August child strategies - holding back/ private/ different country?

[Turry]

I really don't want dd to go into the state system as it stands, she's not mature for her age and I think she'll just drown. So what are my options?

I know you can't hold them back in the state sector in England, but what about in the private sector? Could I hold her back a year then send her at five with the year below iyswim?

Or what about other places? Eg, Scotland, I think their year runs differently, something like Feb-Jan, so she wouldn't be youngest there?

Any other ideas?

I couldn't really afford to send her privately forever, but the first few years til the age gap seems less dramatic might be worth while if I am right in assuming you can choose to hold them back that way?

TIA

You can but when she goes back into the state sector she'll have to go back into her age-group year (thus skipping an entire year of education) which is also problematic.

Sympathies, I know others in this situation, and I understand how hard it is.

What are her immature qualities? I know of one August born (youngest in year) in my daughter's class and she's fine.

No advice just sympathies. DD is a late August baby. And they start school so young here anyway, compared to some other countries.

It might be hard moving her back to the state sector once she's started at private school. I think you can delay her start until the term she turns 5 iyswim, but not sure how much help that is

Good luck

I don't know if you can delay entry, but at my DS's prep school children who are not ready to move on to year 1 stay on in reception for another year.
The only problem is that if you want to move to a state school I think your child will be allocated the appropriate year group which means she will struggle.

The options you mention could be more detrimental to your DD than being the youngest in her year e.g. moving area/going to a private school which she will later have to leave friends behind at?
Anecdotal, I know, but I was almost the youngest in my year, and top of the class despite being being very immature in other ways
Parental and teacher support is the answer here I think.

Even private schools will be reluctant especially without any SEN having been diagnosed (and that may rule it out entry anyway). I have an end of August dd (now 11 ) who is doing very well academically having started Reception at just 4 and senior at just 11.

If she didn't go at all at 4 she'd normally be expected to go into Year 1 at 5 and miss the Reception year out. At that point it would be an in year application so no real choice of state school. The issue even if someone did agree would be a transfer form one system to another , and primary to secondary where she would join her peer group.

I don't have any solutions but I do have a 31st August son. He is and always was fine at school, he was never going to be top of the class but socially he coped beter than I ever could have imagined.

If you move up here, she would go to school in the autumn when she turns 5 (just before or after her 5th birthday, depending on the exact date and the start of term)

She would be in with children who were turning 5 any time up till the following February, (although children with Jan/Feb birthdays often defer till the following year), and with ones who turned 5 from the previous March (plus some who deferred from Jan/Feb the previous year) so she'd be in the middle of the intake year.

If you moved back down to England though, she'd be put in the class for her age which might or might not cause issues depending how far through school she was.

What about home educating for a few years? You could introduce things as and when your daughter seems ready for them. Because it is an individual education, there's no issue of being left behind, or a year out of sync, or anything like that. Whenever you feel the time is approaching when she could be ready to go into the state school system, check where she is compared to her school-educated peers and concentrate on any areas where you feel she could do with extra work.

I agree with your idea that the age gap between your dd and the older children in her year group will seem less dramatic in years to come.

How old is she? Ds should have been born in August but arrived early. At 3 I couldn't imagine him starting school at 4 as he had a number of developmental issues. By the time he started reception at 4 he was more than ready albeit developmentally not as advanced as the older ones in his year. I discussed with his nursery whether he was ready.

Don't forget that about one sixth of the class ie five children will be July or August born. She won't be the only one.