Experiences in deferring reception?

[JoeyRamoney]

We are considering deferring our summer born 3-year-old to start reception in 2025 as opposed to 2024.

On paper, there are many pros, but there are niggling cons such as the difficulty we may have keeping her in cohort if we move (likely given we are currently renting), the fact she is already very tall and will stand out physically (although I ask myself if I would have this worry if she had been born a month later and in the 2025 cohort...). People seem to mention sports a lot but as we live in a major city, any clubs she does are unlikely to be with the same kids from school and I hope would be widening her social circle anyways.

Am I missing any other cons? Anyone had any regrets?

It really depends on the child, personally unless you have particular concerns I wouldn't keep them back 'just because'. My DSis and her DH deferred their DD and although it was fine for KS1 the difference was notable in KS2 and even more so at secondary. For others it works well.

I would wait until nearer the time and see, if no developmental concerns etc then I'm not sure why you would?

Some local authorities won't let them be out of their chronological year and they will basically skip reception and go straight into year 1 with their peers.

We're you hoping they could go to reception in 2025?

Check out the Facebook group "Flexible School Admissions for Summer Borns". It's full of real knowledge and first hand experiences.

I’ve done this twice including having two children and moving to a different LA. It hasn’t been an issue at all. I’m confident we made the right decision. I’d recommend the Facebook group mentioned above too.

Thank you! Am part of the group but understandably they seem very focused on positive stories only rather than anyone talking about downsides.

Having tall* children!

Yes its possible for a child to start reception rather than year 1 - there is quite a long process depending on the type of school but the LA/school would have to explain the benefit of the child missing reception year and there normally isnt one....

We kept our summer born with his year group and did wonder if we were making the right choice as we were told he was behind where he should be with his talking at that point.

Just finished year one now and is report is exceeding expectations across the board. He caught up and then some! Just a late bloomer. I'm relieved we didn't keep him back because I think he'd have been pretty bored.

If it's a case that she seems behind just wanted to reassure you this can close really quickly.

I have been very much 'wait and see' and the school application process has crept up really quickly so we really need to start having conversations with the schools we like to get an idea if they are likely to accept the deferral.....am not sure how much progress DD is likely to make over the next few months.....

Currently, the deferral doesn’t automatically carry on to secondary school (in my borough of London at least) so she could have to leave after Year 5. This is the situation of someone I know whose daughter has just completed Year 5. Mother had to jump through hoops, ringing around secondary schools and finding SENCOS that would support a deferral and applying to those schools. They are getting support with this because of an EHCP.

Child was premature and is in their adjusted age class now.

Unfortunately, my daughter hates being the tallest in the class. Also be aware that your child may be more likely to go through puberty and get her period before her peers (something which I hated).

Such a good point - I think I keep focusing on primary age development and not thinking about the teenage years.

DD will more than likely have an EHCP for school - although we would have to purposely delay this because children with an EHCP are except from summer born guidance at present..... presumably because they say these children will receive more support but we all know how desperately underfunded SENCO is.

Oh gosh, I didn’t know that. My friend had struggled to get the EHCP (despite issues being noted by health care professionals from 2 years old) so she didn’t have that complication with the Reception deferral.

I know she feels the deferral was right. Her DD is really tall and got her period early too however. The early periods is becoming more of a thing now at primary anyway, with some girls starting in Year 5 and Year 6 (I am a teacher). My tall DD is being monitored as she is at high risk of early puberty.

My DD is starting reception this year at 5. Where we live it was a super easy process. She doesn't have any diagnosed SEN.

I'm a teacher and I've deferred 2 of my children. They're only young but one's going into Year 2 this September and the other into Reception. I have yet to find a "con". Formal schooling is started far too young in this country in my opnion (I grew up in a European country).

I think lots of schools are still open to accepting an EHCP deferral, but they dont HAVE to. So its a risk! Apparently the workaround is to get the reception place agreed and then apply for your EHCP around 20 weeks before school starts....

I just keep telling myself 'Would I be worrying about this if she had been born in September?'. I was tall, I was self-conscious about it. I think it's natural to try and protect children from bullies but...they can literally find anything if they want to.

Thank you! It feels SO young. Another year of play, letting her work on her speech, her confidence, can only be a pro. I fear starting her before she is ready could set her back hugely.

Thats great to hear! I am hoping for a straightforward process.....

I was in the same position last year with my summer born DC, it is difficult to know what the right thing to do is. I was on the FB group which is great if you've already made the decision to defer but they are very bias to this being the best for all children which I don't agree with. I think it really depends on the child and their abilities.

If your child does have learning difficulties sometimes being in school with the correct support is better than waiting a whole year? There are cons including cost of childcare another year, all tests are age adjusted so they need to score higher for the same outcome, friendships and children's self esteem.

I would say if you are thinking of deferal I wouldn't leave it too late either, with my DC they had already had a year in the preferred preschool and there were no places the following year and they had done settling in periods, made friends and were excited to go. The emotional impact of repeating nursery and seeing their friends in the year above would be negative as well as not having a nurturing placement for the year while they wait to start.

Perhaps speak to the school and see what supports they offer to summer born.

This isn't quite true.
Many local authorities do allow summer born (after April iirr) children to defer entry and thy go into reception.

We have had a number of children come through our school who 'should' be in the academic year above but have deferred their start by a year.

I realised you said some - i thought most did these days. However it's worth checking the policy in any Lea you may move into,

We have a child with an EHCP who deferred a year and will finish year 6 next year before hopefully moving into specialist secondary. I say hopefully because the LA have said that she will then be year 8 rather than year 7 and all the specialist schools are already full in year 8. So parents are having to battle to get her into specialist provision. So do check the position on transfer to secondary, you might find your child has to " skip" a year and, in my opinion, skipping year 7 is not easy. You may have an LA which allows your child to remain with their cohort but you need to think ahead.

No advice but following as we're having the same dilemma. My daughter isn't tall but she seems confident and reasonably bright so far. If she carries on as she is I worry she'd be bored in the year below, but if she stays in her own year and can't keep up with the older kids I worry her confidence will be knocked. It's such a difficult decision!bi hadn't even thought about periods/puberty 😫

Absolutely child dependant for sure. I know there are some children in DDs nursery class already who you can tell will be ready for next September. We are waiting to see what happens when she moves into the preschool room next month and how she copes. At present, she is non-verbal at nursery and has sensory issues with noise which she is getting support for, but its hard to imagine such a big change in the next year. Not too worried about her feeling like she will miss out on school - as we are in London in a private nursery, the children in her year are from all over and will most likely all be in separate schools.

I keep pretending that secondary school is a long time away...I am in denial!

Apologies for being a bit negative, but I wouldn’t leave it until 20 weeks before school starts to apply for an EHCP. It may go smoothly for you (and I hope it does) but so so many people get turned down for a needs assessment. My dd was a shoo-in on paper for a needs assessment and was turned down. We ended up having to appeal- this added 6 month plus to the process and waiting times for tribunals are growing all the time.

I’m delaying my dc’s Reception start due to being summer born and having SEN. I’ve been told that I will need to get panel to agree to her starting Reception next year (rather than Year 1) and there are no guarantees. There’s no way they can argue it would be in her best interests to skip Reception though.

You’re welcome to message me if you want.