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!

Ds is not born in August but he was in July and we deferred him but we was following professional advice. Ds has ASD and global development delay there was no space for him in the special needs school. Mainstream school couldn't meet his needs so we decided to defer him and he started reception in the special school the following year.
I wouldn't have ever considered deferring him for just being the youngest in the year.
My nephew who is the same age has Ds and born in July too started school at the correct time and he is doing great in school he's the 2nd youngest in his class and he's doing just has well has the oldest ones in class him being the youngest hasn't give him any sort of disadvantage.

When the time comes you will know if your child is ready for school or not and you can decide what's best.

I don't think you have anyway of knowing yet what will be right for your child, they are all different regardless of which month they are born in.
My July born son went to nursery from 9 months old, I spoke about deferring school with his nursery and they said he would get too bored. He was tired when he started school and it took until the spring term for him to be less exhausted, however lots of his friends with Sept/Oct/Nov birthdays were the same.
I personally think unless there is absolutely no way the will cope you should send them and ride out the tiredness, they will settle in eventually.
Deferring means if they do things like join the local football club they will play with the class above them and not their classmates. They go strictly on what school age they should be.
The Facebook group mentioned previously is a great source of information if you did feel its right for your child later on.

I have an august born - I would say it was mildly difficult when younger as a poster has previously said, especially as a couple of the very small rural school (12 in class) intake were September children. And a year is a big gap at that age. But 21 now and at vet school so didn't stop them any more than a bit harder at the start. They got used to being the youngest in the year.

I have an end of August and a July child. The August DD is now 13 and I think could have done with being a year behind. She coped fine but things like maths are more of a struggle. It didn't seem to be much of an issue earlier on as she is very socially able.

My July child fits into his year group perfectly. He would be physically and academically out of place in the year below.

All that just to say... you might just have to see what your child is like. I also would only defer if it means starting at the beginning of September in Reception the following year. I don't think there is any advantage to missing Reception and going straight into year 1 or starting Reception a term or two late.

No they don't go into year 1 if deferred. My Ds was deferred and he started in reception the following year.

My late August born was fine at school, I think people over egg the issue. There’s a MUCH wider gap in any classroom between the top and the bottom than 12 months.

DD2 is going this so instead of going to reception this September she will stay in school nursery for another year.

For me the concern is not the move to reception but the jump from reception to year 1.

I have end July and end August children.

IME, a lot depends on what they do beforehand. It sounds like your DC is in FT nursery which is probably the best preparation... they will be used to long days in big groups and having to share, take turns, follow routine etc.

My eldest took about half a term of reception to adjust emotionally and has had no issue academically. I am very pleased we didn't defer.

As I understand it, the most important q is whether deferral means your DC would still go into Reception or straight into Year 1. There is no way I would want my child to miss Reception. Yes, it's play based, but I have been amazed at how much they learn.

Every child is different I wouldn’t make any decisions until you know your child better.

I deferred my August born DD but our circumstances were different. We left the uk during lockdown and returned last year. Our dd was due to start school in Sep 21 but the country we were living in school start age was 6 so she was still in nursery there and was no way prepared to go straight into year 1, so we requested she be deferred. We provided evidence showing it would have a negative effect on her to be placed straight into year 1. Had we stayed in the UK I don’t think we would have deferred her as she was doing well in the uk nursery and her close friendship group in nursery all went to the same school, we were confident she would have been fine. But lockdown, moving countries, one that was in lockdown longer than the uk, and the lack of school preparation meant she wasn’t as prepared for school like she would have been in the uk.

I know several August born kids, each one is different, some you can definitely tell they are emotionally less mature than their classmates, others you’d never be able to tell.

My advice, speak to the schools you are looking at enrolling in. Also speak to the LA admissions team. What ever nursery/preschool you enrol your DS in will be able to let you know if your DS is ready for school or not.

You also need to consider high school, some high schools will not let your child start in year 7, they may insist on him being placed in his correct year group. Our plan is that if the high-school insist on moving her straight into year 8 we will work with the primary school in moving her up a year before she starts high school. I’ve already had this conversation with the primary school.

Just be aware it’s one of those weird parenting topics where people take whatever you decide for your child to be a judgement on their parenting of their child. And lots of people saying while my child started school when they had just turned 4 and were fine which is similar to the we didn’t wear car seats and were fine argument. What other people do is irrelevant and some of those kids won’t have reached their full potential.

You need to check with the school/LEA to ensure they don’t miss reception.

i have an august born baby and I half wish I’d deferred entry. She is quite immature emotionally which she has struggled with. But then again she is one of the top 3 in her class so I’m sure she would have gotten even more bored if she’d been kept back a year. Having Covid lockdown from 3.5-starting school certainly didn’t help the maturity.

I also have a September born baby so I’m interested to see how she fares.

I think wait and see what your baby is like character wise and go with your gut.

ps I am a July born and I was very aware of being less mature than my peers during my teenage years. Personally I wish I’d been held back a year

Quite a lot of misinformation on this thread, and a lot who are mistaking anecdotes for data. My main advice is to join the FB group flexible school admissions for summerborns as mentioned up thread.

I have August born twins that have deferred and used to be a chair of governors.

• you will continue to be entitled for tax free childcare if you defer (I still claim every month)
• the data shows that summerborns do perform less well than their older peers and need more interventions
• this evens out at about age 7/8 so it's not forever, but I was worried about loss of confidence/enjoyment of learning in that period
• yes Reception is a year of play, but Year 1 gets serious pretty quickly - woll your just turned 5 year old be able to sit at a desk for extended periods?
• you get to decide if your child will starts school at just turned 4 or just turned 5. The local authority then decides whether they go into Reception or Year 1. If they decide year 1, they have to show how that is in your child's best interests.

There will always be kids that buck the trend and do well at just 4. But YOU know your kid best, make a decision on that basis.

No its no sorted yet- I know people in Year 5 currently who are having to apply for secondary and then deferral. Apparently it’s better in Scotland.

I'm end of July and I struggled in the first couple of years at primary school. We'll I say struggled I was probably just more average. But around year 3 I totally excelled and was more intelligent than my peers.
I would only keep your child behind if you're happy to pay for childcare/entertain them at home more than other people who with children your age, or if it means a lot to you that they excel in the early years but I wouldn't have thought your DC will be any different by the age of 6/7 whatever way you do it!

I have an August baby and won't be deferring unless she turns out to be delayed developmentally. Someone has to be the youngest, after all.

My July born daughter is more than ready to start primary school in September and she will be 4 this summer. She's ahead of her class with phonics and maths at the moment so I have no qualms about her going this year she can't wait.

On the flip side I have a 4th September born daughter too and I wish she was born in august to be honest and am whole years extra childcare is not the one!

My dtds were due end of September but came 30aug. They are now 11 so I can look back in hindsight.

They started school 3 days after turning 4. One was struggling to drop nap time so our pattern was; collect from school, fall asleep in car on way home, wake up for dinner, go to bed and sleep through the night. She was exhausted. The other one slept less but was shattered. We did no after school clubs at all while in reception because I knew it would be too much. Homework only happened at weekends the first term.

They were never bottom of the class but lower middle ability wise. This balanced out in Year 5 (although worth noting Year 4-5 was covid for us so chucks of homeschool while dh worked from home and I was in the hospital working). By Year 6 they were both on track to achieve above expectations in SATs and in reality got top marks (shocked the teachers but proved me right as they’d never acknowledged their ability had changed).

currently in Year 7 and dtd1 is flying, top set maths and English etc. dtd2 finds it a bit harder so she’s a set below but basically she’s a B grade student currently and her twin A/A*.

i feel that unless there’s significant development delay then it’s best to stay in the normal year. That said, there has been a down side and that’s confidence. Now the twins are very confident on stage or talking to people (we failed at stranger danger lessons as they will talk to anyone) but confidence in how they see themselves. Dtd1 will say “oh I’m rubbish at maths, I’m a bit thick… etc” she’s top set and not rubbish at it at all but it’s ingrained in her that everyone else is better. I believe this is because her first year of school, she was surrounded by dc who could already read and write and that’s a very visible gap when you’re 4 and know you can’t do those things. That impact has stayed with her. I recently shared this theory with her and we spoke about the difference between 5 and 4 in reception being massive. It was like a light bulb moment. Once she’s now understood that context she’s much more confident.

Overall, you know your own dc more than anyone so you do what you believe is right.

I know someone who did consider it for their premature boy but ended up being unable to afford an extra year of childcare. So I guess this is true- it will only be an option for some.

Apparently it is called ‘redshirting’ in the States.

Another thing to consider is if you are prone to early puberty in your family. Both families I know who have deferred had daughters who also ended up having early puberty. I personally hated being the first girl in my class to go through puberty but I guess some may not be bothered.

We have a late July baby, and wish we could have differed but it was tricky in our area plus she had very close pre-school friends going to same school. She was barely 4 before going into Kindergarden.

She's a striver. Tried harder than everyone else as she was so far behind autumn borns in development but now she's in secondary school they're all around the same so it doesn't matter anymore.

My little girl is 4 in august and starts school in September. I have no concerns about her starting and all my friends who have kids in September - November all day they are ready now so I think most kids will be fine. You’ve got a long time before you need to think about it and each child is individual so see what he is like in a few years

That lady was quite rude to say that to you. It depends on your child. I know quite a few august born boys who are thriving. I'm going to have a july baby and won't be worried.

One of mine is the youngest in the year - very end of August. Fairly sure if I'd kept them back a year they would have been bored sh**less.

It varies on child I think - the other two were June and July - the June one was fine but I think the July one could have coped the year below , based on maturity not intelligence.

I deferred both of my children’s school start and so they both started reception at age 5.

They are now 6 and 9 and both happily getting along fine at school.

nursery/childcare wasn’t an issue for us. Their funding (30hrs) continued and they simply stayed at pre-school for an extra year. In fact childcare became harder after they started school because their preschool provides care over school holidays and their school doesn’t have anything in school holidays. So It didn’t affect us financially.

If you are interested there is a Facebook group (Based in England) with some people who are very knowledgable aboutthe research, law and processes around starting summer born children at CSA.