Daughter born 1 day over school deadline for admissions

[Sunburymum]

My daughter is 3 and a bit years old, born 1 sept 2020. The council have allowed me to apply for her to start reception in sept. Not sure if they will accept but if they do I'm a bit stuck what to do. She's very bright and confident,her speech is advanced as well as her writing and numbers.She is currently in nursery in age group 3-5 so varying abilities meaning she's not always being stimulated as lots of kids are younger or different ability. We feel reception would benefit her. If she doesn't go this year does she start reception when she's 5 and year 1 when she 6 or does she jump straight to year 1 as she'll be 5 on 1st sept 2025. Also some.parents are telling me not to send her to reception this year and have her another year at home as I'll be sending her to college and uni a year earlier?very confused.....

My extended family has been mostly young-in-year and for us it has worked. If my DD had been 2 weeks early instead of 2 weeks late I would have been in your position and definitely sent her early - I did in fact ask a local independent if they would consider admitting an early October baby ahead, as I think she was ready at rising 4. DS was July and thrived.

Just because "on average" kids do better being older in the year does not mean that is best for each individual child.

This focusing on anecdotes to ‘disprove’ the very clear quantitative data that shows that older children do better in the education system actually isn’t happen.

People are just desperate to say ‘well I’m the expection’. But actually, you can’t know how your individual child (or yourself) would have done if only things had been different… you might imagine that it would have been better/worse whatever. But you cannot possibly know. Maybe your bright child would have been equally bored if they’d gone a year early. Maybe they’d have struggled in different ways. Maybe the August born child would still have found the transition to school tough if they’d been born a day or two later. It’s all just speculation.

We DO know that the evidence is very clear that starting school as one of the oldest children in the class has significant advantages - advantages that you can trace into adulthood. We do also know that it is ok for most august born children - many of them do well despite their birthdays.

We do also know that pressure on schools places can be enormous and oversubscribed schools are something many parents want to get their child in to. The system does not need the parents of autumn born 3 year olds deciding their child is too bright to play and trying to get schools places alongside all the 4 year olds (and getting two chances at it because they don’t actually have to se d their child at 3).

My DD was born in 31st August and was the youngest in the class all through school - it was not helpful to her as she was a slow reader anyway.

I was born 8th September and was the oldest in the class all through school and it was a big asset, although in fact I took my O and A levels a year early.

I would go for the option that makes her the oldest in the class.

I don't think recognising that there are outliers to every dataset is 'desperation to be the exception'. If we're banning speculation on the matter then every thread on this topic needs to be deleted!

For what it's worth, the plummeting birth rate means that pressure on school places has dramatically reduced in the last few years and even previously oversubscribed schools are reducing their PAN to stave off closures.

Keep her in her normal cohort that she was born in. It’s much better to be one of the oldest in the year than one of the youngest. At the start of reception you could really tell the difference between the September/October babies compared to the August babies. They all catch up in the end though 🥰 let her enjoy pre-school for another school year first, it goes far too fast once they start normal school. Xxx

My daughter’s birthday is October and was so so bored in reception and year 1. She could count to 1,000 knew all her letters, picked up reading really fast. I’d have jumped at the change for her to be in the year above.

Thinking much later - as my kids are uni age - later to start is better socially. You don’t want to be the only one in your year group who can’t go to bars etc

My daughter is the youngest in her class (august baby) it's done her no harm, far from it. She's excelling in every area, reading well above her age and her writing skills are amazing (last year when in year 4 her work was shown to year 6 teacher and he was amazed as it was written better than a lot of the year 6 children could do)

Ignore those saying being eldest is beneficial. Do what you feel is best. If your child gets in this year then go for it!

Honestly? Three is no value in doing this. I’m September born, bright, could read at 2.5 and did absolutely fine going to school in line with guidance. Young children need play, at this age “brightness” makes no difference. She will then be the absolute youngest and may then struggle later on

I don't think it is in your child's best interest to start school early.

Academics are not everything.
Size matters
Maturity matters
Doing things with your peers matter (learning to drive, going to pubs etc).
Being the youngest can suck!

My daughter is 3 and a bit years old, born 1 sept 2020.....
She is currently in nursery in age group 3-5 so varying abilities meaning she's not always being stimulated as lots of kids are younger or different ability.

How does that work? If she is 3 and a bit how many are younger?

My boy was born 2nd sept and started reception on his 5th birthday. I truly believe he had an advantage through his whole school life. He is now 19yrs old and studying astro/aero engineering at uni 👌

My daughter is a 1 Sept 2019 baby, and I am delighted she's the oldest in her year and not the youngest. I thought she might be frustrated at nursery but actually it's just helped her confidence. My husband was a very premature baby born on 26 August and so he was always the very youngest in the year and his school reports talk throughout about him being underconfident, young for his age etc. I know the extra year of childcare costs are awful, but I have no regrets about keeping her at the front of her cohort.

As a parent who's first child was the youngest in the year, I made the decision to defer my second child's entry into reception. 100% the best decision I could have made. It's definitely better to be the older rather than younger child in the class if it's do able for parents. I'd want my child to be the oldest but the youngest if i was you.

Wow. Why on earth would you want to? I’ve three kids in the system age from 5 to 16. My two oldest started at 4.5 and my oldest and 5.5 as we moved to Scotland. It’s so much better when they start older. So much better. My youngest was a little bored in pre school but just a few months into school and his reading and writing and maths is far ahead of his brothers at similar age. My oldest could barely hold a pen as muscles in the wrists aren’t always developed at 4. My youngest can do all the practical things that my older two needed help with at start of school.
Let her be the oldest. She’s three years old why would you want her to go to school all day every day? I still hate sending my nearly six yr old. It’s a long day and he misses his mummy.
Shes only little once, don’t be in such a rush to make her grow up.

(Like an earlier poster, I did everything I could in late pregnancy so she could be born in September. I was induced on the morning of 29th August, and the midwife cheered when the alarm I'd set on my husband's phone went off at 12.01am on 1st September.)

Student venues rarely ID! I remember the Scottish first-years at my English uni revelling in the realisation that they wouldn’t be IDed despite still being seventeen

As a parent of an August baby who will be due to start school next year when she will have just a couple of weeks before turned 4, I would wait until your child is the “proper” age to start and will be one of the oldest. I worry a lot about how my daughter will cope starting so young.

I have an August birthday and believe me, I felt the difference (socially, if not necessarily academically) when we moved from Scotland to England. The oldest in the class is by far preferable, for sure...

No, she’s 4 in Sep 24. So she will have just turned 4. That’s how I’ve read it.

SunburyMum, I only live a few miles from you and if you find a school that has a single class in each of Nursery and Reception, you may find that the two EYFS year groups are grouped together for lots of activities, which would mean there are plenty of children slightly older than her in her social mix, if that would make you feel better. My child does music, storytime, PE, art etc with her Reception peers.

You're legally entitled to delay the start for summerborns now, so that they start Reception the following year.

But to answer the OP's Q, I think it's a bit crazy that children potentially start school in England at just 4 years of age, so I'd be happy that my child didn't have to.

I agree. I would be saying congratulations on avoiding a 31st August birthday meaning your child would have spent the first few years of their education* being compared to children with a years extra physical growth,maturity, language development, physical dexterity and emotional maturity.

*they do eventually catch up, but those first school years can be difficult as everyone forgets that the August birthdays have about a quarter less total life experience than the September birthdays.

I once heard that in some cultures the criteria for a child starting education was if they could reach over their head with a hand and touch the opposite ear. It’s quite an interesting experiment to try, physical maturity, and body proportions, change hugely at that age.

So in reality just over three!