Battling for a deferral for P1 child news article

[HarrisMcCoo]

www.google.com/amp/s/www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeenshire/3120364/aberdeenshire-mum-battling-council-over-p1-deferral-for-premature-son/amp/

Absolutely shocking. Can't believe this mum has had to take it to the media.

The council are right on this and the sources quoted in the newspaper are wrong. The law explicitly does not allow the council to send a school age child to nursery (that is a child who is 5 on the school commencement date). It sounds like the child was born in June. The parents could home school for a year (or pay for private nursery) and then I can't see anything legally preventing the council taking them into P1 next year (though they probably won't allow this).

On the otherhand I fear the mother is hoping that GDD simply means in a year he will have caught up and be able to progress at the same speed as other children from there. That is unlikely - the childs delay and additional support need is likely to persist.

Agree with Tibtom. The mother and the reporter have both completely failed to understand the rules.

The "other councils" link takes you to Midlothian's website which states the law correctly and does not, contrary to what the reporter seems to think, support the mother's case.

The mother's claim that "everywhere else you can apply for a deferral" is, at best, misleading. I don't know if other councils would allow her to apply but they certainly wouldn't allow her to defer. They cannot legally do so.

The passages quoted from the Parent Club website and Citizen's Advice Scotland are both drawn from pages that correctly state the law and do not support the mother's case.

The MSP is wrong to say the rules are open to interpretation. They aren't.

If her child's fifth birthday was between August and February she could defer entry for a year. However, it appears her child is five in June. She therefore cannot legally defer. The fact that he was due to be born in September is irrelevant. What matters is his actual date of birth.

Contrary to what the mother thinks, this is not her council being unhelpful. Her council has no choice. She wants a change in the law.

I think she is seriously misunderstanding her sons diagnosis if she thinks he will 'catch up' by having an extra year in nursery.

I think 'global development delay' is not a particularly helpful non-diagnosis. It is easy to see how a mum, especially of a prem baby, would think it means you just need to reset the clock. That if he is a year behind then put him with children a year younger. Rather than understanding that if he is a year behind at 3 then at six he might well be 2 years behind (or more).

FOI requests to all 32 local authority areas in Scotland show that 20 out of 32 local authority areas authorised older deferrals. Session 2020/21.

It's all there in black and white.

This woman knows her own child best.

Some children do benefit from an extra year in nursery though and it does help them catch up.

If he is deferred won't he be 20 months older than a February born four year old? The cut off is February isn't it? If so, then that would be a huge age gap. I thought schools were meant to meet each child where they are at?

The position in Scotland is way more flexible than England - it would be the equivalent of deferring a December born child in England. A June born child in his position in England would be starting at the point he'd be starting WITH a deferral - in England the cut off is 4 years old as at 31 August so his mum would be needing to get the school/LA to agree to start at 5 years 3 months!

Also by being premature he hasn't gone up a year - there's another 3 months before children get an automatic right to another year of nursery funding (December) and 5 months from his due date until the actual cut off (end February)!

Allowing a deferral would put the child at 20 months older than the youngest in the class...

@HarrisMcCoo

Some children do benefit from an extra year in nursery though and it does help them catch up.

He has Global delay, an extra year in nursery is unlikely to help here. There is an argument for keeping kids with their own age/peer group. Lots of children go through school with learning difficulties and delay and they don't get kept back a year, they move with their year group

I think she is wrong.

I’m really suprised that there is even any argument here.

I agree with @flashylamp. Also, children compare birthdays (there was a birthday chart in my child's class) and who is older than who.

@HarrisMcCoo

FOI requests to all 32 local authority areas in Scotland show that 20 out of 32 local authority areas authorised older deferrals. Session 2020/21.

If they put children who are five before August into a nursery class they would be breaking the law - specifically the Education (Scotland) Act 1980.

When you say 'older deferrals' how do you define older? Those who are not entitled to automatic funding for an additional year of nursery but where you have to apply instead? That would those with August to December birthdays. Not June.

Do you mean this foi? It states 'August to December', so not relevant to this child for the reasons already discussed.

www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/total_number_of_p1_deferral_fund#incoming-1786032

@HarrisMcCoo

FOI requests to all 32 local authority areas in Scotland show that 20 out of 32 local authority areas authorised older deferrals. Session 2020/21.

I believe you are referring to a report by the Give Them Time campaign. That showed 20 out of 32 councils funded 100% of requests for deferral for children born between August and December. It did NOT show that any councils allowed deferral for children who were aged 5 by mid-August.

If you are referring to a different report, can you post a link please.

I disagree about a years delay not helping.

My DC has global developmental delay due to extreme prematurity & we delayed school entry for a year (until he had just turned 5yo) (we are in England).

He is about a year behind his age & his friends are all 9-12 months younger than him. If he'd gone to school at the "correct" point he would have been noticeably younger, smaller, more immature & behind everyone else. He'd have struggled significantly behaviourally, emotionally & academically. I have no doubt that we made the right decision.

I think there should be flexibility for children born so prematurely, they have a very rough start & face a number of different challenges at school (see www.pretermbirth.info) just as a result of that (not including other impacts of prematurity such as increased risk of physical & sensory impairment).

Each FOI request was done to each individual local authority area last year. It would take too long to link each one on here, prh47bridge. But you can access all the responses via What Do They Know website. It's all there in the public domain.

No, it's got nothing to do with the August to December born children who are five after the start of term. I am referring to older deferrals as in children who have missed the cut off for the start of new school term in Scotland. Those born beginning of August/late July etc.

If the majority of local authority areas are authorising late deferrals where the child will start P1 after they have turned 5yo, then there must be a demand for it. Look at Shetland Islands Council!!

@greyinganddecaying

I disagree about a years delay not helping.

My DC has global developmental delay due to extreme prematurity & we delayed school entry for a year (until he had just turned 5yo) (we are in England).

He is about a year behind his age & his friends are all 9-12 months younger than him. If he'd gone to school at the "correct" point he would have been noticeably younger, smaller, more immature & behind everyone else. He'd have struggled significantly behaviourally, emotionally & academically. I have no doubt that we made the right decision.

I think there should be flexibility for children born so prematurely, they have a very rough start & face a number of different challenges at school (see [[//www.pretermbirth.info]]) just as a result of that (not including other impacts of prematurity such as increased risk of physical & sensory impairment).

Thank goodness someone on this thread is talking sense!

I have a 5yo in a deferred year at nursery, he has a speech disorder and would not have been ready for P1 last August.

Due to Covid 19 lockdowns, children who are developmentally delayed need extra time to grasp the basic building blocks of communication - even if they do then need move on to ASN placement rather than mainstream school.

My youngest was born very premature, so I am looking for an older deferral for him. He doesn't not have GDD, just needs extra time to catch up. At least three health professionals agree with me, as does his nursery key worker.

Many have been granted in Scotland. Unfortunately it is a postcode lottery.

*he doesn't have GDD🤦 sorry about the typo!

www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/scottish_las_discretionary_defer_10#incoming-1642420

One from City of Edinburgh Council, as an example. Q10 is the only relevant part here in the response. They deferred two children who had already reached the age of five by the start of the school term.

I think there should be flexibility for children born so prematurely

There is felixibility - children who are up to seven months older than the school cut off date can defer entry for a year. So it is the equivalent of February-born children in England deferring entry for a year. So not just after they turned five. This child would have children 20 months younger than them in their class if they deferred, and they would be starting school after they turned 6.

I disagree about a years delay not helping.

My DC has global developmental delay due to extreme prematurity & we delayed school entry for a year (until he had just turned 5yo) (we are in England).

This child will also start school at just turned 5. So it's not really comparable. The child would be starting at six.

Staring at six if they deferred - sorry for confusrionz