Parents of summer borns who deferred school entry! Any regrets?

[JL0]

My DC was born on 30 August 2020 and is due to start school in September 2024. My other half and I are on the fence about whether we should defer them to September 2025, but are leaning slightly towards deferral.

The impact of being summer born is well-documented through research (eg lower academic attainment, lower self-esteem). Based on these factors alone, the argument for deferral seems strong.

I'm less clear on the "cons" of deferral. I haven't found any research on this point. Anecdotally, I've heard stories about deferred children struggling emotionally and/or being socially isolated because they're older than their peer group.

Parents of deferred children - do you have any regrets? Have your children struggled emotionally or socially because they are older? Are there any other disadvantages to deferral?

For context, my DC is a pretty "normal" 3 year old. Meets their milestones. Is often shy in new settings. No SEN concerns. Attends preschool 4 days a week.

I work in a school (as the Data manager who submits census data) and yes compulsory school age is the final Friday in June of the academic year a child turns 16. We can all quote the legislation. So you work in a LA? Are you not aware that we as a school have to keep tabs on our learners until age 20 as part of the Destinations tracking.

So yes LEGALLY these students from age 16 until at least 18 have to be somewhere. I didnt understand your comment about GCSE Maths and English - it is part of the funding for post-16 education. So a student who goes to college to take a post 16 course might need to resit English and Maths GCSE, unless of course they are like my son. He took Functional Skills Level 2 at school = passed. He isnt required under the funding regulations to resit GCSEs. Neither is a student who obtained a grade 2 and below. But that is very technical. As we are on a thread with an OP whose child is at nursery - I am still very puzzled by your obvious hostility towards a summer born. When the child has at least 8-9 years before they will be in secondary.

I am amused by your reference to statutory school ages - you are aware that the lower CSA is 5 (term following 5th birthday) ie NOT 4. Reception is nursery is every curriculum. So there is no need for a child to leave their nursery early to attend school. Convenient for childcare and finances. Nothing else.

I would suggest politely that you read the current DfE guidelines on summer-borns and educate your LA colleagues.

Hi OP
My kids were born on 31 July but should've been born 1 Sept.

They were borderline ready to go to school aged 4, but I took a last-minute decision to apply for a deferral as my son was still a baby in my eyes. Pre-school records and support from their preschool head plus medical records were Pencoed to the authority, and it was waived through.

It became complicated as we moved house when they were 4, so I had to reapply in the new county, which was stressful but they started Receprion aged 4 and it was absolutely the right thing longer term even though I had an extra year of paid childcare.

They've benefitted in different ways

• they are at the top of their school year not the bottom
• their childhood has been extended by a year. This is critical for me.
• they have made friends in the year above through sport which goes on age not school year so outside of school they know many children in area where we live who are in the year above at school which has been only beneficial
• their school friends have birthdays in September and October so only a few weeks apart taking into account their 5 week prematurity
• they are very confident and resilient children as they benefitted from the extra year before school
• there has been no issue with transition to secondary aa all the schools take them into Year 7 seamlessly. I had to write to each school to confirm this but it was easy.

When I look at other European schooling models I realised the UK sends children to school very young so by delaying slightly it could only benefit them.

I hope this is helpful.

Sorry they started Reveption aged 5!!!

Actually, the most common U.K. birthdays are in September, so I doubt she is such an outlier. Also by year 3 they are massively catching up (I have one summer born and 2 not), if she still isn’t integrating at by y3, it’s not her age. It doesn’t ‘get worse’, it evens out.

es, you track them. But how much are you doing to keep them in EET once they leave? We all know that school involvement ends once they’re off roll, and there’s nothing wrong with that. And technically they have to be somewhere - what do you think happens if they’re NEET? They are offered support from CIAG services etc but ultimately nobody is physically dragging them anywhere if they choose not to engage and parents/carers can support them financially until they can turn 18 and claim benefits.

My comment about GCSE is that colleges only offer English and Maths resits. If a child decides at 17 that they would actually like to sit GCSE History or French now, they’re going to struggle.

I am well aware that SSA school age starts at 5, but that isn’t intended to allow for mass delayed entry; it’s to allow for staggered starts, part-time timetables etc before that age in recognition of the fact that younger children may need this.

I’m not being “hostile”. I have said that I personally would start a child in their school year as per date of birth. I work with the most vulnerable young people in the LA and have huge experience of how difficult it is to get some kS4 students to attend. If some of them knew that legally they didn’t even have to be there, there’s not a chance we would get them in.

Go to school. Mine started at 3! But we live in europe. The difference between mine and their cousins in the UK is staggering!

It always amazes me on these threads why it is such a divisive topic for those based in England. Honestly if you were based in Scotland and had a Jan/Feb child (summer born equivalent due to sysytem) then nobody bats an eyelid to it.

As for apparent secondary school
school issues with leaving due to legal age.....look at places which have deferral policies in place for a long time again it's not a issue!

Every parent has the right to do what's best for their child. I also don't get the they were bored in nursery comments to me that shows a poor nursery. DS1 does numbers, letters, writing, phonics, Spanish and even yoga classes at nursery. Along with baking, playdoh, climbing trees and mud kitchens. He definitely isn't bored!

My little boy has just started in reception Birthday is 29 August.

We in the end decided not to defer. It's a huge fight with our particular council anyway.

I'm pleased to report that he has been doing really well, however he was advanced with speech and is quite socially appropriate (for a small child 😂)

I think someone has to be the youngest and as previous posters mentioned it can cause problems with things such as sports teams/ clubs and such like when they are actually placed with a different age group.

Where do you live? The U.K. starts formal schooling much earlier (4/5) than most other countries in Europe where it's 6/7.

OP, I'd only defer if you feel your child is significantly behind their peers socially. I know quite a few teachers and the general consensus is that they do all catch up. Certainly don't defer a naturally bright child as that will probably put them at a greater disadvantage.

This does seem a particularly English obsession - Scotland, USA, Australia etc all seem to be able to start their children one of two years and it doesn't cause issues having a class spanning in age more than exactly 12 months.

All this talk of the social impact etc - we are talking a matter of months! Mine is 3 weeks older than the next oldest child in class. My best friend from school is 9 months older than I am, this seemed quite normal.

Preschool/kindergarten etc is a perfectly normal part of education in other European countries. They just don't call it school. Germany and France both start at three for example...

@PuttingDownRoots yes I'm aware the schooling system is different but kids in the U.K have to go to school from age 4/5. My understanding is that in Germany although many kids do go to kindergarten, it is more like our preschool and isn't compulsory? They don't have to start school until age 6. My husband is German and our German friend's/family's kids of the same age as ours don't seem any further ahead or behind despite the different systems. No idea about France.

@grandoldcat the point is there is education before the "proper" school start. In many ways similar to Reception class. Its not just childcare until 6.

Or as the previous poster said... they consider the start of "nursery" school since its state organised. Similar to how some people refer to a school preschool class as school, even though its not compulsory.

Its a question of semantics.

I can see what I said touched a nerve with you because you sent your August baby to school at four. But look, you just have to stand by your choice and be happy with it, right? You chose to do what the vast majority do, and that’s completely fine.

I stand by what I said though. I would never send an August 30th baby to school at just turned four. I don’t say that to “panic” anyone 🤷‍♀️

Oh grow up and get a life. Having gone into this thread with no particular preconceptions about parents who defer, I'm now starting to get a strong sense of people who would benefit from deferring adulthood.

The U.K. starts formal schooling much earlier (4/5) than most other countries in Europe where it's 6/7

@grandoldcat as others have said, this is a misconception. Their "school" may be called kindergarten, or something else, but they are in a formal setting, learning to read and write. If there was no compulsory schooling in the UK until age 7, you would have some children turning up at "reception" reading chapter books and others without even the basics.

The reception year of UK school is very play based (at least in the state sector) and aimed at gradually easing children into formal schooling. If an August-born child is too immature to cope, then fine, start them later, but that should be the exception. Most will be fine. Some won't.

Yes i know the most common birthday months, but for this particular class at this particular school this isn't the case

I should have said compulsory then as I know most German kids go to Kindergarten where they start some formal learning but as far as I'm aware it isn't mandatory? Here school is mandatory from 4/5 (even if it is very play based) many here also go to preschool age 3/4 where they will begin learning some basic maths and phonics in a very play based way but it isn't compulsory. This all stems back to my confusion about kittylalas comment about kids starting school in Europe age 3 and being significantly ahead of their U.K. peers which didn't make sense to me. It maybe the country they're in they do that I'd just not come across it. I only know how the german system compares having spoken to friends there with kids same as as ours. I agree that in most cases it's best to start an august born child with their peers unless they are significantly socially behind and need that extra year to catch up.

In Germany it varies by state: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Germany

My lo was born end of aug 2020 so same situation as you, and I'm a teacher (y2).
We're not deferring. She goes to preschool and if she deferred she'd basically repeat this whole year with new children. Hopefully some of her friends from nursery will go to school with her. Milestones, she's doing well. Also, totally irrelevant, but she's really tall! If I kept her back she'd be head and shoulders above the younger kids!

From a teacher's viewpoint it totally varies on the child. A few years ago I had two August chn in the class. 1 was working above the expected level, 1 was working below. Guess which child was supported and encouraged at home. In that class I also had an October child who really struggled academically.

Overall summer babies generally struggle in ks1 and on the phonics check in y1 there are huge differences in outcomes for summer babies. However, by y6 the gap tends to get smaller. But again, every child is different.

When I've been looking at schools for my lo I've been asking teachers what provision will be made for my lo being an August baby. I'm also steering clear of schools with mixed classes (she could be the youngest y1 in a room with the oldest y2) and I'm hoping to get her in a school that uses continuous provision into y1. My second baby is a July baby so he'll benefit from all that too.

I‘m a primary school teacher and SENCo. In my opinion, unless it has been recommended to you by the nursery or the school your child will be starting it, don’t do it. I have only supported it and seen the benefit once and that was with a child with significant additional needs. It gets complicated as they transition from primary to secondary and they can leave full time education before they complete their GCSEs because they’ll be 16. It’s also difficult for them if they play sport because they then have to play with other children not in their year group. If your child goes to a good school (I don’t mean Ofsted judgement by this) with good teaching, your child will be fine. Also, if they’re at nursery 4 days a week now, I would think they’ll be bored stiff doing another year and then Reception when Reception is also a play based curriculum.

My daughter’s birthday is in October and she was bored in reception as all geared towards the summer borns ensuring they weren’t behind…. Not what you asked but also bear in mind that they won’t be able to play sports with their friends (my son played in a football league). Also the UK unlike other countries has 14 years of school so if they deferred will already be 18 before year 13 starts so no legal mechanism to keep them in school if they decide not to stay.

My daughter was born August 23rd 2018. I considered deferring her and went back and forth for some time - spoke to her nursery teacher (she did 3 full days a week in nursery) as well as the Reception teacher and both said she would be fine. They were right.
She absolutely thrived, and still is now in Year 1. I've been told several times that she is above and beyond the rest of the class in phonics - and her maths is equally strong. She's the most confident and sociable of all of my children (She's the youngest of 4) and, despite being a little smaller than the rest of her class, she is doing amazing. I am so unbelievably proud of her.
That being said, every child is different. It's not one size fits all. But if he's already attending nursery most days that's a big plus, as is the fact he is toilet trained with no signs of SEN.

We were in Lancashire when my eldest Aug born a d they refused to defer summer borns despite the educational secretary saying it should be done. If we deferred reception he would have to miss a year and then start in year 1