Does this council proposal help summer-born children?

[Fiona2011231]

Hi everyone,

My local council, Havering, is having a consultation on admission arrangements for 2017-18.

I am interested about this part on summer-born children.

It said, "Local authorities and schools must provide for the admission of all children in the September following their fourth birthday. However a child does not reach statutory school age until the beginning of the term after they turn five years old.

In recognition that some parents will feel that their child is not ready to start school in the September after their child turns four, parents can request that their child attends part time until they reach statutory school age or that the date their child is admitted to school is deferred until later in the same academic year, but not beyond the start of the summer term of the academic year for which a place has been offered.

In addition, parents of summer born children (those born between 1 April and 31 August) can request for their child to be admitted to reception a year later outside of their chronological year group, thereby starting school only once they reach statutory school age. This does not apply to children born in the autumn and spring as these children must legally be in school full time in the term after they turn five years old (Further information is provided below)."

Could you pls explain whether this proposal does help those summer-born children?

Thank you

Sounds great, very flexible. Suppose you just need to check the school you are hoping to go to I'd local authority controlled as academies for example don't have to adhere to these guidelines.

It might help summer borns - I'd be asking about what happens on transfer to high school, though. Would the high schools accept summer borns out of year-group, or expect them to miss year 7 and go straight to year 8, for example?

I think there was something in the latest government admissions guidelines about making this an option, though, so perhaps your LA is just ahead of the game!

Not in the UK and our system is different but this seems good to me. My dd turned 5 in October and I didn't send her to school this year as I know she's not ready. The legal requirement here is that the child must be in school by their 6th birthday. I wouldn't like to have been compelled to send her this year.
This seems to be giving parents the right to decide for themselves when their child is ready for school.

All the council is proposing here is that they will follow the Admissions Code.

The second paragraph doesn't go far enough as it only gives you the right to request part time attendance or deferred admission, suggesting that the school or the LA can refuse. In reality this is your decision. If you decide to go for part time attendance or deferred admission the school and LA must accept your decision.

The final paragraph is correct in stating that you can ask for your child to be admitted to Reception a year late. Note that it does not commit the council to agreeing to your request.

I'd be interested as to how this is going to affect children born in March. They may not necessarily be the youngest in the class but any younger ones will be "filtered"

It may actually make the situation worse for some summer born children. There is a concern that middle class families will be more likely to request deferral than poorer families who may struggle with childcare costs for another year if they deferred their summer borns, so it is unlikely the whole chort will defer. At the moment an august born child will be 11 months younger than some of his/her peers, under this policy they could be 16 months younger.

I'd be interested as to how this is going to affect children born in March

As per my last post, this is not a new proposal by Havering. All they have done is set out the rules that apply to every primary school in England. These rules have not changed significantly for several years apart from a recent ruling that councils must not have a blanket policy re summer born children starting school a year late but must consider each request individually.

The government is proposing to change the rules so that parents of summer born children can insist that their child is admitted to Reception a year late but you already have the right to request that and the council must consider your request, although the overwhelming majority of requests are refused. When that change happens March-born children will not be directly affected. They must still start school no later than the start of term following their fifth birthday. However the class may have a wider age range than previously and March-born children may be nearer the bottom of the age range. Indeed, in some cases March-born children will be the youngest in the class.

It might help SOME summer-borns.

Those whose parents read and understand proposals from the council.
And are good at filling in forms.
And can afford childcare for longer.

There was a REALLY long thread about this proposal (for summer borns to be deferred) - you might want to search topics. Can't remember what it was called but there were some very insightful posts. Probably in the last couple of months. Worth a read if you are considering it.