Did anyone deliberately wait until their child was five before sending them to school?

[tubismybub]

Ds will have only just turned four when he starts school (it's a long way off yet)and I am considering not sending him until I'm legally obliged to do so at five. It's not that I don't think he'll be able to cope he's big for his age and a confident little chap who's quite independant really.

I just loathe the fact that in this country our children start school so early. I personally don't see any long term benefit from it and think that 6/7 years would be more approriate.

i'm sure my friends and family will be horrified if I make this choice. So has anyone else?

Everyone in NZ sends them at 5.

What have I done???

We are in Scotland too so different system but DS1 could have started School at 4 1/2 but we decided to keep him until 5 1/2, however here we don't have reception just two years at nursery and as he had a speech delay we had decided from early on to keep him back until 5 1/2 so just opted not to put him to nursery until 3 1/2 so there were no funding problems.

What's up Chandra?

Not much MrsSpoon, DS is attending a Montessori school and I asked for a deferred entry to the traditional primary I wanted him to go, because... I thought it would be more beneficial for him to do reception in the Montessori school apart of being easier to keep an eye on him during meal times (he ahs severe food allergies).

Thing is, being a bit shy, it might not have been the best decission, although I doubt there is something to be done now that the deadline for applications have passed...

Well how did the school interpret the deferred entry request? If they have kept him a space for the following year, then presumably they have that place for reception as well (ie they can't have a full reception year if you were going to get a place in Yr 1). Or were you just going to have to see if there was a vacancy? If the former then I can't see there would be a problem with you changing to start in reception if that is what you now wanted.

Chandra, it's always a difficult decision, think whatever you do you will always wonder if you should have done it the other way round.

I have no idea Ladymuck, deadline was a few days ago so I have not heard from them them.
The school has a good share of demand but we live accross the street, so not particularly worried for the place.

I was thinking about this last night and the only thing DS complains about from the current school is that there are too many children, so perhaps was not too bad a decision, new school have far more children. If this montessori covered all the primary school I would have no hesitation in keeping him there, but they start weaning them from the method IMO too early.

My ds is 5 at the end of Sep and there's no way I would have sent him last Sep. He's quite a thoughtful, easily upset boy (pfb, possibly) and I think he'll benefit by being older. But then his sister is completely different - a natural leader of any pack, so she'll cope very well at 4 1/2.

So, have you actually applied for a place then, and if so on what terms - is it just a deferral unitl Jan or April? If you apply for Year 1 but they are full for reception then you would still go onto a waiting list, waiting for a child to leave the school. Your proximity usually only counts if you start during the reception year (or possibly from Year 3 onwards). Obviuly if the school is undersubscribed then you won't have a problem.

This is what my booklet says:

The Admissions Policy

[...]
-Children born between x and y ... to start school in Z term ...

"The policy includes an option of 'Deferred ENtry'. All schools follow the council's formal policy of Deferred Entry. This means that parents may secure a place at a school under the normal admission arrangements but choose to postpone their child's admission to the school until the term after a child turns five. It is a legal requirement that all children must enter formal full time education the term after a child turns five."

[...]

I know for a fact that the headmaster is a great advocate of late starts, he told us he believes the latest the children start the better so hopefully, in terms of place, we would be OK.

You should be fine then, especially if other parents also take up the option as they'll have intakes throughout the year. You'll also have a guarenteed place so you can take it up when you want to during the year I would expect. Once the letters come out you can phone the school and find out how many other children will have deferred entry and which terms they will be starting. If your dc was the only one starting the following Sept, but say 3 or 4 were starting in April, then it might be worth considering an April start say. But you've got a year to decide!

We are just delaying for a term, the only thing that worries me is the social aspect but I supose that after the long summer holidays everyone would feel a bit as if it were the first day of classes.