Summer borns

[DustShuffler]

Does anyone have any positive stories of their summer borns going to school at just turned 4? My dd will be 4 and start reception just under a month after. She is emotionally and socially mature but I still feel worried at sending her to school when we have the option of holding her back.

My DD is just finishing reception and is March born but was two months premature and should have been born in May. She was tiny due to prematurity and food intolerances, has an ongoing hearing impairment and joint hypermobility. We considered fighting hard to see if we could delay her in view of her due date and challenges.

DD’s school report has blown us away - she is exceeding in every area of the EYFS. It is a total surprise how well she has compensated.

It seems you can never know how this little rock stars may surprise you.

These little rock stars*

Our daughter is an early August birthday, and she is just about to leave primary school.
My overwhelming experience is that these children are very much treated as the 'babies' of the year, both by their peers and their teachers.

In some respects I could see the logic, as it was obvious that in some areas of speech and physical development, I could see the older kids in the class had already reached a certain stage in development.

It frustrated me terribly, as I blamed myself for not holding our daughter back one year, so she would be one of the oldest in the next year. Sadly that option wasn't available to us 7 years ago. I understand it is now.

Having sat on my school PTA for 7 years, and getting to know teachers on a first name basis, rather than just as a parent, some teachers even admitted that they sometimes overlooked the younger, less developed children.

What I would advise though, is to prompt teachers at every stage of Primary to include your child in every event, every topic the class offers, and if this doesn't work, and you can afford it, hire a tutor.

Ask the teacher/s to provide you with course work if they are willing. to.
Again frustratingly, some of our teachers would not provide the course work.

@barnetparent thank you for that insight. We certainly could get a private tutor if need be and that may well be the best course of action rather than holding her back a year.

My daughter is 31/8. She started school 4 days after her birthday and when I dropped her off on her first day she wagged her finger at me and said'don't come in with me' and off she went. Completely ready for school (although she did struggle a little emotionally and couldn't process why people were being mean sometimes). She did very well all the way through primary school scored greater depth in her yr 6 sats across the board and now in yr 7 is doing very well and in top sets for every subject.

Physically and at sports she was always ahead of others. Represented the school at netball, cricket, rugby, basketball and football (in mixed sex teams) and out of school is a national champion in her chosen sport. We didn't have the choice to defer her start but so glad we didn't. She'd couldn't have done any better at primary than she already did and would have been bored as by the end of year 6 it was clear she had outgrown primary and was ready for a new challenge.

@Hersetta427 your daughter sounds wonderful - thank you for sharing. You just be very proud x

My daughter's birthday is the 27th August so she started yr R a week after her 4th birthday. Academically During Yr R she just about met the standards. She is leaving her primary next week in Yr 6 and just had her report and SATS results - she is working at levels higher than her age and is exceeding all targets! Not a boast (although we are very proud of her) but I wanted you to see that yes they might start slowly but it doesn't have to hinder them. My son is also a late August and currently finishing Yr 1, it has impacted him more although he is also left handed so lots of skills can be a challenge. However he is at the point now where he has reached all standards and is comfortable at school. Good luck in the journey!

Statistically this year in our school the summer borns have outperformed the spring borns for EYFS. Varies according to the cohort coming through slightly but it definitely appeared in the end of year data this time around.

If your child is emotionally and socially mature, I am sure she will be fine.

My DS wasn’t and we chose to send him to year R the year after. It was the right decision for him. Every child is different.

@Ilovewillow that's excellent to hear. I think summer born girls tend to fair better than boys? You should totally boast about your daughters achievements - it sounds like she is doing fantastically!

@PantsyMcPantsface that's interesting to hear. I wonder if the summer borns are being given a little extra push and the spring children are a little overlooked?

@Emmapeeler thank you. It's interesting to hear why other parents did/did not hold their children back.

My son is July-born and struggled emotionally with going to school and making friends, particularly as he went up from an external nursery. I would say I noticed that some things just didn't 'click' for him for a while when it was for the older children, such as blending words. He would obediently do the phonics sounds but not really know how it translated into words.

However he had good support and in Y1 reading just clicked for him.

I would say he was average in Maths until now in Yr4 when he moved schools to excellent teachers and again it 'just' clicked and now he's at the top of the class.

I would say that these children can do well and reach their natural ability but the support around them is key, and it might take time to catch up. It might be harder if they lose confidence due to their age or don't have strong teachers. I think most summer-born kids whose parents are on MN worrying about them (ie and therefore likely to support them quite well!) should be okay :)

My August born boy entered reception with far fewer skills than his Autumn born sister had the year before. Eg he wrote the initial letter of his name back to front, reversed lots of letters and numbers. At the end of year 1 he is the only boy in the 'top group' of 4 children in his class. Socially he is very popular (got voted for by other children) because he is always up for fun, but although this can get a bit giddy at home, he's apparently very well behaved in school He got full marks for phonics and keeps up with his sister in maths. The one thing he is behind peers with is football.
I considered delaying his start (we moved house and DD changed school, he nearly didn't get in there) - I'm really pleased I sent him, he loved it and still does.
Also reception /fs2 is very similar to fs1.
I'd say send you DD, if you ever decide she needs a day off you won't be open to legal action, and she may learn in leaps and bounds - schools do meet children where they are rather than just delivering the curriculum.

My DS turns 5 at the end of August and is just finishing reception. His end of year report said he was meeting expected standards in all areas except personal and social where he was marked as emerging in two categories.

This doesn't surprise us - he is bright and we can see he is doing well academically. However, socially he is immature. He played mostly alongside others for the first two terms, but since Easter has started playing more with others, although he still has a way to go in terms of playing cooperatively and considering others. There are about 5 August borns in his class, but I would say most (but not all) are more socially advanced than him. I think he has been a bit unlucky in terms of being young and socially immature.