Can someone explain this to me please???

[Maddison]

This has been bugging me for ages, I'll try and keep it simple.

DS1 was 3 when he started nursery and was 4 the following January, then started school the following September. He made a friend in nursery who was 3 in the Oct, started nursery in the Nov and stayed at nursery when DS1 started school, so DS1's friend has had an extra year at nursery. I know some of the other children who attended nursery at the same time as DS1 remained there for a further year.

I just don't get how some kiddies get so much time at nursery and others, like my DS1 only get 1 year. Can someone explain it to me please and put me out of my misery??

Because school age normally starts at 4 years old and the cut off is the 31st august so your ds's friend wouldn't of been 4 until the October.So would start the following sept before he is 5.
Does that make sence?

Thanks for replying tortoise, but I don't think I made myself very clear (as usual )

I understand that children start school in the academic year that they are 5, what I don't understand is that one child starts nursery a month after he is 3 and so gets almost 2 years there and others like DS1 starts nursery when he is nearly 4 so therefor only gets 1 year.

here they start school in the term in which they are 5 (ie if they are 5 in oct. they start in september but if they are 5 in february they start in January).

I am not sure how the cursery system works though sorry!

HTH!

maddison ,your son would have been eligible for a nursery funded place from 2yrs 9months.So if his b;day is in Jan then he would have been funded from the term after he was three but could start earlier iyswim.Did he start preschool in the sept before he was 3?
So he had one full school year at preschool plus the autumn term of the following yr.

I'm confused now??

floating,in our area your dd would start school in the sept ,so she'd be the youngest in the yr.

the young ones go half days for a full term in our area.

I'm in hants ,but I think it's pretty widespread.The thing is she'll prob be halfdays until Jan anyway and reception is all about learning through play .There are quite a few threads about this if you search the archives.I don't think it's that easy to defer.

You usually get a letter reminding you about when the closing dates for applications are. Ds2 is 3yrs old and will be starting school in Sept 2007 so unless you are in Scotland it will be the same for you.

The closing date is in December here in Cambs.

No. I haven't had anything about ds2 yet. I think the letters start arriving in September(ish). Ds1's did anyway. The schools have open days in Oct/Nov and then you apply by mid-December. At least that's how it happens here (state schools anyway).

Reception class now is almost exactly the same as pre-school. Lots of learning through play. It doesn't really get formal until at least Yr1. Ds1's school is about a thousand times nicer than mine was.

You can hold them back until the term after their 5th birthday (Sept 2008 for you) but most schools will insist that children then go straight into Yr1.

FloatingOnTheMed - No your child will start school the september after they are 4. - I too have an August child and so they will be the youngest in the class.

The children get nearly 2 years at nursey if they are sept, oct, nov, dec, babies as they start at 2y 9m Then they don't start school until September when they are almost 5. My August boy got just over a year so only went to pre school for just over a year. Some children born maybe only a few weeks after him but in the september will have another whole year at pre school until they can start school the next septmber when they will be nearly 5. Whereas my ds started school at 4y 3m because of the way the school year falls.

You might like to know that not all boroughs do a January intake. I'm in SE London - my son is 5 in Sept 2006 and starts school then. My friend in North London has a son who will be 5 in August but started school last Sept! Check your borough's website for all the info you should need on start dates but I understand your confusion!

Floating, agree with KBear, check your local authority's website. Here (I'm in the south-west) your dd would start in January. My nephew started school in September (lives in the south-east), he was born in April and here would have started in January full-time. He did one term mornings only (until the term in which he turned 5). His brother was born in May and will also start school in September but only do mornings for two terms, because he doesn't turn 5 until the summer term. Everywhere seems to be different.

God it's confusing!

Floating, dd started school at 4 and just over a week last September full time and was fine. She's had a really good year and kept up happily with those who are almost a year older. Some schools do part time or delay start until October half term or Spring term for the younger ones but it will vary from LEA to LEA , school to school. If you decide to wait until she is 5 (which legally you can do), she'll miss out Reception and you may have to take a place in year 1 at whatever infant school has one since they are set up for the open application process at Reception age.

Your DS1 would have been eligible to go earlier (round here it is the term after they are three at school nurseries, 2 y 9 months at preschool)

Here (Cumbria) we only have one intake for reception in September.

Sorry for not getting back sooner, I've only just had a proper chance to get back online after asking my question the other night

So it seems that DS1 was eligible for nursery much earlier, so I guess it just means that there were no places available for him.

BTW, I thought I must have kicked something off when I saw the amount of replies