional athletes. They tend to be born between September and December. That’s because they’re bigger than their younger-in-the-year peers so get more sports opportunities when they’re at school. (Will also have to look that up too!)

Being summer-born does put you at a disadvantage. It doesn’t have to be lifelong and it doesn’t have to be a big deal, but when you see the difference between autumn and summer born children in reception, it’s huge.

OP: my advice is don’t worry about it. But if it looks like it isn’t working out for your child, as I said upthread, look into a bit of flexi-schooling.

Obviously not, and if it doesn’t happen then it doesn’t happen! Well aware things can take time. Just can see pros to it and was trying to reassure the OP is all

What is wrong with the world these days. Everyone starts school at 4 in reception no matter when their birthday is in the year. Im a may baby I didn’t struggle. My sister was an october baby so she was 4 then 11 months later started school but napped everyday.

why are we turning the next generation into absolute wet wipes? Your child will be okay and will adapt. You will make this harder by messing with it and some schools gradually increase hours anyway.

My 5’11” friend and her 6’6” husband conceived an August baby through IVF, hoping for the summer-born height adjustment, and they now have a little boy who will be 2 on 1st September and will be down an extra £20k in nursery fees before she enters reception. Just so you know…

I think its often the parents issue not the child. It's daunting and sad for us all sending your DC to school for the first time. You shouldn't be projecting onto your child though.

Whoops! That’s not good. You can never decide these things for certain, babies come when they want don’t they! Perhaps she should have aimed for late July if she wanted to be sure

Also want to add that I am summer born and I love having a sunny birthday! But to those saying it’s nothing to worry about - just pointing out that it isn’t a big deal, but definitely something to be conscious of in the earlier years of school, if you can be. Your child may be more tired than their peers after school, etc, so quieter weekends. Your child’s teacher will be aware of it, too. Our summer born kids are usually in different phonics groups etc.

You can't possibly be that naive!

There are maybe 3 days a year you could possibly conceive a baby due in August - around a 20% chance, if you're tracking ovulation - and then there is absolutely no guarantee baby will arrive in August anyway!

You make it sound like you're scheduling your Amazon day delivery and it is absolutely hilarious.

I am DEAD. LOL. There's no way this is real.