Can my child start reception early?

[Adriana87]

My daughter was born in September 2019. This means it won't be until September 2024 she starts school. To be honest our prime motivator is childcare cost as its costing us over £1,200 in fees. I appreciate that drops by 40% when she turns 3 but it's still a bitter pill to swallow that she'll be in nursery for half a year longer than her brother before going to school. Is it an option for children to start reception earlier?

@SionnachRua

School is not childcare.

As a teacher, I've yet to see a child that I thought started school too late. Seen plenty that started too young, though.

Many countries do not start school until children are 6 or even 7 and yet get overall better education than the UK. Our friends who have family in Italy took moved to Italy so that their child did not have to start school at 4. Things that take a 6-7year old a few days to learn taken a 4-year old months. I am not sure why the UK education authorities do not want to learn and adopt experience of the countries that achieve better results.

@Lily7050
I bet your friend felt a bit daft to discover nursery in Italy is virtually obligatory from 3-6 and it's where they learn to read and write and do simple maths before starting primary at 6. Any child unable to read/write when beginning primary has to have special catch up lessons and reports are filed to the ministry of education to highlight that the nursery teachers (all state qualified early years teachers) haven't done their job.
And then when your friend's child went to school at 6 to find him sitting at a desk for 4-5 hours with a good couple of hours homework every afternoon?
If your friend had researched European education frameworks, she'd have seen that what an Italian child does at 5 so does an English one. It's just that one is in school, and one is in nursery.

It is possible but I don’t think it’s ok for a number of reasons. If the school and LA agree to the application, your child will have the same priority to a place as all the others. So if your school is over subscribed and you get a place someone who is within the normal age range will not get a place.

You’d be mad to do it. I’ve got a bright summer born who got exceeded for everything bar writing. She knew in September there were things she couldn’t do that the older ones could around drawing and writing. She was very aware of it as most of the other children are autumn borns. The difference between her at 4 and 5 is staggering. Your child will have a massive advantage and while the childcare is painful, she’ll be in a stronger position overall for it.

I do know someone who did this for their September born girl (possibly was a private school) Dd started at 4y10 m having been in nursery since 5m and the pre-school for over 2 years (started the summer term before she was 3). I don't think Dd engaged her brain at school until year 5, to say she was understimulated is a massive understaement, she could have easily gone a year earlier.

@TuesdayRuby

I’m in the same boat, however not for financial reasons. I have an extremely sassy, mature almost 4 year old born in early September. I really can’t imagine her being in nursery for another whole year! She is already one of the tallest and most grown up in her class. She’ll be like a teenage when she’s 5 Nothing we can do though, ive already checked this out. Ideally I’d like her to start in January.

You might think that but they’ll will be things she could learn whether that’s academic or social. I’ve taught many September born Nursery children and often their parents think they are ready for Reception when they can still learn lots socially.

Don't be so ridiculous. Where would this end? Childcare costs are harsh but you just need to suck it up as do millions of other families

[quote Geamhradh]@Lily7050
I bet your friend felt a bit daft to discover nursery in Italy is virtually obligatory from 3-6 and it's where they learn to read and write and do simple maths before starting primary at 6. Any child unable to read/write when beginning primary has to have special catch up lessons and reports are filed to the ministry of education to highlight that the nursery teachers (all state qualified early years teachers) haven't done their job.
And then when your friend's child went to school at 6 to find him sitting at a desk for 4-5 hours with a good couple of hours homework every afternoon?
If your friend had researched European education frameworks, she'd have seen that what an Italian child does at 5 so does an English one. It's just that one is in school, and one is in nursery.[/quote]
@Geamhradh

That's definitely not the case across Italy - while they do start simple writing and drawing exercises in the last year of kindergarten (when the children are 5/6), there is generally no expectation that they know how to write when they enter first grade - and certainly no remedial lessons and reports or complaints to be filed. I live in Italy, my aunt is a kindergarten teacher, my friends' children attend kindergarten/first grade - never heard of such a thing.

I believe France has made maternelle compulsory from age 3 in recent years.

My eldest is October born - should have been mid September or so. I didn't know about school ages when she was born and was disappointed when I realised she would be old in her year as our family has much history of children thriving young in year, plus we're all tall. We moved her to a school nursery for her 2nd preschool year as we could see she was going to outgrow the daycare she was in - all her friends were heading for school and she was as ready as they were. Had she been within the first 2 weeks of September I would have pushed hard to have her start school early, as it was I accepted asking once and being told no (independent sector).

She's just finished school, done very well; but to be honest I sometimes wonder if her approach to academics might have been different if she'd been stretched by an earlier school start. Ironically, I went through school young ish in year (not UK) but would have benefited by skipping a year had it been allowed when I was young enough (my parents were offered advancing me in year 7 but felt it was too late).

My youngest is summer born (by chance not planning) and I am so grateful that he is - he grew early and in many other ways could have been badly out of place had he been old in year. Two of his close friends by chance are late August and September. At no age would you have correctly guessed which one was nearly a year older than the other two.

I do think it would be good to have a 4-6 month range where there was a choice when to start. Perhaps that is what is being achieved by the greater acceptance of deferred entry nowadays, not sure.

The reason you hear both from those who want a child held back and those who'd like an earlier start, is that there is a range of school readiness and those whose children fall on the optimal side of the cut-off for them, don't have parents worrying about it!