Delayed start ?..

[mrz]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-31533785

Hoped some posters might have some experience and wondered what they thought

I would like to know whether they missed out on the first year of school or would have the same number of years of schooling altogether too.

Our premature summer DS2 has had an extra year at nursery and started in reception last September.

I care more about his readiness for school and all that entails than whether or not he might get a few extra points in Maths and English at a later date.

He was not ready for school - socially or emotionally - and the extra year at nursery has given him the time to develop that. He has needed extra help even with that year's delay but we are now getting to the stage where he doesn't need it.

I can't say what it would have been like if he hadn't been delayed but I know it has been a brilliant start to school life for him and I wouldn't change it for anything.

It makes sense. In early years they start learning phonics, so when they move in to year 1 they have a basic grasp of reading. If a child misses this year and is not taught the phonics they will really struggle when they are expected to sit and learn

Delayed start doesnt mean - skipping first year of schooling and joining in with the kids in their second year of schooling. Of course, that is not good and those kids will score less at a standardised test.

Delayed start should mean starting at the very beginning, but a year later. And a more objective comparison would be to compare test scores after the same number of years at school, not at the same age. (given that the "delayed" group has been at school for one less year)

Or better yet, compare the end of school results of August born kids who started school being the youngest in class, to August kids who were alowed to start a year later, and were the oldest in their class.

A study in Scotland came up with similar results. As with this study they found no difference between the children starting late and their peers (i.e. other children of the same age) at the time of entry but by the age of 8 the children who had started late were significantly behind their peers.

I found this study interesting. In Germany you have must-Children, who normally turn 6 at the end of the period like end of June or August, depending where you live. Can-Children are the ones who turn 6 later in that year but deemed ready and Delay-children are the ones who are normally old enough but deemed not ready and can go a year later.

In order to delay you normally need a letter from your nursery, virtually all children attend it, and a paediatrician, depending on the local authority they do it easy or they make it difficult for you. It also depends how many children have to go in a year and how many are delayed from the previous one or applied to go early.

Interestingly lots of boys are delayed compared to girls.

Saying that, Bavaria is a state which is normally very keen to get them in, delaying is very difficult and even my friend who moved from England to Germany with a child not 100% secure in German, 9 weeks premature and showing it and a birthday just before the cut-off day had no chance, she was told he has to go.

Also a child finishing the first year in primary is at the equivalent of Y2 at least. It is a very different path and generally totally structure, no play with daily homework So I would assume that delayed children, being a year older, are deemed more ready and teacher may expect them to be more advanced. Maybe these children are so used to the nursery surroundings, school is such a bigger shock and they can't cope.