Do you think the UK should change the age at which children begin school

[Anenome]

It's something I have often thought about...most other countries begin at 6 having first attended kindergarten. Reception here begins at 4 which is so young...should the UK look at things differently? I know I would have been happy for DD to wait a year or two before full time school began. Maybe it could be left to the parent to decide? So instead of the law stating that a child MUST be in education at age 5, it could be that they can be....or they can choose to wait until 6 years old.

Interested to hear what others think?

Does anyone know if summer-born children can wait until the September after they turn 5 to start school and then join the reception class?

I'm not sure . Ds1 went in the September before his 5th birthday (he was a February baby), so he went at a bit older than 4.5. However, he is extremely confident (a result I think of being half days in nursery from 6 months old - not by choice, but by necessity I hasten to add) and extremely bright. DS2 is bright (not yet 2.5 can count, knows alphabet, recognises most letters), but he has various problems with eating making him very tiny for his age - so people always treat him much younger than he is - this has also had a knock-on effect on his social development and he is very, very socially unsure of himself. I think in his case if he can go into reception the September after he turns 5, he will do better than to go earlier. Only thing is, I don't know if this is allowed .

My DD will turn 5 next September and I am also a believer in starting school later. If I had it my way, she'd continue in her current setting (FS1, 3hrs a day).

Kids grow up so fast these days, have so many stresses, I just think its unnecessary. We are always out and about and I am dreading the time when she is 5 and comes home from school at 3. Not much left of the day to do truly fun things that involve being out all day. Yes, there is the weekend but that is never long enough.

Most other countries start school at 6, move to secondary at 13 and finish at 18. I've never understood why the UK does it all 2 years earlier. I think it makes children grow up too quickly.

Besides 4 being a bit young to start formal education, I think 11 is too young for secondary and 16 is too young to be leaving school. I went to school in South Africa, and at 13 I was only just about ready for the teen angst, peer pressure, introductions to sexual behviour etc that go with secondary school. I'm horrified at the though of an 11 year old being exposed to that - I was still playing make-believe at 11.

And the thought of leaving school, finding a job and starting life as an adult at 16 is equally awful. I have a feeling maybe even teen pregnancy would drop if children were treated like, well, children until they turn 18.

I do think that structured kindergarten (pre-school) should be available to bridge those 2 years though, just not with so much reading and writing, and more playing and creative fun instead.

My dd is summer born, and if I had been given the choice, I would definitely have held her back for a year, not because of concerns about my dd in particular, but simply because I have always believed that children start school too soon in this country.

As it turned out, that would have been completely the wrong thing to do! She took to school like a duck to water, and I only realised afterwards how very "ready" she had been. On reflection, I understood that she had become extremely bored with nursery and she clearly relished the more stimulating environment that the school was able to provide. It was truly a joy to see her coming home every day so excited and enthused!

But some children aren't ready, I know, and I think it must be very difficult for those kids and their families if they have no choice about when to start. I think the biggest worry is that the children may develop negative associations with school that are hard to shake off later.

Think it should be more flexible so if you feel your child (I have an August boy) isn't ready emotionally a later start is possible. Used to live somewhere with two intakes a year but where I am now there is one. Still, the school is so desperate for pupils I could have kept him at home and sent him whenever I liked and they'd have been delighted.

Annie- here they do 6-11 Elementary 11-14 Middle and then 14-19 "Secondary"

Mind, you might as well keep them home for the 3 yrs of Middle.

Ha ha ha Bucharest. I remember when they changed the "Medie" curriculum, we were the guinnea pigs.......it certainly didn't prepare us for the rigorous Liceo Classico's curriculum that was to come for some of us...lol (the private tutors were wheeled in then!)

To answer the OP though, I do think some more flexibility would be great :o)