August baby - deferring primary school entry?

[Janedoelondon]

Hi mumsnetters,

Nervous poster as haven’t posted before, but hoping for some advice.

My little boy is 5 months old and was born at the end of August last year. He will be just 4 when he can start primary school.

I was chatting to someone at a group today who was saying I may need to look to defer my little boy’s entry to primary school in a few years’ time, as he’ll be the youngest in the year and may struggle vs those who are older in his cohort.

I know there has been quite a bit of research done into August born vs September born babies so this wasn’t exactly news to me, (others have pointed it out to me before!) but has got me a little worried.

Do any of you have experience doing this with your little ones? Or any August babies who started school having just turned 4 who have been absolutely fine?

Also, has anyone made the decision for their little one to start primary school aged 4, see how they get on, and if they are struggling, then hold them back a year? My worry is it may be difficult to know how a child will adapt until they are in a school setting, so keen for thoughts.

Thanks so much, really appreciate it. Anxious mum here!

Dc3 is August born and started school a few weeks after turning 4. She is definitely not behind and at last parents evening teacher was pleased with her progress. Her reading is ahead of expected levels, along with numeracy. Social skills she is doing great there too. She was more than ready for school, another year at preschool would have been detrimental. Dc4 is spring born and starting this September, he is a good way of where Dc3 was when starting.
Dc1 & Dc2 are some of the eldest in their class and we’re at different levels and abilities on starting and finishing reception.

@ParentsTrapped
I'm pretty sure it doesn't make them the oldest in the class to defer.
I think they just start a year later and go istraight into year 1 and miss reception class. So joining their own cohort but just a year later. I would worry friendships had already formed.

I am due in July! I already know I won’t be deferring a school year. I am also a summer born child and wasn’t at a disadvantage at school.

DD1 has an end of August birthday and is in Y11. For her, not starting school at just 4 would have been worse, as she was totally ready. Very much depends on the child.

My friend was born on August 30, and she is now a renal consultant. Always one of the smartest in the class, and wasn't notably any more immature. She is also tiny, so looked even younger than she is!. Someone has to be the youngest. Just make sure he has plenty of experience of childcare settings before he starts reception.

Mine was 31st. We didn't defer and she is flying through her first year at grammar, having had no issues at all. It showed most in PE where she was physically a lot younger. Academically she's always been at the top of her class.

My DD was born 6 weeks early at the end of August so should have been born early October and we won't be deferring. She's 2 now and has caught up fantastically, she's bright and confident, I don't see the need to keep her back. I was born late July and I think there was a gap between me and my older peers but that was more down to individual characteristics than age. I know several August born people who have done fantastically well at life so I really think it depends on the individual. You don't have to decide now.

Hi OP, I'm no expert in this (May birthday!) but have 2 sisters and DH who are all late-August birthdays.

What I don't understand is where it ends - if you defer school entry for all the July and August babies, eventually the June babies will be disadvantaged as "the youngest ones"... right? I'm not sure what the end goal is for children in general?

Both my August born sisters are primary school teachers and neither did deferred school entry themselves, nor do they recommend it EXCEPT for specific children who might need a slower start in school - i.e. NOT a default for summer babies.

Both of mine started off doing at least 3 afternoons in the school-attached nursery as little kids. Little one is still there :) but for my 5.5yo Y1 DS I think that being at the school nursery really helped his confidence in transitioning to reception, since it was basically the same setting.

My DS LOVES school and is bright and sociable. Lockdown was miserable for him (for everyone, obvs, but especially for a chatty toddler) and I value the socialisation that school provides and wouldn't withhold it or delay it without a solid reason to do so.

I'd recommend keeping an open mind and being honest about what will best suit your particular child, over assuming that it's best for any summer baby to delay school entry as a default position.

I don't think you need to worry about this yet - wait til the time approaches for you to apply, and see how the land lies then. You might feel he'll be fine.

It varies between local authorities as I understand it. In my view it’s only of benefit if the child starts in reception a year later.

My DS turned 4 in mid August (was supposed to be September baby but was premature) and started school in September. I was worried about him starting school being so young but he’s actually coped brilliantly and has been getting glowing reports, his reading is brilliant and his writing has really come on. He loves all aspects of school. I think it would have been selfish of me now to hold him back as he’s doing so well.
Ultimately though I think it depends on the child and how prepared they are. He started preschool at 3 and they and I worked together to make
sure he was prepared for starting school. This was mainly from an emotional/behavioural perspective (covid isolation had an impact) as he’s always been switched on otherwise.
I did think very carefully about his school and opted to apply for smaller settings where I also knew his cohort from preschool would be applying so he had a set of friends.
I think look at the likely rules in your area re: missing reception (I wouldn’t have wanted this) and look at your child’s needs closer to the time and you’ll know what the right choice is.

My august daughter is 10 and we deferred her school start to CSA. I wrestled with the decision right up to the last minute, were we doing the right thing? Would she hate us? Etc.

However years on and I can honestly say that I've never regretted it. I'm sure she would have been ok at 4 and 5 days but she went aged 5 and 5 days and it really made a huge difference to her in terms of confidence.

She worked out herself that she's in the 'wrong' year group but when I explained it to her she said how happy she is not to be the youngest.

Do what you think is best.

My August ds is now 16.

I would have like to have deferred but it wasn't possible then. However, this is his journey through school : end of ks1 under for all except emotional development. Ks2 average. Gcses got 1x5, 1x6, 5x8 and 3x9. Doing A levels and flying. Predicted As and above for all.

My key learning is lots and lots of you can do it and to challenge beliefs especially in primary, where there appears to be a correlation between age and achievement. Beyond primary, it evens out.

Unless you're planning on sending them to some over subscribed prep you're a few years ahead of yourself.
My end of July DS1 was far more ready than my early November DS2 when they went into reception. It really just depends on the child.
Broadly, although not always, I think it's a bad idea as at some point before secondary school they will have to skip a year.

You don’t actually get to choose if they go into a later year. You get the choice to defer their entry until after compulsory school age.

The school authority decides if they will go into the following year or just join in later with the year they should have been in.

The only people I know who have had joining a later year approved were premature. So they got into the year they should have been born in.

Also, in England (at least where we are), the deferral does not move over to secondary school. So in Year 5 they had to apply for secondary school. Parents then have to apply to get the secondary start deferred.

Essentially you don’t get to just choose what year your child will go into. It’s not that easy.

I think it's great that there is now some flexibility in school starting ages, I think a rigid cut-off is a bad idea. But definitely plenty of children are ready to start so it's a decision that should evolve over time as you see how they are doing, not something to worry about right from infancy.

Had October born DD been a couple of weeks older I'd have been pushing to have her start early if at all possible, she was absolutely ready for school turning 4. July born DS and his late August friend are both currently holding Cambridge offers for next year. Holding them back in primary wasn't needed and in fact could have been detrimental in some ways.

I also know an August-born 4 yr old who's loving school and it's working well for him.

To be honest, I don’t like the trend that parents can defer. It just means that parents that can afford an extra year of childcare and have the know how / confidence to complete the process will defer their June -Aug children.

Meanwhile, parents who don’t have the above won’t defer their summer children, meaning that they could be in a class with deferred children up to 15months older than them. These children will be naturally disadvantaged anyway (through having poorer parents), and the disadvantage is magnified by this process

My son was born the end of august (now 5) and we deferred his place. It wasn't always a set idea we had in our head to do, we wanted to see how he'd develop first. Ultimately we decided to because his speech wasn't the best due to a now resolved hearing issue as a toddler. For him it was the right decision although socially he does seem more advanced than most in his class, he is also very big/tall to start with so looks huge compared to others! But having older children I know this will even out over the next couple years!

I have an older summer born baby who I didn't hold back, it was obvious there was no need to as he was just more "advanced" so to speak, and even now academically excels and is on a scholarship. I feel like this is a perfect example as to why I wouldn't even worry about it until your little one is a little older!

But it is an easy process as long as the school are ok with it!

I don't think this is nearly true any more, several years ago the policies were shifted to indicate that deferral should be seriously considered on parental request as I understand.

The first cohorts from that change must be approaching secondary age now, and policies for secondary entry will have to change to accommodate it, anything else would be ridiculous.

Does anyone know if work has been done on secondary entry policies yet?

My daughter is early August and started school just after she turned 4, second youngest in her year, she loved it! Still does in y2 and is thriving, loves learning and is at the top end of her year group in certain subjects. See how he is when he's older, if he goes to nursery they'll be able to offer some guidance about his readiness.

I wouldn’t personally. I think at that age they catch up pretty quickly. My nephew is an august baby, has never struggled, but he’s going to take a year out between college and university (if he goes) so I think it might bring opportunities later in life.

That said, I took a year out and I was born later in the year out and it had little impact either!

I agree with the poster who said that this is an absolute middle class thing. The guidance was brought in to help lower social economic groups/those from homes without books who are shown to be behind at every stage in their education, but instead the M/c parents are doing it because they are the only ones who can afford the extra year of childcare. It used to be that children had to play in their age appropriate years but now even sports teams are under pressure to allow kids to stay with their cohort, meaning children have the physical advantage over kids a year younger than them.

I am a mother of 3 summer borns, one a boy in late august and everyone in my middle class circle is horrified I’m not trying to give him the advantage and there are 3 boys in his year that are over a year older then him. I think it’s a pretty gross use of privilege if I’m honest.

My DS2 is currently 3 and will be starting school in September. I’ve never considered deferring his entry. He is bright, very sociable and I have no concerns at all with him starting school. DH and I have August birthdays and started school at the normal time. Both left school with very good grades and had no problems. Socially; we are still friends now with the people we went in both primary & secondary school.

I've got a middle August born dc who is currently going through reception at the moment. I didn't put them through nursery beforehand, and their thriving. Needs a little extra help with writing and reading, but that is due to consentration problems, not age - and is generally doing absolutely brilliant at school. I suppose each child is different, but I'd not worry at all 😊

If you think that it’s a privilege and accept that it benefits children, then instead of slating the parents who are able to do what they are entitled to do in the best interests of their child, perhaps any frustration would be better directed at a government which (1) fails to properly fund and invest in preschool education and (2) starts children at school at too young an age.

We are outliers compared to most of the rest of the world in starting some kids at school at 4. In my view all 4 year olds are too young.