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I feel dd too young for school, Can we repeat reception twice?

30 replies

MyOneAndOnly · 08/10/2009 10:59

Hi, my dd is late June born, she is 4 now and is in nursery since last January. She'll start reception class this January.
I feel she is too young and immature for formal schooling and want to delay her primary school by one year. Can I do that just because I feel it is a good idea?

I am a foreign mum and have no knowledge of UK schools system whatsoever. I have been told, reception class is almost like an extended nursery with lots of play and very gentle learning through play and no teaching reading / writing etc. I am happy with that bit. I do not want to overload her with having to learn to read / write / maths so young. To me it is unnecessary pressure especially when she is so tiny. So I want to delay primary school by one year.
I have been told by her nursery people that she is within the normal parameters for her age. They do not know my child well enough and they never instilled much confidence in me for various reasons. But that's not the issue.
Anyway, we'll start reception and make that decision later in the year according to how reception class goes. But having said that, i feel strongly that I will want one year delay anyway.
Question is, can we repeat reception class again next year? In another school? We'll be moving out of the area in summer so it'll be a perfect new beginning with new school and new set of friends.
If a state school does not accept to accomodate her for a repeat reception class, does a private school accept?
I am a busy working single mum and home schooling is not an option for us.
I keep hearing / reading about Scandinavian system where kids start school at the age of 7 and they out-perform their counterparts in other countries. I am not Scandinavian but in my home country, kids start school at 7 too, and they start learning to read/ write / simple maths then. I am a product of that system and i did well academically. So I have no bad words about it.
What do you think? Thanks in advance...

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sunnydelight · 09/10/2009 01:22

If you're looking for alternative schools check out the "Human Scale Education" website it will give you a list of their members.

I sent my boys to one of their schools for a while and one of the advantages was their flexibility. I started my son in reception 4 days a week, and childen tended to move up a group when they were ready rather than automatically going up a class every year(the school was organised into three classes which covered pre-school to Y6). When we left the UK there was talk of some of these schools being govenement funded as an experiment, but I'm afraid I don't know the outcome of that so in all likelihood they are still fee paying

MyOneAndOnly · 09/10/2009 03:30

Thanks everyone.

sunnydelight, it is very helpful, I will be looking it up. Most appreciated.

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MyOneAndOnly · 09/10/2009 03:32

I have a new idea came to me after reading your replies kind people... I am thinking that perhaps there are some foreign schools which follow the curriculum based on their original countries more heavily than the UK curriculum and therefore they may not be too heavy initially for a very young and immature child. Not sure whether it is at all legally possible for foreigners to have their own scools like this or if such schools exist, in what capacity and what conditions... Anyone has a knowledge of this?

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sunnydelight · 09/10/2009 03:42

You're thinking of "International schools" where yes, the children will generally follow the curriculum of their "home country" with the idea that they can move from school to school around the world without having to change school system every time. They are generally designed for expats and tend to be very expensive as the fees are often covered by companies as part of the parents' expat package. The other disadvantage is a lot of movement within the classes so your child's best friend this term could be gone next. I'm not sure the advantages would outweigh the disadvantages in your situation.

MyOneAndOnly · 09/10/2009 03:53

Thank you for that sunnydelight.
From my initial peek, there are no schools from Human Scale Education website near where we live but, i'll look at them again in the day when I am more alert. May see things differently then. There is a will, there is a way I hope.

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