Reception at 4?

[lolatry]

Hi everyone,

Hope you all are doing well.

I'm just wondering, I've got a lil boy who turned 4 in July this year, and he is about to start reception in September.

But with the new guidelines in place, due to Corona, I am worried he might not get the full support he needs. He is struggling in certain areas, such as with independence and speech. The school itself has not convinced me enough, or made enough effort, as they expect me to drop him at the gate and just leave him, and I am not doing that, as he has never been to the place before, and is it not familiar with the place nor the teachers. And I feel like they will have a hard time to accept he is different. We had a long carry on with him getting settled into nursery, as well. And I feel like he is not ready for reception and their high expectations.

Is it compulsory to go to reception at the age of 4? I know so many from Nursery, who were 4 and is just starting reception at 5? I feel like this will put my lil boy at a disadvantage of some kind starting there being only 4.

@Keepdistance yes I know, it’s really not ideal...even worse in high school with ‘bubbles’ of 240 🤦‍♀️ And yes, we are SD from other adults, but not inside the classroom with our children...in fact in EYFS that was never actually in the guidance anyway, all through lockdown when the children were in school! Some schools (many I think, mine included) did SD in EYFS because the initial eleventy billion drafts of the VERY complex and lengthy guidance was so vague about this point...but ultimately it was deciphered, and clarified by the government, that they did not, in fact, expect children and teachers in EYFS or Y1 to SD. It has been tough 😱😖😂

My ds is August born and started at 4.

He had the same issues you describe and it took about two weeks for him to properly settle.
Reception staff have realistic expectations so don’t worry too much. You can help by making sure he gets lots of sleep in the first term, nd you having very lazy weekends. It is a big jump for the younger dcs but I’m sure he’ll cope fine. And if he clearly isn’t coping, he doesn’t legally have to be there so you could pull him out.

@Keepdistance

Yes lovely little bubbles of 30-60+. Oh i thought all teachers were being encouraged to SD especially as some people are crossing bubbles and the kids are having before/after clubs There will definitely be school closures though so best to wait and get a full reception year. As a minimum kids will be off for days any time a family member has a temp/cough etc.

We tested as a family one afternoon last week and the results were back in time to send the kids to nursery the following morning.

Ok but comparative to now how many times more people will have cold symptoms in winter. Erm ill give a clue there will very likely be not enough tests to book. And weeks to get results as there was back maybe apr time. So will depend on how much better testing has actually got. Lots of people dont drive so will be waiting for postal tests. (If they are actually in the post that will take a while to receive from nov onwards...)
From sept in secondaries a cold will have access to 200+ year groups and bus groups etc. So while thry may be doing fine in summer with schools off and low numbers. Just hope the new machines make all the difference.

@lolatry It is not compulsory to start school at age 4. You have the legal right to accept the school place but not start your child at all (or start with any part time hours you choose) and you have the right to do that until your child is “compulsory school age” which is the date of the first day of the term which starts after your child’s fifth birthday. Hope that makes sense. So for my March born child her compulsory school age was 6 April.

So eg if child is summer born you can turn up to as much or as little of reception as you like.

Many headteachers donot know much about this though so you may have to educate them.

Hi OP! I think if you delay it will make things harder. You still wont be able to enter the classroom at the end if the year and the other children will all have settled, made friends and know the routine. That would be tough on your son. If he has SEN then the SENCO will help. Reception teachers are very caring and they will help your son become more independent. My DS wouldn't have said boo to a goose at nursery but by Chrostmas he stood on stage and said his lines in front of all the parents!

@keepdistance cold symptoms are not the same as Covid symptoms!