Confused on the age my child starts school

[lucy2204]

I'm son is 3 years old so I know it's not this year, I always thought it was the september when they were 4 but I read on the gov.com site that if their birth day is between the 1 April and 31 August they can't start until the following September so he would be 5 that can't be right surely?!?! Wouldn't he be super behind?

My**

Do you have a link to this?

When is he 4? You have the right to request deferral for a summer born child or they can start Reception at 4.

If you're in England, they start Reception in the September after their 4th birthday.

If they turn 4 in September, they will start school the following September ie the month that they will turn 5.

Birthday is 4th April,

If he's 4 in April, he would usually start school in the September of that same year. So he would be about 4yrs 5mths old when he started.

"I read on the gov.com site that if their birth day is between the 1 April and 31 August they can't start until the following September"

By "the following September" they mean the September that follows the child's birthday.

If he was 3 in Apr 2019 then he will start in September 2020. You need to start going to the school open days this September - December and apply for his place this January 2020. Have a look at your council website.

It might be referring to the right to defer a place for a summer born child. Legally they do not need to be in education until the term after their 5th birthday so parents can apply to defer the place if they don't think a child is ready.

Thankyou all for the replies

From gov.uk :

School starting age
Most children start school full-time the September after they turn 4.
If you do not think your child is ready to start school by then, they can start part-way through the year or part time - as long as they are in full-time education by the time they reach ‘compulsory school age’.
Children born in the summer
Children born between 1 April and 31 August can start the September after they turn 5.
Contact the local council or school to ask for your child to start later. They’ll decide if your child should start in reception year or year 11_.

So you would normally apply for September 2020 entry unless you agree with LA to delay a year. If you choose not to send him next September without any agreement to defer they may insist he enters Year 1 in 2021 with his peer group and miss Reception, at which point there will likely be less, if any, choice of school.

Depends if it's referring to reception or y1 (yr1 is "actual" school) for example you can't get fined for taking your kids out of school before age 5!

If he’s 4 in April 2020, then he would start Reception in September 2020 (unless you get an agreement with the LA to delay until compulsory school age), which means that you’ll need to start looking at schools and filling in the applications soon.

Most councils have online applications for primary school, parents usually have to apply between mid September and mid January.

Next September would be standard though you could choose to delay until he is 5.5. if you want him to go at 4, applications usually open some time around now and deadline some time in January.

Born between Start Reception
1 September 2018 – 31 August 2019 September 2023
1 September 2017 – 31 August 2018 September 2022
1 September 2016 – 31 August 2017 September 2021
1 September 2015 – 31 August 2016 September 2020

sorry the spacing didn't work