Anyone have a child who was older than average/oldest in year by a bit?

[kindlekid0]

How did they get on?

I know I am worrying pointlessly as I can't change it now but my dd1 is starting school in a few weeks and she was 5 in May. (We aren't in the UK so school system is a little different)

She has asthma and was quite ill as a toddler pre-schooler and I had more or less decided to wait til this year to send her but anyway she was ill again last August/Sept and it took the decision out of my hands as she was not physically ready to start.

At the time lots of people reassured me that plenty of children start around that age. However at the settling in day it was obvious that several of the children were a lot younger. I spoke to 3 different parents that day and their children hadn't even turned 4 yet (July, Aug birthdays) and I have heard of 2 more in her class who are also more than a year younger.

I suppose I am worried that she won't fit in as easily or she will find the work too easy. In some ways she is quite immature and had plenty of friends in pre-school who were younger but the environment was different.

Has anyone any reassurance/experience?

Thanks

Is you daughter starting in reception or in Y1 as she is already 5?

We aren't in the UK so don't have reception or Yr1.

Our system is pre-school then juniors. Legally must start formal education by 6. We are in Ireland by the way.

In that case I wouldn't worry she will be fine

I would not worry my son is the oldest in his year and his best friend is one of the youngest....They all gel together within a few weeks.

[and educationally they are both in the top groups for everything, so dont worry about that either]

I would just wait and see how it goes. Her maturity, social levels will be the key factor at this age and I would expect that she will be assessed for a few months. If they decide she is ready to move up to be with her peers then I am sure they will.

However you made the decision to keep her back, so don't harass the school until you see how things go.
We have some older kids in our classes but these decisions have been mad e with approval of parents, ministry and the maturity levels of the child

Have you asked the school what their policy is?

Work wise there will always be a mixture of levels and teacher will adjust accordingly

Very good advice from Roadart. The Irish system is different and you can have children from 4 to 5 and a half starting school in the same class. I would also wait and see, I suggest you phone the Head teacher and ask for the general age profile of the class. You may have just met the younger ones on the day you met a few of the parents. My Dd went to school in Ireland for a year. She was barely 4 but there were plenty of children in hew class who were 5 and a few who were 5 and a half.
Being the oldest or the youngest does not always mean being the most able/weakest academicially. I was informed that the 5 brightest children in the class were in the ten youngest grouping. Social skills are so important at that age so maybe let the school decide where your child is best placed.

I really wouldn't worry about it. DD turned 6 the week after she started school (we're in Oz) making her one of the eldest in the class. In most classes here you will have a range of 18 months due to the intake policy and the fact that (like Ireland) it is not uncommon to keep children back a year at any point of it is thought best. The youngest ones were noticeable in kindy (junior infants or reception) but now she's in Y2 you really can't tell unless you know the children. What I would say is that she found starting school really easy (unlike her brothers who started much younger). She is comfortably amongst the more able children in terms of work and fairly confident socially which I don't she would have been had she been one of the youngest just because of her personality.