Should my summer born boy start school a year later?

[PaleGreenAndBrightOrange]

Hi all,

DS is a June boy. I know that summer boys have some poorer outcomes than their peers born at other times of year and that they never really catch up. I also know there are lots of exceptions and not all summer babies struggle. I was an august baby and did not struggle at school.

But another thread has really made me think about this for the first time. I have no reason to think that DS is going to struggle at school, but I have noticed that his friends in his school year born in sept/oct are bigger, more physically well developed, better at drawing etc (as you’d expect, with them being nearly 4 years old to his nearly 3) and I’m wondering if I should consider holding him back. I’m worried he might decide he’s bad at school because he finds things harder than his peers. I know the impact that low educational self esteem has on behaviour, attainment and future quality of life.

I honestly have no clue if he’s average, above or below normal development for his age which would help inform me. If I had to guess I’d say he seems bright, but I don’t really have a reference point. The only other thing is that nursery have commented that his speech is well developed for his age. Other than that, no idea.

What are your experiences/opinions on this?

Thanks!

My August DS2 is in med school. I'm also an August child and have a degree. Neither of us were held back, think we're okay.

My reception child has a June birthday, I very quickly discounted holding him back by a year. As it turns out he has some specific additional needs which the school are managing very well and he is making great progress. That's despite all the disruption and home schooling due to lockdowns. I don't think another year of nursery or home schooling would have done anything other than disadvantage him.

Of course, though, it's down to your individual circumstances - how your child is and what your likely school choice will be.

There will be at least one of two kids in his class who have a disability of some description and are way behind him, so he won't be at the bottom and they don't expect them to be ready to sit and work when they first start. It will be mostly playing with small bits of concentrating.

I can't advise one way or the other but my twin Granddaughters were born on 30th August and were quite quiet and shy.
During Infant/Junior School we were pleased as they were always around the middle of their year.
They had no advantages, there is a brilliant C of E School nearby but they didn't get in, they ended up at a huge Comprehensive which was in Special Measures, then went to Sixth Form.
They worked really hard and both got into University and both attained First Degrees and First Masters in the Sciences.
They both got jobs pertaining to their Degrees and both now work in London.
I have to say we were worried to death when they ended up at the rubbish Comprehensive but I'm sure a good home life was a great help with their education.
My daughter has said that if she had the choice again, regarding deferring, she would definitely do the same thing.

I absolutely would. You’ll get a lot of misinformation and anecdotes here about people we’re fine but look at the research. I would join the Facebook group flexible school admissions for summerborns and search for your area. Some places do it easily and others are more of a fight. I was going to do it but we moved to Scotland so it solved the problem as he automatically started at 5.

OP as a pp has said, the research which pointed to summer born children not doing quite as well as children born early in the school year (certainly when I looked at it a few years ago - there may be other reports now) didn't adequately eliminate the advantage that children born early in the year may have had simply on account of having had more schooling that children born later in the year.

Older children started in September; those born in the second half of the year started after February half term. Those older children had had an extra half year of school.

Your son might be academically advantaged to stay back but he might be bored. And if he's put in Year One he'll be socially disadvantaged as the friendship groups will be formed and he'll have to fit in where he can.

The nursery would have commented if he wasn't hitting his milestones and he seems bright to you. So chances are he'll be just fine

If you look at KS results (published by Government) you can see the results broken down by month of birth and sex. The later in the academic year a child is born, the less likely they are to meet (or exceed) the expected level. This is the case year on year. And the effect is more prevalent in boys. Obviously KS results are only a part of schooling, but unfortunately due to the way our school system works, they are something to consider.

There is absolutely no reason that your son will have to go straight into Year 1 either. Any school or local authority proposing this will have to demonstrate why it is in your child's best interest to miss reception, which is actually very hard to do. Most decisions that go as high as the LGO find in the favour of the parents.

I second (or third) the suggestion of the Flexible Admissions for Summerborns Facebook group, if you are seriously considering requesting admission out of normal age group. There is a wealth of information and also lots of parents there with older children, who are still being educated out of their normal age group - there are many accounts there of the benefits they have found later in education. What I have found from reading these is that children being educated out of their normal age group generally blend into their adopted cohort and are just like any other child in the year. Certainly I have found with my son, who is still at preschool - he doesn't stand out in any way as being different from the preschool cohort. He plays and interacts happily with a range of ages, despite being the oldest by just under 3 months.

There is also lots of info in the group about sports (if that is something in particular that concerns you) - it is not always the case that a child out of cohort cannot compete with their peers. It depends on the sport. For example there is dispensation with the FA to allow children to play with their adopted cohort and I believe similar for some other sports.

I honestly just recommend doing your research, understand the process, what is involved in your area... and then seeing how you feel. I just knew in my gut that sending my son to school at just-turned 4 was in no way the best thing for him and I still feel confident I am right. I thought the process would be difficult but we only faced opposition from 1/4 schools and eventually overturned the 4th school's decision too, because they couldn't provide any robust justification for missing reception.

For my son I am interested to see what happens when he starts school, and I am excited for this new chapter in his life. I just hope we've made a decision that will give him the best start in all aspects of his schooling.

Remember this decision will affect his whole schooling, he won't be able to play on school sports teams with his classmates, and once he hits older teenage years might not be best pleased at 18 when he still has another year of school.

I'm August born, went to university at just 18 and never looked back!

I got told repeatedly I should delay my August baby (also prem) by friends and family. Nursery had no concerns and he started school 2 weeks after his 4th birthday. He was a bit overwhelmed on his first day but settled really quickly. From what his teacher tells me and from what I saw from homeschooling he is finding school fairly easy and is above average for reading and Maths. Despite not being the most emotionally resilient of children, he is happy, settled and has lots of friends. Considering I potentially had a good case to delay him, I don't regret it for a second. My NCT group all had October babies and a couple told me privately they wished their children were starting earlier as they were ready for school.

I am in Scotland where deferral for January/February borns (our cutoff is end of February) is very common. We deferred February born ds(17) a year and have never regretted it, I believe he would not have the same school experience and results had he went in the year above. We know a few parents who deferred, none regret it, and a couple who didn't with mixed feelings or regrets.

My DS was born very late July. I didn't hold him back for a year. In reception and year 1 he was working behind his peers. Now in year 4 he's completely caught up and is working at the same level.

Every child is different. Completely up to you to decide x

Thanks everyone. Another consideration I have is that I think just-turned-18 is very young to have to make decisions about your future, and wouldn’t it be nice to have another year to decide. I’m guessing as a PP said, he wouldn’t feel great about another year of school at the time but he might appreciate it later?

It sounds like it’s more common than I thought to keep children back a year. Really useful insights - thanks @YenneferOfBattenberg for the detailed post. Also interested in what @WeAllHaveWings said about it being more common in Scotland. Super interesting.

Can’t remember who asked but yes my son is in nursery. I don’t think they’re in a position to tell me how ready for school he is as he’s 2 years old (nearly 3). You don’t quite have long enough to identify if they’re ready or not if you have a young in the year kid.

Thanks all!

I think it depends on the individual child and the school.

My eldest niece is August born and wasn't kept back, she did very well with education, I have a cousin who is the same, August birthday and did well at school and uni.

Some children are ready for school at 3 others are not until 6.

@PaleGreenAndBrightOrange In Scotland they start school aged between 4.5 - 5.5 and you can choose to automatically defer if they are January/February born so they start P1 aged 5.5/5.6 instead. Currently over 40% of January/February born defer (over 50% of boys).

Ds was more than ready to start P1 at 4.5, we didn't put a lot of thought into it, we deferred on the gut feeling that we didn't want him being the youngest, the evidence boys mature slower academically and the simple fact it was an option in Scotland. There was the added bonus that funding for preschool continued too for that extra year.

He was shy when he started school, but as he was more mature at 5.6yo than he would have been starting at 4.5yo he got more opportunities or experiences to build on his confidence throughout the school years, whether it is a talking part in a play (not the lead, but enough for him), doing ok on sports day (never first, but also not last, occasionally got a 2nd/3rd place), being class rep, being a bit older/mature/bigger and not taking any nonsense from wanna be bullies. For sports he played football and it was a 2004 born team and made up of a mixture of both his year and other Jan/Feb borns from the year above and from different schools, most of whom he keeps in touch with even though the team disbanded 2 years ago. He is the first of his friends to start driving lessons recently which is he thrilled about.

He is now 17 in S5 in Scotland, sitting his Scottish Higher assessments and targeted to do well 🤞. He has approached, lockdown, home learning, revision and his exams with age appropriate maturity and confidence which I personally don't believe he would have had developed as strongly if he had gone through all the school stages a year younger/the youngest in his class (but who knows!).

The plan is he will do S6 at school then (hopefully) start uni next year aged 18.6yo (and able to buy a drink in a pub!). Looking at him now he would not be ready to be finishing S6 and heading to Uni this year aged 17.6yo.

I would enthusiastically recommend to anyone in Scotland to take up the same option available to defer. I am not familiar with the English system, but there will be similar advantages.

I got permission to hold my DS back ( July born) due to a speech issue, but I didn't in the end, because preschool didn't want to keep him as they said he was ready to go to school despite having a diagnosed speech delay. They laid it on thick that I would be disadvantaging him to hold him back, other parents are very negative about it too. I think they get defensive as they hadn't considered it. My parents were very unkind about it.

I looked for other settings and none wanted to take him. So I felt pressured to send him. He has found it very tiring, but he is doing very well with reading, writing not much improvement really and his concentration is of a Knat. He is as tall as the September / October birthdays so I did worry he'd stick out if I held him back.

Did I make the right decision ? I don't know. When I hear him read I think wow yes he was ready, but socially and with his speech I think I should of held him back to start this year.

I should say it's a bit of work to hold them back and stress, you have to apply as usual to school, then they want a decision ASAP what you will do if you get permission.

I had it very easy actually as my school I wanted for DS is Local authority if you have a church school or Academy then you have to apply to them first for their permission and the governors May say no.

Lots to thick through.

@GingerAndTheBiscuits

Worth bearing in mind that while you have a right to defer, it is the admission authority that decides whether he can then start in reception or in year 1. That loss of reception year could be quite significant.

This is wrong. It's called deacceleration now, and they would start in reception a year "late." It was different in the past. But it is worth checking on who runs your desired school, if it's Local authority then it's easier. But they still want reasons and evidence. They say they will speak to current nursery or preschool. Ours wasn't supportive but said they would say it my choice as the parent. I have no idea if the LA did speak to them or not.

My DS is ,very late August, he's leaving school this year (still 15). He's had other challenges to contend with but he has struggled and being so young has been another thing in the mix.

However I'm cautious about mixing school years. If your summer born is trying to keep up not only with Sept/Oct kids but also held-back June/July from the year above, it's pushing the problem down the road. When will the children be moved to the correct year? What if by age 8 they are taller, more mature and developed than the class and wondering what's wrong with them that they are in the class below their peers?

It would be better to just start later or have Reception more flexible.

With the current timetable, a June birthday deffering would mean taking GCSEs as turn 17, possibly being able to drive before entering sixth form, doing A levels as they turn 19...

Or being able to leave school at end of Yr10 to do another form of education or training...

I seesaw between regretting not deferring my late June Yr5 and thinking I made the right decision. She's very mature on some ways, but immature in others. At the moment it's awkward as a lot of her friends have started puberty and she hasn't and looks physically younger (she was one of the tallest a year ago... But a lot shot up other lockdown!). She has got some additional needs (dyslexia we think, but school aren't sure). Academically she would be better in year below. But she also seems a lot older than Yr4s... She wouldn't be able to walk to school by herself for example.

Ultimately, I don't think there is a right choice. I wish she could be half a year below.

Her March born sister could do with being half a year above!

I have a 31st Aug little (short) unsporty boy. He is one of 5 boys in his yr and is nearly a yr younger than all the other boys and is doing so well, the older boys motivate him a lot so I’m happy he went into his “correct “ yr.
He does sometimes feel sad that he is the only one not to have lost a tooth and things like that, but academically it’s fine x

Like a PP my summer born DS struggled in reception but has caught up in Year 1. I was told by his nursery teacher not to defer him as it he would get bored with being with kids a year younger than him at nursery (none of his peers were deferring at the nursery).

I have a June baby. She will be 13 in a few weeks. I left her until she was 5 to start school and it really was the best thing for her. There are kids in her class who are a full year younger than her.
My view is, it’s easier to keep them back when they are little than to maybe hold them back a year when they are at school.

Really feel for you OP. Very difficult decision. We deferred DS, June baby. This is mainly because I was working at at the department for education when he was little, and was surrounded by all this evidence showing poor outcomes for summerborn boys. I think that anecdotal evidence, like you will get on here, just doesn't stand up against the proper studies.

I think you know for your child. My late May born DD was ready for school last September 😂 She is bright as a button & I don’t necessarily mean that academically but just her general alert, awareness & maturity. Her main hobbies are sitting at our kitchen table drawing pictures & practicing writing ‘letters to her friends’ for hours a day. Her concentration is remarkable for a just turned 4 year old, nursery are always commenting on the app about it 😂 & her love of sitting and learning new things, be it phonics, maths or a new game they’ve got out. She’s just that kinda kid. Her language has been really good from an early age too. Don’t get me wrong, she loves bombing around softplay & being silly with her friends & Daddy as all little kiddos should.. and she watches far too much TV & terrible kids movies, currently Trolls. It’s a delight. But she is 100% ready for school in both our opinions.

What is your reception like? Ours is an EYFS unit with nursery & reception combined. It looks just like a nursery. It’s 95% play based with some more focused learning for the reception kids through the week. But planning is done as one unit and most activities are shared (nursery is AM only). That’s another big reason why I’m not worried, she’s basically just moving to another play setting for a year. I appreciate many schools are not quite like this though. But deffo worth throwing into your considerations!

I personally would not fixate on 18 being far too young to make decisions about life. So is 19 really.. At 18, I went to do nursing and boy did I hate it. I quit & did a psychology degree! Then I did teacher training aged 21. I hated that too, quit after two years. Now I work in publishing, am successful, well paid & extremely happy. Life will work itself out, no matter what your age! Sometimes you gotta try & fail or try & think, god no. You’ll find the right path!