Four year old not settling at school

[Pennycrayonx]

I think I sent my son to school too early. He's a summer baby and is struggling with the routines of school. Apparently he's not sitting on the carpet like he should.
I'd like to take him out and try again later in the school year. Can I do this? Is it allowed? I'm based in England.

Is not sitting on the carpet the only problem?

When is your son five? I don't think you would be able to try later in the year, that's very disruptive for everyone. Perhaps you might be able to keep him back a year and restart next September, you would need to speak to the school but. What would be the plan then? Put him in nursery for a year ?

Yes you can take him out and delay him
starting school - it’s far too young to start school - I wish I had with my son xx it doesn’t matter if he was doing all he should be at school - one more year of being a child & playing before starting school will be beneficial

www.gov.uk/government/publications/summer-born-children-school-admission

That's the trouble - I don't know! I can home school for a year but I posted to find out my options

You don't have to send him in, you could ask for flexible school hours, or just wait a term or two. He'd be missing out on some learning and making friend groups etc but you would have to weigh that up with him finding it hard to concentrate anyway.

Technically, you don't have to send him til next September. You could deregister him and apply again now for an out of year admission to reception, then he could go in next September and do the whole year with his new cohort. You'd have to do it in this current round of applications so before January 15th 2026.

But even though you should be allowed, some schools can be obstructive so I'd ask the head and the local LA first to see if they'd be supportive of if you'd have a fight on your hands. Not that that's not a reason to do it if, just might be exhausting.

You can, there are lots of fb groups to help you and your local council x

Yes, you can absolutely do this. You can send him to nursery for the remainder of the academic year, you don’t have to keep him at home. You should receive funding for January onwards.

You’ll need to act quickly, though, as you’ll have to reapply for a new reception space through your local authority flair September 26.

I suggest joining the Facebook group Flexible School Admissions for Summer Borns, they can help guide you through the process.

There are lots of summer born children who take to school routines like ducks to water, and there are quite a number of winter born children who struggle with it all. I would have a talk with the teacher and the SENDco and see what they suggest. He could be on a restricted timetable, have you by his side for some of the time, or you could deregister him and try again next year. However, be mindful that pulling him out of school could open up a whole set of new problems.