Have you deferred your reception child to January?

[Loopylou17]

I am considering my daughter starting reception in January rather than September. There is a lot of advice out there saying you shouldn't do it because the child might find it hard socially but I am struggling to find advice from anyone who has actually done it. So if you have and are glad you did, or now regret it, I would love to hear your opinion. Thanks

My DD is late Aug born, so started school only 4yrs and 10d. Her reception teacher was excellent (& also an Aug born ). Yes she struggled with some of the social aspects but I think that is just her personality, she was fine academically. I would worry that if they don’t start in Sept the friendship groups will be forming by the time you’d join in Jan? Is there and option to pick up early in Sept first term? Someone did that with their child. My DD is year 3 now and flying along with school life so it does level out as they progress.

I wouldn't worry about socially, but academically they can teach phonic sounds A-Z before oct half term with writing the letters. Books come home then too.

Is your child summer born? If so, I would consider asking for deferral for an entire year, rather than starting in January.

Thanks for your opinions. Still wanting to hear from someone who has actually done it though...

I'm an Early Years teacher who has seen children very successfully defer for a year, and less successfully defer for a term.

I would think a term would be harder than a year for the child.

Not because of friendship groups, at that age they are not fixed that solidly, but because of missed learning. A good school knows summer born children might struggle and shouldn't expect them to have to sit too long and what have you, but they will be helping children develop these skills over that first term. And "actual" teaching in phonics and maths that won't necessarily be repeated.

I think the fact you can't find many people who've chosen to do it in the end is rather telling.

I deferred my August born for a year. No regrets. It was the best thing for him based on his personality. If we had been unsuccessful I do not think I would have deferred for just a term as then he would have been even less well prepared for year 1.

We deferred until Easter. Was actually because we knew we were moving house, so would have had to move schools after a term anyway. DC is a summer baby.
It was brilliant for us, no problems settling in or catching up, and I think DC really benefited hugely from those few extra months in nursery, and from being that little bit more mature starting school. Absolutely no regrets.

I think results showed starting later was detrimental to learning etc which is why now they all start at once sept (generally as i dont think many take up the jan/apr starts).
Children are so different so it depends why parents want to defer a term or 2. Napping/no interest in writing, PT, self care etc, separation. The effect of the missed terms would have very different effects on different children. Also depending on what they do in those terms at home/preschool.

Another Reception teacher here - I completely understand deferring for a year. Deferring for a term, however, will just make life harder for your child. They would still be pushed to achieve the Early Learning Goals but would have less time to do this. Not achieving them would make Y1 harder for your child too.

When is the child 5?
What provision will they access in the autumn term?
Does the school have high mobility or do the children all start in September and stay?

Just an update on this in case anyone else has the same question. My dd started in January have spent sep-dec at preschool. She matured a lot in that time and I made sure she didn't fall behind with phonics etc. She made friends quickly and the teachers said she fitted in fine and were impressed that she was ready for reading books. The preschool teachers also noticed how much more sociable an confident she was having had the extra few months to mature. I'm not saying it would be the right decision for every child but want to help people realise it may not be a disaster socially and academically I'd they do think it might benefit their child.

I didn't see your OP at the time but glad you found what worked.

DS started in September but only did mornings for the first term and that worked for us. I don't think starting school needs to be a one size fits all, all day every day from September, thing. The worries about "missing education" can be overstated and I am surprised more people don't use the flexibility available.

I took confidence from knowing that back in the day (long time ago!) my parents deferred my start date to January and it was beneficial, apparently. I certainly didn't suffer from the missed term of learning.