School starting age ???

[southdub]

The more i check this out the more confusing it seems to be,I don't want to send my daughter to school until she is 5 (August baby) and firstly just want to know can I do this and will she start in reception or go into year 1 if it is possible to do, also how does the free nursery hours work in respect of this, am i still entitled to them, she will be 3 this august, so would this mean I have to start applying now if I can't keep her out till she is 5.

If you do this she'll start in Y1, and you'll only be able to go to a school that has places left - ie one that's not oversubscribed.

Reception is virtually identical to nursery, except the hours are longer.

You have the right not to send her to school til the term after she is 5. In your daughter's case this means that she would go straight into year 1. The problem you will encounter is that schools allocate places for reception entry and will not hold a place into a new academic year. So even if you apply during the normal round for reception, if your preferred school is oversubscribed, you will have to give up your place or take it after Easter. If you are decided not to send her until Y1, then there is no point applying in the normal reception round. Just anounce to the LA in the summer term that you need a school place in Sept and they will offer you a place at the nearest school with spaces. You will continue to get your nursery vouchers AFAIK.

You need to apply for school next dec/nov time. As IndigoBell says if you wait until later you won't get your preferred school, also she will have missed the first year, so if she just went to nursery you would probably want to do extra stuff at home to get her up to speed.

Our school gives option to start in jan (so for you that would be two years time), most parents don't take up this option. I think you might be able to push for a later start date/ more half days but that would need to be negotiated with headteacher.

For what it's worth, you will be AMAZED at how much she develops over the next two years, my son was 2 in sept, so just a month younger than she is. Obviously a later school year, but I just can't picture him as a 4yr old, even though dd2 is 4, when the time comes he will probably be desperate to go. Remember if you keep her in nursery she will be the oldest, mine started to get a bit bored after their 4th birthday. Also girls usually seem to cope fine. A girl in dd2 class was born in the evening of 31st aug, she is fine at school, the only thing they differentiate on in reception is phonics (letters), and she is in higher group (according to dd).

I think whenever your first one goes to school it will seem too early, but unless specific educational or social needs the vast majority love it.

I would definitely apply in the next round, even if I was thinking of waiting until Y1. You can always turn down the place if you change your mind.

Unless you are very, very confident there will always be a school place at a school that is acceptable to you. That is certainly not the case in my area.

I would apply for the place anyway as RaspberryLemonPavlova says, then you can defer her start until later in reception, say after Easter. I wish I'd done this with dd2 who was 4 in August and started school in September, as a big part of me still feels she's too young to be there. She is emotionally immature compared to a lot of the children in her class, many of whom are already 5. In our area I would have had no chance of a place if I'd deferred the full year and unless you are going privately she would have to start in Yr 1 rather than being the oldest in reception. I'm still tempted to take dd out and start her again later, but think that I've left it too late to mess her around now....

My son was an August baby so I thought about the same thing. One of my deciding issues was that I didn't want him to be the only new boy starting, whereas going into reception he went up with lots of other children in the same situation, most of whom he already knew from pre school.

Just to say you dont have to send her to school at all, you could just wait tell you feel she is ready and then put her name down for the school you want and hope she gets in.
Everyone has different opinions on this and that is all they are opinions, its up to you.

I'm going to pretty much agree with others.

Your child does not have to start full time education until the start of term following her fifth birthday. However, if you delay until then she will almost certainly go straight into Y1. Very few schools/LAs will allow your daughter to go into Reception a year late and, even if they do, there is a risk that the secondary school would put her straight into Y8 when she transfers, skipping Y7 completely. You also need to be aware that if you put her straight into Y1 you will have a very limited choice of schools. All the popular ones will already be full up with children who attended Reception.

A better approach would be to apply this autumn for a place to start in Reception next year, when she will be four. Once you've got a place you can defer entry until later in the year if you wish. The school may not be happy with this but it is your choice. As long as you don't defer entry for a full year they have to keep the place open for you.

Reception is about learning through play. The curriculum is identical to that followed by nurseries. As IndigoBell says, the only real difference is that the hours are longer in Reception. It is intended to be a gentle introduction to school, preparing children for the more formal schooling that starts in Y1.

If you have a special school in mind make an appointment to see the headteacher. She/he will be able to tell you what exactly they do in Reception and what you would have to do privately so your child won't be too much behind when she goes in in Y1.

She/he will also be able to tell you how the intake worked in 2011, the first year the majority of children joined in September.

My DD is July-born and started this September. Yes, it sounded wrong but seeing her after just one term I know it was the right decision. They develop so much and learn so much, not just reading and writing.

A lot of the time spend in reception is play. My DD only has "reading and handwriting" as fixed subjects.

Also, don't forget about friendships, most children will have already formed groups and I would worry my child would have difficulties.

She is entitled to her 15 hours funded until she is legal school age (5) - in your case Sept 2014.

We claimed them until then and used them to pay part of school fees for DD who went to a reception class in a private school.

This is because nursery and reception are classed as foundation stage.

Private may be more flexible about which year she enters if that is an option for you but can cause problems if she transfers school or goes into state. (There is an August born child in DD's class who should be in yr above)