Children start school at 5, oh no they don't

[Sadworld23]

We should stop taking about children starting school in the UK at 5.
Whilst that may be the legal age, even Gov.uk says most parents send their child to reception class at 4.

This makes me sad tbh, bc our child is (generally) happy at his nursery, 7m-3y, and I can't see him being ready for school at 4y.
He's barely out of nappies and bottles and I'm already choosing a school for him. And that's without the worries of sorting wrap around childcare to make my work hours work.

I had considered holding him back but nursery are already calculating giving up his place.

YABU children don't really start school til 5y.
YANBU children start school at 4y.

They won’t get government funded hours once he turns five, but I guess the op would be able to pay fees if that’s her choice. They don’t have to keep him there, though. They can say no.

They’ll cope. It’s play based and sets them up for Y1 nicely.

It must be awkward being a year older than your classmates all schooling, hitting puberty etc, and then having to answer questions about why you were held back.

Just send them in at a normal time, which is 4.

Be aware that if you hold him back, he will most likely start school in year 1 and skip reception. This happened to the SEN children I worked with, who went into mainstream schools. I then thought, what was the point? Surely that's worse?

My child had a bit of a wobble at the start of year 1, but in reception he was absolutely fine because it was very play based learning. They didn't even have desks it was basically more nursery and then year 1 shocked him a bit. Don't panic!

padronpepper

In Ireland too and now they lean on taking the older kids first, ie well over five. Teachers have always said to me there’s a huge difference between 4 and 5 and they wished they’d make over 5 mandatory (two of my children were age 4 and 7/9 months)

This was ended by class size limits, and funding being per child. So the school budgets and plans on 30 places in reception, but if a child doesn’t start until January, the school doesn’t get the funding for that place until they start. The teacher still has to be paid if they’ve got 25 or 30 in their class. Plus schools when in higher birth rate areas are not allowed to leave empty spaces if other parents apply for a place, they can’t turn them down because they know another family will be sending their child in 4 months time. But similarly, if there’s already 30 in the class, they aren’t allowed to take in another child at January/Easter because they are now full.

Technically, you can still leave it until just before your child turns 5 and then do an in-year application, and in areas with low birth rates this would probably be fine- 2 “outstanding” local primary schools near us have spaces in reception and year 1, when 10 years ago parents were pushing up house prices on roads within 1/2 mile from them and then still only just getting places. Parents applying this year just before Christmas would therefore get a place to start in January, it’s a gamble though and I’m not a gambler!!

To be fair, in other countries this Reception to end of Year 2 stage also exists, just isn't called 'school' but 'pre-school'. It was the 'Infants'.

In other countries, kids start 'school' at 7, in Year 3.

No, it was school. This was in the 1980s (he is 46 next month). He only did mornings for the first term. The class he went into might well be called 'pre-school' nowadays, it wasn't back then and they had no nursery. It was lovely, a very happy place. None of the children were just out of nappies or bottles, they were all three, going on four during that school year. I'm sure it wouldn't matter for a nursery but that's a different environment.

The term is 'rising 5'.
And it's up to you to get your child school ready. You need to potty train and ditch baby bottles.

Starting reception from nursery has felt like such a non-issue in this house that I'm finding it hard to relate. But then my 4 year old daughters nursery was just in the building next door to reception. The hours are the same, the only difference has been now wearing the uniform really. I don't think there is much difference in the things they are doing honestly, they started a little phonics and maths in their play at the nursery and its carrying on.

In the UK?
In a state school?

It’s still your choice. Just remember though, if you keep your children out of school until they’ve turned 5, then some of their peers will naturally be ahead with school expectations. These may be as minor as sitting still on their carpet place but their peers will have already been doing that for a year, whereas your child needs to learn it.

The op said her child was out of nappies etc.

Summer borns starting at CSA are not a year older than all their classmates though are they? If they were born in July or August they will be with children who are born from September onwards of the same year making them just weeks older than some of their peers.

I’ve not heard anyone say kids start school at 5, always 4. Yes some are just 4 and others nearly 5 but there will always be an oldest an a youngest in the year.

Lots of children are ready at 4 (some older ones at 3 even) but for those who aren’t it’s perfectly reasonable to start them later. I have also seen some children though who were thought of as ‘not ready’ actually thrive in school, maybe being with the slightly older ones which is different to nursery where they are the oldest themselves?

Every child is different and you know your own child but I don’t think you can base it on age alone.

Well yes and no. If you have a summer born you can ensure they start at 5 by deferring (definitely do this!) and obviously an autumn born child will be almost 5. I have a spring born child and sent them part time until CSA (which is everyone’s legal right).
I think part of the issue is that British parents (I am British too) and generally very worried about doing anything outside of the norm even when all the available evidence says it would be beneficial. You don’t actually have to send a 4 year to school at all. They can all start at CSA (tern after they start 5). So a child born in October could not start until January etc.

Yes, I'm the same age as you - started reception after Easter, the term during which I'd turn 5.

I was about to post that this is talking about England not Uk as Scotland has different rules. Then I spotted @dementedpixie had already done it. Think they meant to say child has to be 5 by February though!

You can’t seriously have thought that all children start school on or about their 5th birthday.

What did you think the big September first day at school fuss was about?

I live in the UK (Scotland) and my DD started school at 5 1/2. You can defer and get a full extra year funded nursery if the child is still 4 in August, even if they are turning 5 in the next month or so but that’s obviously parental choice.

That’s a common misapprehension about child development. There are skills children can learn such as emotional regulation (although many of these are as well or better learnt at home). But many areas of development are about maturity. For example you don’t help your newborn baby to be good at making friends by putting them next to lots of newborns. You ensure they develop a strong attachment to their primary caregiver. Some children won’t be developmentally ready at 4 and no amount of practice will help. In fact, it just teaches them they can’t do things or worse, are bad. Whereas a year later they might be able to.

There hasn’t been any change in law. It’s just most parents don’t take up their right to start at CSA. If all parents did, then we’d go back to this system.

I had July and August born children. My son in July was not ready and my August born daughter might have managed but I decided to home ed them both for infant school (up til Y3). They only went back because I split with their dad and had two younger children to care for too. They did fine at school from that point and now young adults doing well for themselves. The younger two went through the school system but it was still staggered start at that time so it worked out fine. They went the term they turned 5.

I actually found the teen years harder with them being youngest in their year group as they weren’t quite as mature to settle down to GCSE study, whereas the following year at college they were much more focused and they also found it hard when their friends could start driving in September but they couldn’t until the following July/August.

I am in Ireland and my daughter started school at 5 years 4 months. School day is also a lot shorter (.8:40 -1:20 ) and holidays longer 9 weeks in Summer rather than 6 (agreat for kids tough for parents). I am a big fan of later starts similar to Germany/ Scandinavia as it allows kids to be kids . I amnt a fan of going to secondary at 10 and big exams so early but appreciate that its a different education set up.

I have never heard of parents regretting sending their children to school later.

My DD was really ready and excited to go to school at 4. She loved Reception and looks back very fondly to when 'they played all day'. They uploaded photos daily onto an app, like nursery, so you could see what they'd been doing.

Year 1 can be a difficult transintion, but her school is careful in selecting very caring Yr1 teachers that still treat them like small children. Year 2 was a lot more disciplined, with some challenging behaviour becoming apparent in some of the children and a stricter teaching style. Children have more expectations placed upon them on terms of conduct, routine etc.

It's different for all children and all schools are different. It's a case of selecting the right one for your child.