August born babies school year

[nearlymumofone]

Hi,

I'm in early days of pregnancy and due 26th August. Just wondering when he would start school? Do August babies start school when they are just past their 4th birthday? ... wondering how long i'll need to keep my legs crossed for!!?

Theas- I don't live in the UK so I am correct in saying that you can defer where I live. I believe you can also defer in the Uk independent sector, but not in the state sector.

Apologies reallife I don't know where people are based, I'm assuming the OP is UK based but maybe even that assumption is wrong?

UK independent schools can make their own rules as long as the child is in some form of education (even "unschooling" ie choosing their own path at home counts)

iv got 6 DC 3 been winter babies and 3 been summer babies ( june , early july and late july ) 2 struggle really hard at school both on the school concerns list (DD late julys only 1 so we'll av to see how she gets on yet) yet all 3 off my winter babies are a head at school and find it very easy .
i was so worried about my DS starting school in the september i really didnt want him to go , he was far to young , and it wasn't till he'd been at school for a full month i found out that the gov will pay for younger school babies to stay on at nursery full time an funded , if id have known before ,i'd have held him back form school .
im now trying for my 7 th baby and have told my DH that if im not prggers by april i'll go back on the pill , just so i never have to put another baby in school to early .

Having waited so long for this pregnancy and been through so much to get here I now no longer care what month my child is born in.

In Oct/Nov 2010 I was terrified about getting pregnant that cycle in case I, god forbid, had an August baby, a year down the line, many tests, prodding/poking around and an operation later I didn't care as long as I could get pregnant.

Low and behold Oct 2011 we got pregnant! I am utterly terrified about my 12 week scan on Wednesday following a particularly nasty bleed and I just hope and pray that come the first week of August my husband and I will indeed have a beautiful baby.

Incidentally, my cousin was born 15th August and is a VERY highly qualified pilot with a bunch of miltary awards and a house that makes me sick each time I visit - it didn't hold him back!!!

Life is what you make it.

Don't get me wrong, if I was due very end of August and it was a few days either way I too would be practising my pelvic floor like nobodys business but as I'm due the first week there is nothing I can do about it and I'm not going to worry about something so trivial in the grand scheme of things.

I think here in Northern Ireland the cut-off month is July, not August/September.... not 100% sure if I'm right, but think so.

So here if a child is born in July or August he or she will start school the September they are 4.

I'm due in August 2012 with DC2. Really not getting worked up about it, don't think there's a big difference in maturity give or take a few months.

My August baby (19th) started last year. It was really hard as i feel she was too young at only just 4. She is doing ok but really hated it to start with. SHe came home exhausted and miserable. I also have an older July child and she found it easier despite only a month diffeence. Unfortunately lol number 3 will be end of July so possibly Aug again how stoopid of us lol but nice to have summer bubbies ! ! i think it does depend on the child poersonally if i had the choice i would have given her another year.

I was born in August, I went to a grammar school and have a reasonable handful of GCSE's and a couple of A-levels. Its fine.

Incidentally I have 2 autumn babies and 1 (soon to be 2) summer babies. My eldest started school at almost 5, and has always been 'average'. My next one along is currently in the nursery class and goes into reception in Sept when he'll be 4.2, his teachers say he shows promise and he has settled extremely well.

My ds is a late Aug baby, he was due September but arrived early. He started school last September having only turned 4 the previous week. I do think it was too early, he can't hold a pen properly, use scissors, doesn't get phonics and has no idea what's going on in general really. My Dd1 is a Feb baby and seemed far more ready to start. Having said that he's enjoying it and is fine emotionally.

My Dh is also August born and says he always felt like he was playing catch up, he said it was hard when all his friends could legally drive, drink etc. and he couldn't too. He still did well at school and University though.

Our niece deffered her start to school from sept to Jan so has gone at just over 4 n half.

I'm sure there are still two intakes in England n Wales for school starters. The law is your child must be in full time education before they are 5, but I dont think you have to send them full time at 4.

www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/your_family/education_index_england/access_to_education.htm#compulsory_school_ageStarting school

^In England and Wales, most local authorities have a policy of accepting children into school at the beginning of the term during which the child becomes five. However, the child does not have to attend school until the beginning of the term following their fifth birthday.

In Northern Ireland, a child who is four years old on or before 1 July in any year must start primary school on 1 September that year.

In England, from the school year beginning September 2011, local authorities must accept children into primary school in the September following the child's fourth birthday. However, parents may request that their child does not start school until later in the year or until reaching compulsory school age. A parent will also be able to request that a child attends school part-time until compulsory school age^

I could have done that Sal1980, but as he'd then have had to go into the same class anyway I felt he'd just be playing catch up even more, and all the other children will have settled in and made friends already. However given the choice to start him a whole year later in the next year group down I would have.

Ahhhh yes, my first will be a late July baby...so I'm not even thinking about it until I have to (when is that?)

I dont know much about reception class...its been a LONG time since I was there, but what do they actually do/learn?

Is it just like nursery but a bit more structured?

Yes, just like nursery really, but they do learn their phonics, start to read, very basic number skills but more learning through play.

I think it's a nice soft introduction to school life, gets them used to the routine and environment before they're expected to get down to it a bit more in key stage 1. That's what put me off starting ds later, I think missing reception and going straight into key stage 1 would have been quite a shock if I'd chosen to wait until he was 5.

I would really like a Sept baby as I'm June and I really felt young as most of my friend were winter babies felt they were always at a bit of n.advantage. dh is august and did well as went to private school. However for him the maturity thing hit hard a lot later and he went to uni at just 18 and ended up dropping pit of two courses despite having top grades at a level. Once was some bad parental pressure there but I can't help.feel that being the baby did impact him all the way through.

On the flip side I can't afford private school so will probably do work at home with dc's (schools round here not that great) if i'm sending a five year old to reception I would imagine they would already be able to read and so then I'd have to worry about them getting bored and playing up.

My ds was born August 2nd. He started nursery the sept after his 3rd birthday and reception the September after his 4th birthday. In my ds's case he is doing really well at school. I would say that it is not noticeable that he is one of the youngest in his year. I think it comes down the the individual child. He has a friend in his class who is 3 weeks younger than him and I would say the age gap is noticeable.

My best friend was in the same year at school as me but we are almost 1 year apart in age. I am older. She did better than me academically. I think everyone is different.

I'm pretty sure in England that the compulsory school age is the september after the 5th birthday so I could have held ds back until then.

I was an august baby and I feel that I could have done better at a young age if I was allowed to start in the September year after my 5th birthday rather than my 4th. I hated being the youngest in the class and I often felt that I could have avoided being put in a lower 'set' if only I'd had another year to.. erm... let my brain grow a bit? Socialise more? Develop better motor skills? Don't know...

I guess they have to draw a line somewhere though.