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Original poster

August children going to school

29 replies

PetitFilou1 · 03/04/2009 10:00

Right help me out here ladies

ds1 went to school last year. dd going this year. But she will only just be 4 as her birthday is 28 August. Last year the school had a policy of half days for non Winter born children until they went full time in January.

This year they have offered dd a full time place (as per current education policy I think). But I can discuss other options with them. I am not working atm as am on mat leave with ds2 but will be doing three days from September when she starts school.

What do I do? Is she going to cope with full days or do I ask for her to go for half days as per her brother? The other option is to keep her out entirely and leave her in preschool until January but I don't think she'll like this much as it will be full of 2 year olds just starting and her friends will be going to school.

She has been going to a combination of private nursery and preschool up to this point.

Any experiences of children this young going to school would be very welcome....

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Acinonyx · 03/04/2009 10:08

I've talked to people about this as dd is a July baby going to school this Sep. The advice I have had, is that it is better for them all to start together and stay together otherwise it can be tough, socially, for the late comers or the ones who go home early. Since dd is shy and it's the social aspect that most concerns me I am keen for her to be on the same timetable as everyone else.

kingprawnjalfrezi · 03/04/2009 10:08

I think if you don't start her in Sept you risk losing the place. Ours start full time now too but the head is happy to have young ones doing half days for as long as they want. Nightmare for working mums though. I'll be in a similar situation ds2 born end august. At least girls tend to be more mature so she'll probably be fine especially if she is used to pre-school. Will she be moving up with friends?

Original poster

PetitFilou1 · 03/04/2009 10:18

Yes she will be moving up with friends. She is already very close to two particular little girls and will be very upset if she doesn't go to school with them. So....there isn't really an option not to start her in September I don't think. It is more whether she does full days or not. She would be going to a childminder in the afternoons for three of the days (when I'm working) if she wasn't at school.

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LIZS · 03/04/2009 10:19

dd did this , knew noone and was fine.

Xavielli · 03/04/2009 10:22

My DD was 4 in december and he will be starting "Big school" this september.

He could have gone in January, but it just wasn't something I felt comfortable with so I do know how you feel.

However I think if it had been the september intake and he wouldn't just be doing the same as he would have been at playgroup for half a year then I think I would have sent him.

Also, as its not a case of being separated from you full-time when she isn't used to it (as she is) then I don't think half days would be nessecary.

Xavielli · 03/04/2009 10:22

*DS

Original poster

PetitFilou1 · 03/04/2009 10:24

Xavielli
It isn't the separation I'm worried about. dd has been going to nursery since 1. It is the tiredness.

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Bicnod · 03/04/2009 10:26

My niece is an August baby and started school last September. She was full time straight away and struggled a bit with being very tired. My sister asked the school if my niece could have wednesday afternoons off until Christmas which she did and then has been properly full time since then and coping much better with it. I guess all children are different and maybe your DD will cope with being full time straight away, but hopefully the school will be willing to be flexible if you need them to be...

Original poster

PetitFilou1 · 03/04/2009 10:26

btw Acinonyx - ds1 going to school for just mornings for a term didn't affect him socially at all. I am confused as to why that would (but then he is not a shy child) so maybe different in your case

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fircone · 03/04/2009 10:35

dd (August 30) did half days all year. I didn't really discuss it with the school. I just turned up every day at lunchtime!

kingprawnjalfrezi · 03/04/2009 10:35

I found after private nursery 8.30 till 6ish the school day seemed very short and although it is more intensive than pre-school there is a lot of 'child directed learning' time in reception year so if she is used to being away from you she should be fine. They are all a bit tired and cranky by Friday afternoon, regardless of when their birthdays are. Ds1 went to school this sept with about 5 friends from nursery a few of which were very young but they were all very happy and excited to be moving to big school together.

nickschick · 03/04/2009 10:44

I have an August born and the first few months were awful he was so very tired he came home ate and slept and I missed him so much cos I didnt even see him after school he was so tired.

A lot of his peers were almost 11 months older and it really was a huge gap and I think its affected him albeit slightly all through school.

however

hes currently year 11 and aiming for 13 gcses and off to study a level law ,history psychology and english - my August baby grew up!!.

Gunnerbean · 03/04/2009 11:04

It totally depends on each individual child.

My DS is a late August baby and went in to school with no problems whatsoever and started full days after two weeks like a lot of the others but many more of his class mates didnt start full time until after the first half term. To be honest half the time I think it's the mothers who hold back on that for themselves, not because of the way the children are (that was my experience after hearing a lot of the mothers talk anyway).

You can never tell how children are going to react to starting school regardless of what time of thw year they're born.

Just because they are only just 4 when they start school doesn't mean they're all going to react to it in the same way.

In fact, one of the girls in DS's class who I can remember kicking up the biggest fuss of all turned 5 in the first week of term!

Gunnerbean · 03/04/2009 11:06

Most LEAs have a policy that you can start them in January too if they're born after June. My LEA certainly offered me the chance to do that, although I didnt take it up.

SamJamsmum · 03/04/2009 11:19

My son was late July. Our LEA doesn't have late starts and expects September but before they are 5 you are entitled to do half days and there isn't a lot they can do about it. The school didn't mind when I took him at lunchtime.

It does depend on the individual. We have a boy in the class who is still tearful and he is Feb born.

In my son's case he just couldn't cope with full days straight away. He found even a half day very tiring and overwhelming and I had the chance to start with half days and gradually add in afternoons. He was very teary at school and the first few weeks were tough. Half days really helped. Obviously trickier if your childcare options aren't easy.

Perhaps you could start with an assumption of a full day and see how it goes.

Stayingsunnygirl · 03/04/2009 11:22

Would your school allow you to try your dd on full days, and switch her to half days if you felt she wasn't coping, petitfilou?

My ds1 (now 15) is an august baby, and started school in January, going half days until easter and then fulltime, which seemed to suit him fine. I think if he'd been starting in September, I'd have wanted him to do half days to start with, but actually he might well have coped with full days - as gunnerbean says, every child is different.

Acinonyx · 03/04/2009 11:39

petitfilou - dd has been VERY shy and so I am concerned that she doesn't feel left out. She likes having lunch at preschool so I think she wouldn't want to miss that at school. She will be with her childminder 3 days after school anyway (yes, delayed starts are a nightmare for working mums).

I'm not worried about tiredness at all - in fact I'm hoping she might be more tired and I can get her to bed more easily!

If it's about tiredness - then I would consider some or all half days for a while.

ICANDOTHAT · 03/04/2009 16:53

It's hard for them, but I stuck to full ays purely for the social / bonding reason. You are stuck between a rock and a hard place really. None of it is ideal as we pack our little ones off to formal education aged 4 They have no choice but to comply and deal with it.

Rewards · 03/04/2009 20:51

my ds1 is an august. His class did 9-12 for two weeks, 9-13hr for two weeks and full time for one week and then it was oct half term. He then went full time on the understanding that if he needed time out that he could have it (schools idea).

NormaJeanBaker · 03/04/2009 21:00

DS is an August baby and is due to start in Sept. he goes to private kindergarten two full days a week and has been for a year but doesn't enjoy it much. We are moving house this summer and the local primary (state) is flexible about year of admission. They have no Jan intake - just Sept - but happy for him to start a year later. So think that's what we'll do. You know your own child and I'm not going to accept a system that forces him into something I know he''l detest. I'd HE if the school hadn't been so understanding. They say they think the individuality of children is very important and school sec did the same thing so all very supportive. Know he'll miss out on some bonding stuff but he really isn't interested anyway. If there is a big change during the next few months we are lucky enough to be able to reconsider - it's a small rural school with places to spare and mixed year groups so he will be with peers if defers by a year anyway.

DD1 is a very different personality - she started early at her own request and adores everything about kindergarten and now school. Is very excited about new school and new friends. No idea what third child will be like but she's only one and a spring baby so not worried yet.

jocie · 03/04/2009 22:33

having worked as a nursery nurse for 10 years in a reception class iv seen lots of august children starting. In the school where i worked all the children did half days for 4 weeks and than started full time, however if we or the parents felt the child wasnt ready we derw up a plan of half days/ full days that we revied after a couple of weeks. We had 1 girl (aug bday)who did full days tues,thurs and then half days on others til xmas and then full days in jan but if shae got too tired she would have a half day.
Ob this only worked as thet mum was at home but it did mean that the girl was v settled.
Each child is different though and from what ive obsereved girls generally cope better than boys.
Id suggest discussing it with the class teacher and maybe seeing how it goes in sept, if she copes full time then great, if not then discuss the option of some half days.
Also i think that school is totally different from nursery. Iv seen children who have been doing full days at nursery be exhausted when going full days at school. I would imagine that most nuseries have some kind of sleep or rest time and obviously that is more difficult in a school.
hope all goes well in sept.

Loopymumsy · 04/04/2009 10:01

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Gunnerbean · 04/04/2009 17:31

I certainly wouldn't have wanted to keep my DS out of school until he was 7 like they do in some countries, even if I'd been give the chance to. He may have only been just 4 when he started but he was totally ready for it.

sarah293 · 04/04/2009 17:39

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simpson · 04/04/2009 17:53

I am worried about this too as DS is 31st August baby so if a day younger would be starting full time school a whole year later But I guess they have to have the cut off point somewhere

Currently he goes to the pre school within the school for afternoons and struggles with tiredness just doing this.

I have spoken to his teachers and they have said he will be able to do some half days if he is struggling.

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