Applying for primary school - Scotland - Help!

[Hereforit2022]

Wondering if anyone can advise?

I have a LB who was born middle of march. He misses out on starting primary school August 2023 by 12 days (he was actually due on 28th February, was overdue). Do you know if I can apply to get him into school for August 2023? And if so how I do it?

He is very much ready for school in my opinion and has cousins/friends due to start next year so would love him to join them

If he was allowed to start early he would be in a class with kids a whole year older, and if any of them deferred then they could be 15/16 months older - that is a massive age gap and would be noticeable at many point throughout their school years- he could be shorter, go through puberty a year later, not be old enough to go out with them when they start getting old enough etc ... don't do that to him, i found it hard being one of the youngest in the year and i went when i should have

There has to a cut off point somewhere, there'll always be a child just misses it!. And actually the Jan/feb born friends may live to regret going to school so young.

Lots of Jan and Feb boys defer. I have a friend who sent her January born 1st DC at 4.5 and regretted it for years. She was really thankful DC2 was March born as she would have wanted to defer anyway.

As PP pointed out it's not so much P1 you need to be concerned about but being too immature for secondary school and university.

Unlikely that he can start early. But he may benefit more from the school based nursery setting, rather than private daycare nursery. They are more set up to help plan the nursery to school transition and links with the school experience. It is very likely that there will be a nursery attached to your catchment school and they might be better able to challenge and meet his needs than your current setting. Some children do outgrow private nursery, especially if they've been there since young babies and they don't offer as many outings and forest nursery etc, he could well be bored.

Honestly OP I would drop this. There are significant advantaged especially for boys to being one of the oldest. And he won't be the oldest as deferred Jan and Feb kids will. Big difference comes when he is in secondary school/ leaving for uni.

Just accept the school year he is in. I say this with March dc - it never crossed my mind. You've used enough time/stress on this - move on- you will come across a bit obsessed.

My son is a March birthday and we are in Scotland too. I remember when he was 4 and I realised that he would miss out by a few days I was disappointed for him. He was socially advanced, bright and appeared ready for school.

I asked if I could appeal the date, and sent him at 4.5 years I was told no, so he started the following year, and 5.5 years. It wasn’t until he was sitting exams that I realised it was the best thing for him. He was one of the oldest in his year, and that was a massive advantage. I’m so happy I wasn’t able to send him, he has done very well at school, was always one of the natural leaders within his year. He has just finished a law degree and I think being one of the oldest in his year helped him achieve this.

Thank you for this post. It's very constructive and I don't disagree with any of the points anyone has made. Obviously those with experience know best. He is my first DC. My second DC is also early march. I will absolutely look into a school attached nursery as I think this might be a good stepping stone for him. He is absolutely getting bored at the private nursery he is currently. I can tell! It's not that he isn't socially mature enough for the class he is in but honestly I don't think the activities are interesting enough for him.

This.

I find you wanting a child to start school at 4 incredibly strange. They are not emotionally ready at 4. I've been teaching 28 years and you can tell the younger children so easily, even when they reach secondary age.

I'm an advocate of no formal schooling until 7, as in Scandinavia/ Japan, and am delighted there's now significant traction behind an age 6 start in Scotland. Look into the reasons for this- they are strong and evidence based.

My DS2 is a late November birthday and I had no choice but to send him. He's bright and is now in S5 - almost 16- but he struggled emotionally for the first year or two of primary, and when I compare him to his older brother at this stage, I still.think he should be in S4, a year behind, as despite his 6 foot frame he's still immature and needs lots of guidance.

I have no idea why you would even consider this. Most parents of Jan/ Feb birthdays want to defer- indeed Glasgow City Council are leaning towards a December 31st cut off for school.entry the following year. A move I fully support. This year parents in Glasgow had the choice to defer a child if they were not 5 by the August start. So, even a day shy of 5 you could defer. They are thinking of making this a permanent option. Can you not see that all these moves to extend the school starting age is the exact opposite of what you want to do?

At you DS's age they learn through play: nursery is the place for him. As PP have said, apply for a school nursery/ forest nursery instead.

There has to be a cut off date and someone will always fall just outside it.

I know lots of parents who have started boys early and equal number who have deferred. Most regret the early start but not 2 has regretted the deferral. When they start so young this follows them all their school days, and whilst it’s not very wile to say it out loud, boys tend to struggle more with emotional immaturity.

Maybe the current nursery isn’t meeting his needs and something could be done to change that?

Nice.

I also deferred my Feb born DS3 in a heart-beat: I knew from the say he was born I'd defer.

Also many are opting to defer starting school for a year, so if he were the very youngest in the year some children in his class could be almost 2yrs older and at this age that is very significant. My son is p4 and there is still a noticeable difference between him and the children who deferred.

A new setting might be what he needs rather than formal school.

*day

It wasn’t until he was sitting exams that I realised it was the best thing for him. He was one of the oldest in his year, and that was a massive advantage.

This^
Why would you choose to disadvantage him by having him sit his exams a year earlier than is recommend, when he probably won't be mature enough to deal with the workload?
You really need to think about his whole school career OP

I thank everyone for posting with experience in this. He is my first DC so obviously don't have any experience myself. I

I know others who's kids have started early and haven't had any problems and that's really where I was going with this.
That's not to say my DS will be ready, I understand that. I was merely asking the question if it was possible.

Also, I am not disagreeing with anyone's comments on this. I am grateful for the comments on those with experience. I am not in anyway trying to disadvantage my child.

My DC is an early March birthday. I know what you mean about them having a slightly less challenging last year of nursery but think this is definitely outweighed by advantages of being oldest in year further up the ages. Speak to the nursery, it is their job to tailor your child's experience their to their abilities.

Unless these other kids are now 18 years old you can’t say if they have had no problems. Or how much better they would have done if they were older in their year rather than younger.

Your child being one of the oldest in his year is a great gift - please accept it gracefully on his behalf.

Totally agree, my eldest was the same, academically very ready for school but emotionally he wasn’t. He did struggle emotionally and socially for the beginning of primary and again in high school.

I work in early years and know of a few families who tried to get their children in early to school and only 1 achieved it.

most people are desperate for their child to be the eldest and not the youngest.

I understand there are benefits of being the oldest in the class and from reading everyone's comments from experience this would probably work out in his favour. I guess I asked as I know children starting who are literally a few weeks older so initially I wondered if there was a process of applying since he missed the cut off date. I am not desperate to get him into school but not entirely sure if another 2 years of nursery would benefit him either as I don't believe it is challenging enough. I will say though, socially you all may be right as I know boys tend to be more immature so it's all been taken onboard

I don’t know if you’re aware of this, and don’t think it’s been mentioned but the rules for entry have recently been extended. (Or at least in my council area, we may be a test?) So anyone after the first day of term after summer who is not yet 5 gets another year of nursery if they wish. A lot of kids have including my DD have gone for this option so she will be almost 6 as will other kids. I’m assuming this will become more common, as I think that’s the general idea behind it, so this would then make your son a lot younger than others.

Like I said this may be council specific rn, but the general idea and future trend is towards kids starting much nearer 6.

School nursery will be more challenging than a private setting. The P1 teachers are in the same building if the nursery staff need advice on providing extensions to the Early Level of CfE.

not entirely sure if another 2 years of nursery would benefit him either as I don't believe it is challenging enough

Trust the Eariy Years Practioners who are trained to know how to stretch each child. At this age they should be learning through play - something they're naturally good at. Trust the experts always. School nurseries / Council nurseries in Scotland always have a qualified primary school teacher within the staff.

My DS1 was always outwardly very, very bright (still is at 18- he's a mathematical genuis doing pure Maths at uni. I don't know where he came from 😆). He was 5 starting school. Nursery were brilliant at giving him lots of problem solving activities in amongst letting him play and devellop his own imagination and interests.

If they aren't going to the same school why do you think they need to be in the same year? It's sounding a bit like keeping up with the Joneses.

Absolutely not that at all. I initially felt that if he was starting at the same time then it's something they are experiencing together even if not being at the same school.
I know in your previous post you mentioned you are a primary school teacher, is this accurate as your tone is very abrupt?