Oldest in the year starting primary school

[SavannahBentley]

Hello, so my daughter is currently 3, her birthday is the 16th September 2017, so will be turning 4 this year however misses the August 30th cut of for moving up to primary school . So she will practically be 5 years old when starting next year.
She is very forward and very ahead with everything and has been since birth she’s also much taller. I’m worried that this may hold her back slightly? She already tells me how boring nursery is and that she wants to go to school and learn ‘proper stuff’

Has anyone experienced this?
Have kids born so close to the cut off been moved up early?

Both my dc have September birthdays. I think it’s generally beneficial for them to be older and it wouldn’t have occurred to me to even think about trying to move it forward - if you do that then she’d be the youngest which is far worse!!

At the moment it may seem like she is being held back but as she progresses through her education it will be a God send.

My dd was simillar. She got stretched more in her final year of nursery as they wee focusing on 'school readiness' which she loved doing.

Better to be the oldest. I had the same issue and so happy I waited until CD was older.

It can also be quite handy for them to be a bit ahead of the game because it means you have some time to play with if reception goes wrong for whatever reason eg if it's not a good fit for her, you can move schools without worrying about setting her back or if she struggles emotionally or with friendships when starting school then you can focus on that, knowing that academically she's got a bit of time to fall back on compared to summer born peers

My dd's birthday is 13th September. As a primary school teacher, I was so pleased because I know that the oldest children in a year group have an advantage before they've even started.

There are lots of studies that show being older in the year is beneficial all the way to 18 and sets you up for life. But it does depend on the child I think. I have one very early sep baby and one late summer baby. I'll report back in 18 years

Thankyou so much everyone you have really eased my slight worry!
I was thinking being the eldest would be beneficial

Thankyou so much for your super speedy responses!

It'll be fine.. Reception are really used to the fact they have some kids 20%older than the youngest... They will stretch them at an appropriate level. Being eldest will give them a great social adv, in team sports etc as well educational.
One of my children is a boy youngest in year but was due early September.. He would have been better eldest in year below... Despite fact would have looked enormous to his peers!

I think both August and September have a disadvantage tbh but what can we do? I have a Ds who is August birthday and needed the extra year really but Dd is September and just was bored until year 9. My other 2 are February and March which works out perfect.

There will be plenty of other children with Sept birthdays, she won’t be in a class of summer babies. Her age will be a huge advantage for at least the first few years.

My DD has a September birthday and I felt like you when she was 3 (especially because I knew that friends of hers were starting school a year before her, so it somehow felt like she was being held back). But I didn't need to worry - it's only been an advantage for her. My DS has an August birthday and is due to start school this year, having only just turned 4 and I'm really worried about him being far too young... I'm considering deferring him so he can have the same advantage my DD did.

Basically - it's a good thing and you'll probably be pleased she's one of the oldest in the year.

My August born (2016) DD should have started school last September and I’ve delayed her start to this September (she’s 5 this August). I’m so glad I did. She isn’t ahead of her preschool peers, and I know as a teacher myself that the older children in the year group generally have a much easier time of it than the younger ones. My DD was born a month early which put her into a different cohort than she was due to be in. I really wouldn’t worry about your September-born, they are generally at an advantage! If she’s academically bright then a good teacher will differentiate the work so it is suitable for her, plus she won’t be the only Autumn birthday so should have some similarly mature peers.

It really depends on her personality, but being older is normally beneficial.

I was 4 months off the cut off date and still ended up skipping a couple of years because I was SO bored and ahead of everyone else. I finished the equivalent of A levels at 15. My preschool teacher (ages 3-6 where I lived, I wasn’t a baby) told my mum very early on that was likely to happen. I don’t know how things work in the UK but if she’s very advanced in a few years from now this could be an option.

At 4/5 I wouldn’t worry she might be ahead academically because she will also learn a lot about independence, arts and movement at that age. Lots of useful skills. Challenge her at home as well, read a lot together, introduce her to music or ballet, watch TV in another language... You can expand her curriculum at home if she needs pushing at this age. When school starts getting a bit more serious at 7/8, then it’s the time to worry about academic potential.

My youngest child was in almost exactly the same position and I also had this worry. His due date was 31st August so I knew he was destined to be either the youngest or the oldest in the year and I could see potential problems either way! As it was, he was late and ended up with a September birthday. He's bright and tended to be friends with the older children in nursery so he was upset when they went to "big school" and he didn't. But he soon got over it, and the pre school leader was very good at providing activities that were a bit more stretching for him.
On balance, whilst I am sure he would have been ok if he had been born a little earlier and gone into the year above, being one of the oldest in a year group is probably better than being the youngest. My other son is one of the youngest and whilst he's never struggled academically, socially he has always been a bit behind his classmates.
The difference seems huge when you are looking at 3/4 year olds - after all, a year is a quarter of their lives - but the older they get the less noticeable the difference. Mine are in their mid and late teens and it is now much less obvious who the oldest and youngest in a group are. The statistics obviously can't predict what happens to individuals, but there's evidence that as a group, the youngest children in any cohort tend to achieve less well throughout their schooling.
I only know one child who has been moved up a year, and that was in an independent school - I am not sure if it is possible in state schools. It didn't work out too well for them because they then struggled to find a secondary school who would accept the child early and she had to re do year 6, which personally I think would be more frustrating for a child than extra time in preschool.
Personally, I would concentrate on finding a good school that is able to nurture individual talents and keep with the "correct" cohort.

I'd agree with a PO that August and September birthdays can both have challenges. My youngest has a birthday a few weeks after yours (though a few years earlier!) and was definitely more with the ones who went to school the year before her at nursery. I put her into a second nursery which was more school-like) for the final year so that she had something different to do so it wasn't just the same as the year before.

Thankyou everyone