Delay school start this year

[Junebuggirl]

Hi,

I have a lovely almost 4 year old due to start school this September, place has been confirmed etc. I was talking to another parent whose child is the same age and they are delaying school start. Their child has no development issues she just said they'll do better being the oldest not youngest.
I've literally never heard of a child not starting school unless there was a real need is this something a lot of people do now?
Starting to feel worried now as potentially my child could be with children who delayed from the previous year and could be nearly 16 months older. It just doesn't feel right and I feel I could be letting my child down or setting them up for a tough journey. Is this the norm or exception? Should I seriously consider delaying my DC starting school for another year so they aren't at a disadvantage?

What a horrible man @YetMoreNewBeginnings .

Makes you wonder why some people go into a profession like that in the first place?!

I'm sure he'll get his comeuppance, when he rubs up the wrong person the wrong way who knows the law and won't stand for it.

For example, I wonder what evidence he has compiled to show how he "considered" these things and how that informed his position on them...

And be careful - there is a facebook group that is just an echo chamber and on here can be similar. Speak to parents of summer borns in the real world!

• Grammar school 11+ test results are adjusted for age by almost all councils (so being the eldest is a disadvantage)

No, it isn't. The point of the age adjustment (which is minor given the difference between an 11 or 12 year old is far less than say a 4 or 5 year old) is to equalise the results and remove disadvantage. A child who has had an additional year of education and experience will perform better - that is why they are age adjusted! So their adjusted result is likely to come out exactly the same, if not better because obviously the proven negative social, emotional and academic impacts of starting school have been removed by deferring.

• can stand out for being bigger/hitting puberty first

The opposite could equally be true for those starting younger. And I've heard far more tales of bullying or mental health issues on account of that, than being older. Do September born children - often just a few days older than deferred children - tend to get bullied on this basis? Sources?

• when you are older you have to explain to peers why you are in the wrong year

There is no "wrong" year. The effect of the decade old policy is that cohorts are now 16 months long and overlap, with those in the overlap having a choice of cohort. If anybody is too thick to grasp this or causes problems about it then the school needs to stamp that out like any bullying for whatever invented reason. If kids are going to bully they will always invent a reason. The answer is to deal with the bullies properly.

• If your kid has a problem later (parent seriously sick, they get sick etc) then you potentially could hold them back at that point rather than them falling 2 years out of step. You kind of have a year in reserve if you need it!

I've never heard of anybody doing this! I'm sure it may happen but it's hardly a major factor to consider. And would be highly dubious this would help a child in such situations anyway in most cases as it would simply add to the disruption. People can't plan their choices on the basis of catastrophic but highly improbable events. The only rational way to make a choice is to look at the data and statistical likelihood of outcomes, which is very clear on this matter, hence the option to defer being introduced.

People that post online who’ve deferred their child are still real world people 🤔

I never in 20+ years of working in schools seen a deffered child end up dropping another year group.

The only children I ever witnessed properly struggle were ones put into Y1 instead of YR.

*properly struggle in terms of children out of sync with their classmates on starting dates. Not overall as obviously kids struggle for other reasons.

Thanks for everyones feed back, I'm going to ask to close the chat now as it's been taken over by a few people who seem very set in their ideas and not open to anyone else's opinions. Always good to get a balanced view 😂

@YetMoreNewBeginnings 😂

Bizarre, but whatever floats your boat.

I wish I had known about this when DD started school, she was 4 yrs 1 month and the early years were difficult academically for her, later than the other to read and write, extra phonics at break time et . She's fine now in Y12 but it took her until about Y9 to catch up, and she still has confidence issues from being made to feel thick at primary school. (Not that the teachers did this deliberately, but it's sort of inevitable when all your friends are miles ahead of you.)

If that's how you respond to posters who have taken the time to provide information in response to you requests - to provide information regarding the process, law, history of the policy and legal precedents, comparisons to other education systems, the research data and findings and therefore the reasons for the policy being implemented, admission authority obligations, and advice on further sources where you can access more factual information on it, to dispell common myths and misinformation on all of these matters that get posted here repeatedly - so that you can make an informed decision, then it's hard to understand why you posted the thread asking for information about it and frankly rather ungrateful when people have spent time trying to help you. How rude.