Page 4 | Summer born headache.

Highfivemum · 2025-08-04T16:51:36+00:00

So my youngest was a prem baby 28weeks and was born on the 30 march. He is due to start school next year. I always knew he would be slightly playing catch up with the September born children. Found out today that in his class he will have 15 !! children who all have deferred to start a year later. (This is their right being summer born.)But all is has done is shift the youngest in class to the march children! I can’t defer due to being March but he is socially nowhere near the level of his peers as it is. anyone else feel that is sounds a good idea in principle but it doesn’t solve the problem of DC being to young for school. Surely it should be on the individual child.

Frogwalk · 05/08/2025 14:15

CharSiu · 05/08/2025 09:07

There were still 2 intakes when DS was little so he was sent at Easter and was very young and had just hit 5. DH and I are Summer born with him being very late. They didn’t have deferrals when we were young at all and we both did very well academically, DH has a PhD. When did people start freaking out about summer borns and when did deferrals start?

Nobody's 'freaking out': it's an option, some people are taking it, nothing more than that.

OhHellolittleone · 05/08/2025 14:19

Mydogisatool · 04/08/2025 18:46

I see that where I live.

I moved from a very affluent part of London to a very deprived area of the West Midlands. They are the polar opposite of each other.

In London, so many people deferred summer born children. My older two children were both November, so it wasn’t an issue for me, but I had lots of friends who had summer borns who all chose to hold them back, mostly due to concerns for the 11+ exams.

My 4 year old, born here is an end of August baby. All my friends back in London just expected me to hold her back a year. They were horrified when I said I wasn’t, even though they know her and knew she was already starting to read and write and was socially ready.

When I mentioned that to the school here, the head of KS1 laughed and said no one does it here, I don’t think most know what that is, they can’t wait to get the kids out of the house all day. It’s not a case of not paying nursery for another year, it’s a very deprived area, many parents aren’t in work and the children get free hours from 2 years old.

From what I’ve seen, it’s very much a class thing.

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‘London’ is a big place. I can assure you in my area, and the area I work in (different borough), it’s is practically unheard of. I asked at my child’s school if any children would be deferred and there are non who have been held back. I’ve asked on school tours and been told it’s only in extreme cases.

My daughter is August born and I, nor any of my friends, are holding our children back. I don’t know anyone who is, except one ‘friend of a friend’ who is, apparently.

OP I wouldn’t worry… I’m not worried about my august born, it is what it is. This is a ‘Bermuda triangle’ - you except it to have much more of an impact on your life than it actually does in the end.

Mydogisatool · 05/08/2025 14:21

OhHellolittleone · 05/08/2025 14:19

‘London’ is a big place. I can assure you in my area, and the area I work in (different borough), it’s is practically unheard of. I asked at my child’s school if any children would be deferred and there are non who have been held back. I’ve asked on school tours and been told it’s only in extreme cases.

My daughter is August born and I, nor any of my friends, are holding our children back. I don’t know anyone who is, except one ‘friend of a friend’ who is, apparently.

OP I wouldn’t worry… I’m not worried about my august born, it is what it is. This is a ‘Bermuda triangle’ - you except it to have much more of an impact on your life than it actually does in the end.

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Of course, I can only talk about my friends in one particular area. Everyone will be different.

Crunchymum · 05/08/2025 14:23

It's never been a consideration for me (winter born DC) but what happens when the kids reach secondary school age?

Surely you can't have kids going into Y7 that are a year older than the majority of their peers?

The secondary school application forms have an age range when you start the application process (IE "this is application for child born between X and Y date") so can you even apply if you fall outside of this date range?

So many question.

Frogwalk · 05/08/2025 14:26

CopperWhite · 05/08/2025 09:33

It doesn’t have to be a formal competition for children to compare themselves to each other, or to notice that some children have more advanced physical or language skills. Sometimes, the difference can be significant even within a year so it makes no sense to increase the gap between the most and least developed within a class more than it already is.

You are correct that parental influences will have the biggest effect on children’s outcomes, but that doesn’t mean state provided services should be contributing to the divide between parents who can play the system and those who can’t.

The knock on effect is some children being over a year older than others when it comes to doing GCSE’s, A levels and applying for university when they are in competition with each other and it is not right for some to be given an advantage by the education system when it does have a detrimental effect on others.

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it is not right for some to be given an advantage by the education system when it does have a detrimental effect on others.

But I feel like what you really mean is 'the children who should be disadvantaged by virtue of their birth month should stay disadvantaged and not complain about it'.

September burn children are ALREADY given an advantage by the education system but no one's making a fuss about that?

TheNightingalesStarling · 05/08/2025 14:30

I think some posters have missed the OPs child was severely premature so while being brn on March, he was due June. So developmently, he could be well behind some of the "summer born" children eligible for deferment.

TheignT · 05/08/2025 14:37

Frogwalk · 05/08/2025 14:26

it is not right for some to be given an advantage by the education system when it does have a detrimental effect on others.

But I feel like what you really mean is 'the children who should be disadvantaged by virtue of their birth month should stay disadvantaged and not complain about it'.

September burn children are ALREADY given an advantage by the education system but no one's making a fuss about that?

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Spot on

Mydogisatool · 05/08/2025 14:42

My August born was actually due on 9th September.

I was having an elective section, even when my consultant and my midwife were having the discussion of when to book the date in for, they were both talking about school cut off dates! I had September 2nd booked in, dd decided to arrive a week earlier. The first thing my consultant said when he saw me was, “oh dear, we couldn’t make it until after the school cut off date!” So it’s something that’s on a lot of people’s minds!

jetlag92 · 05/08/2025 14:43

Personally, I think they should also start after the age of 5. None of mine were ready for school when they were 4. DS2 couldn't talk properly at that age.

PurpleThistle7 · 05/08/2025 14:50

GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing · 05/08/2025 00:21

This is what I was thinking - that it will make a two tier system - that those who can afford another year of nursery or another year of a parent at home will defer, and end up with a huge advantage over those who can’t afford this.

There’s also the OP’s point of the cut off becoming March, but in fact that’s what it is in Scotland (I think) and it seems to work well.
Just turned 4 is too young for many children, but 4.5 isn’t, even if they’re the youngest in the class.

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It doesn't work well here (in Scotland). Parents can now defer winter-born children and affluent parents are doing this. My daughter is a November birthday and we didn't defer and she wasn't the youngest at all (she's 12 and we don't live in an affluent area), but it's changing. It absolutely disadvantages certain groups of children while adding yet more privilege to those who can afford it (of course there are lots of reasons why deferring is great for specific children, and arguably 4 is actually too young for school)

Frogwalk · 05/08/2025 15:02

Mydogisatool · 05/08/2025 14:42

My August born was actually due on 9th September.

I was having an elective section, even when my consultant and my midwife were having the discussion of when to book the date in for, they were both talking about school cut off dates! I had September 2nd booked in, dd decided to arrive a week earlier. The first thing my consultant said when he saw me was, “oh dear, we couldn’t make it until after the school cut off date!” So it’s something that’s on a lot of people’s minds!

I had the same! I was booked in for an elective section on August 30th - both the registrar and head midwife really pushed the consultant to delay it until Sept 1st!

She came 2 weeks early anyway but I'm always grateful that they not only suggested it, but tried so hard to arrange it.

ThierryHwasthebest · 05/08/2025 15:05

I think deferring can be the right thing and should be considered on an individual basis. We spoke to the school before we deferred and they felt it was the right thing for our son. They also highlighted that it's not just when they go into school but also the age they will be when they come out and potentially go to Uni.

m00rfarm · 05/08/2025 15:11

Mydogisatool · 04/08/2025 18:46

I see that where I live.

I moved from a very affluent part of London to a very deprived area of the West Midlands. They are the polar opposite of each other.

In London, so many people deferred summer born children. My older two children were both November, so it wasn’t an issue for me, but I had lots of friends who had summer borns who all chose to hold them back, mostly due to concerns for the 11+ exams.

My 4 year old, born here is an end of August baby. All my friends back in London just expected me to hold her back a year. They were horrified when I said I wasn’t, even though they know her and knew she was already starting to read and write and was socially ready.

When I mentioned that to the school here, the head of KS1 laughed and said no one does it here, I don’t think most know what that is, they can’t wait to get the kids out of the house all day. It’s not a case of not paying nursery for another year, it’s a very deprived area, many parents aren’t in work and the children get free hours from 2 years old.

From what I’ve seen, it’s very much a class thing.

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The 11+ is weighted based on the age of the child. So the raw score is raised if the child is younger.

Mydogisatool · 05/08/2025 15:14

m00rfarm · 05/08/2025 15:11

The 11+ is weighted based on the age of the child. So the raw score is raised if the child is younger.

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It’s not in all areas (although it is where I am now for the Birmingham/wolverhamton schools).

And a few of my friends main concern for their summer borns was concentration levels for prep work. A child 10 months older would probably have more understanding and be able to concentrate more on practice papers/tutoring from year 4 than a younger child. they were going for the super selective grammars where you need eye watering results to have a hope.

zingally · 05/08/2025 15:24

15 is extreme!

Honestly, speaking as an experienced primary school teacher, I don't think it does them any real favours either. They won't get that full year in reception, or if they do, they'll have hassle later on, either having to move year groups, or find a school that will accept them being a year older in the year below.

Honestly, I think kids do better just cracking on and starting reception, whether the parents think they're "ready" or not. You'll usually find that the kids do better than the parents think. They've been overly-babied and they're more than up for the challenge. Little kids are tougher and more resilient than parents sometimes thing.

And for what it's worth, some of the brightest kids I've taught have been July/August births.

Denimrules · 05/08/2025 16:04

TheNightingalesStarling · 05/08/2025 14:30

I think some posters have missed the OPs child was severely premature so while being brn on March, he was due June. So developmently, he could be well behind some of the "summer born" children eligible for deferment.

Exactly, my similarly premmie DS was well behind on physical milestones and very tiny. Intellectually, he was fine but that's not the only consideration. Social elements can be impacted by physical delays.

Zanatdy · 05/08/2025 16:07

That’s mad so many deferred. My son is August born and was tiny. He was behind but he soon caught up. Just graduated with a 1st class degree and got top mark in country for one module

mondaytosunday · 05/08/2025 16:08

My son was born late July and was so ready for school! In fact a number of kids in his class were late summer babies. No one was deferred from previous year but there were a fair number of September- November kids too. Actually really couldn’t tell the difference between the lot of them after a couple years.

WinterOnItsWayOut · 05/08/2025 17:29

My DD2 is 16 nearly 17 and didn’t defer so started school at 4 and 2 weeks. She got 8 A and an A at GCSE and is predicted 2 A and an A at A level. She is horrified at the thought of having been with the year below.

The only disadvantage I see right now is driving and drinking legally much later than her peers but other than that? 🤷♀️

minipie · 05/08/2025 17:40

OP, I may be wrong but I believe prematurity can be a reason to ask to defer - whether summer born or not. So if you want to defer, do ask. Schools will vary on their response but I’d hope they would be more sympathetic to a deferral for a 28 weeker born in March than a full term child born in April!

Aprilmaymum · 05/08/2025 17:50

minipie · 05/08/2025 17:40

OP, I may be wrong but I believe prematurity can be a reason to ask to defer - whether summer born or not. So if you want to defer, do ask. Schools will vary on their response but I’d hope they would be more sympathetic to a deferral for a 28 weeker born in March than a full term child born in April!

Thank you. I will speak to the LA.

Frogwalk · 05/08/2025 19:32

minipie · 05/08/2025 17:40

OP, I may be wrong but I believe prematurity can be a reason to ask to defer - whether summer born or not. So if you want to defer, do ask. Schools will vary on their response but I’d hope they would be more sympathetic to a deferral for a 28 weeker born in March than a full term child born in April!

I'd hope they'd be sympathetic to an application based on prematurity too OP, I've not heard of that but it must be worth a shot.

They don't have to be sympathetic to a summer born application, they just have to prove that missing a year of school would be in a child's best interests.

Overwhelmedandunderfed · 05/08/2025 19:35

Are you sure? I’m a teacher and have only ever had 1 child defer because of being Summer born! This would be almost unheard of in 1 class. I’m not questioning you because I think you’re being dishonest, I just can’t actually believe it and am wondering if there’s been a mistake in what you’ve been told.

Overwhelmedandunderfed · 05/08/2025 19:36

Just seen that it’s a middle class thing, hence why I haven’t encountered it 🙈 ignore my last post!

Frogwalk · 05/08/2025 20:02

zingally · 05/08/2025 15:24

15 is extreme!

Honestly, speaking as an experienced primary school teacher, I don't think it does them any real favours either. They won't get that full year in reception, or if they do, they'll have hassle later on, either having to move year groups, or find a school that will accept them being a year older in the year below.

Honestly, I think kids do better just cracking on and starting reception, whether the parents think they're "ready" or not. You'll usually find that the kids do better than the parents think. They've been overly-babied and they're more than up for the challenge. Little kids are tougher and more resilient than parents sometimes thing.

And for what it's worth, some of the brightest kids I've taught have been July/August births.

Even though you are an experienced primary school teacher you are misinformed about this. Which actually isn't unusual - lots of teachers and even headteachers are not up to date on it and many don't even know it's a thing.

They will get the full year in reception and the idea that they will be required to miss a year at secondary is becoming more and more of a rare occurrence as good practice is becoming increasingly well-known.