Will she be ready

[Jax2218]

Evening all,

I was hoping for some advice and opinions regarding my little girl. She will be turning 4 in a few days and next week I will be registering her for school starting in August (primary 1 in Scotland). I am probably over thinking this but here goes.

She currently goes to preschool for 2 and a half hours Mon to Fri. However, as yet I havent had my one to one meeting with her key worker as she has been off sick since the beginning of December, this means I really don't know how she is progressing and coping with the group activities while she is there (although I do ask and have been told oh yes she has a ball, no problems). She makes friends easily, usually with older children. She is articulate and is keeping up with the same skills as the other 4 year olds in her group. Writing her name, recognising key words in books. She is very keen. But here is my problem, 2 and a half hours at pre school is very differant to school and I wonder if deffering her for a year should also be considered. As I said there has been nothing said to me that makes me think she may struggle.

Any experience or words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

thank you for reading

Jax

My DD was 4.1 when she started reception. She had been previously attending the nursery Mon-Fri for 2.45 hrs. Reception did ease the little ones in by starting with afternoons only for a couple of weeks and then mornings plus lunch for a couple of weeks before going fulltime just before half term but to be honest she was desparate to start and really wanted to be full-time straight away. She is bright and was ready to learn. I didn't notice her being particularly tired out by it all. I think you'll be surprised how much your DD grows up in the next few months [ smile] It sounds to me as though she will cope perfectly well with school.

It's not reception in Scotland though, it's straight into year one.

Only you know your daughter and how she would cope but my advice would be keep her back for another year. It's better to be the oldest in the year and more confident and more advanced than to be the youngest and struggle.

Hi - ex TA (male) here :

I know nothing of the Scottish system, but even if it is CALLED Year 1, surely similar things to the English Reception class must be taught first, if children are only 4+ or 5 when they start school? And if she copes well with pre-school I agree with Seeline, I wouldn't have thought starting this year would present any serious problems.

Enjoying and sharing books, counting objects, mark-making (early writing, drawing skills), listening to and following instructions, sharing and turn-taking, imaginative play, etc, plus independence with eating, toilet and hand-washing dressing, are, I would have thought, the important things a child needs to do start school.