Hello, Ed Balls has come back to us with a longer reply about summer-born babies and the Rose review, following on from his webchat.
EdBalls: Many of you raised questions about your summer-born children and the proposals contained in the Rose Review on when they can start school. I wasn?t able to answer all your questions on it then, so I wanted to take the time now to tell you a little more about why we are making the changes we are, and to ask for your views on them.
As I said, many of the parents I speak to want their children to start school later in the year they turn five, while others want the option to start their children at school in September and don?t want to wait till January or April, as they currently have to in some local authority areas. Some of you wanted to know why we don?t organise school entry so that parents of summer-borns who they feel are particularly young for their age can start in reception the year after they turn 5.
Parents know their children best and our proposals give them more choice about when they want their children to start school. I want all parents to be able to choose to start their children at school in the September after they turn four if that is what they want. Sir Jim Rose found good evidence that it is best for children?s attainment and progress if they all start school together in September.
However, since many parents feel their summer-born children are not ready for school at the beginning of the year after they turn four, I would like more schools to let them go to school part-time during Reception. For those who prefer to keep their children in other early learning settings, we will in future offer 25 hours of nursery or early education free (rather than the 15 hours that children get now) during the school year after they turn four until they reach compulsory school age. Compulsory school age will remain the September after children turn five and will not change as a result of these reforms. Choosing to start your child later should not affect admissions to school and your child should not lose out on a place at a school because he or she starts later.
One aspect of the reforms Jim Rose set out which I didn?t get the chance to mention was about the curriculum. The Early Years Foundation Stage, which children now follow in Reception, is all about learning through play, which makes school easier to cope with for younger children. And Jim Rose?s new primary curriculum is also meant to ensure there is an easier transition between Reception and Year 1, again making it easier for summer born children to cope with school. I hope this will reassure some of you, who feel school in year 1 will be too much for your summer-borns. Jim Rose also made it clear he thought schools should take more account of the needs of younger children when teaching classes and assessing progress.
Many of those who posted were particularly upset that we are not proposing allowing those children starting school after they turn five to start in reception rather than year 1. There are a number of reasons why I felt that wasn?t the right thing to do. The evidence we have suggests it is better for children to start school earlier rather than later, and there is a risk that a wider range of starting dates might actually end up disadvantaging summer borns who go to school after they turn four more as they would be learning with much older children. Instead, I wanted to look for other ways to ensure that children who are younger have a successful transition to full-time school.
I know some posters were worried about their summer born children with SEN who would face particular difficulties with coping if starting school in the September after they turn four. These proposals mean you will not have to start your children in school then if you do not want to. However, you may find that starting school earlier plus other improvements to SEN provision mean that your child would be getting the additional help they need earlier.
While I have announced that we are taking the proposals from the Rose Review forward, I am of course always interested to hear your views on this important issue.