Any advice on deferring entry to primary

[daiseydreamer]

My son is due to start school in August, he will turn 4 the day before the term starts. I'm starting to worry about how tiny he will be.

He's quite a confident and sociable boy. He's been in preschool for the last year, walked straight in on day 1 and didn't look back, I've had no issues and he gets good reports from them. He only goes 2 days a week, I'm lucky enough to have my mum who has him the rest of the week.

I have 2 older children who are both born in November so were almost 5 starting school. They changed so much between turning 4 and starting school and I just feel like my youngest will be too young.

I wonder if this is more about my reluctance to 'let go' of my last baby and squeeze another year out of him, although I work full time so in reality, it's just another year of childcare costs and commitment from my mum!

So any pros or cons on starting so young or deferring a year to help me decide?

Do you have to defer? We were in a similar position but I knew deferring would hinder my daughter as she was so ready to learn, but equally as she was so young she didn’t have the stamina or inclination to go to school full time.

I contacted the school directly and requested that my daughter started reception part time, initially just the mornings, then built up to full time. School were really accommodating.

It worked really well for her, she was so little in September, physically and emotionally, she needed time to build up her resilience to being in a school environment. She benefited from phonics and maths in the morning, whilst afternoons were more for free play/forest school, which she did at home.

It really was the best of both worlds and she hasn’t missed out on anything by doing it this way.

No, they could go into either, which is why it's important to get the agreement of the schools the academic year before. If you don't get the agreement in advance, it's possible that a child will be put into y1.

Where are you based OP? You say starting school in August, which would imply Scotland or N Ireland, but then that the cut off date for age is 1 Sept which is England & Wales I think?

I deferred my DS. Best decision ever.

My mum didn't defer my sister and always regretted it.

Unfortunately not if an August birthday. It's a bone of contention which I have been through with one of mine and not all LAs are keen to defer, especially "older" deferrals depending on birth date in August.

It's very common to defer in Scotland.

OP if you are in Scotland you will probably find there are a lot of deferred children in the year group making your DC seem even younger than their peer group.

No, they could go into either, which is why it's important to get the agreement of the schools the academic year before. If you don't get the agreement in advance, it's possible that a child will be put into y1.

As I explained, schools and local authorities have to follow the statutory rules. Parents of summerborn children can requesf to defer reception start for a year. Schools and LAs can only legally refuse it if they can prove that this would not be in that individual child's best interests, which is essentially impossible because they do not know that child at all so cannot realistically overrule the parents' judgement about their own child and all of the robust research showing that in general it is very beneficial not to start school so young. This has been tested repeatedly at tribunals and thankfully most LAs have now accepted that they must follow the law so it is now usually pretty easy to arrange without a fuss. Many LAs now just have it as a simple tickbox option on the school application.

Unfortunately not if an August birthday. It's a bone of contention which I have been through with one of mine and not all LAs are keen to defer, especially "older" deferrals depending on birth date in August.

In Scotland school years/ cohorts run differently though, don't they? As in start and end in different months or the year to the English Sept to August school years?

Sigh.

I live in an area where there is a tick box on the form! I filled it in some 3 months ago.

The tick box is on the form for the usual cohort application. If the schools agree the delay then your application gets pulled and you apply the following year, with agreement from those specific schools that you can (if you get in) start in reception.

The tick box doesn't mean it's automatically granted, but it flags up to the LA so they can make enquiries with the schools. Yes, in practice some areas will say yes to everyone, in some areas it's a nightmare.

And yes, technically they have to justify why missing a year of education is in the childs best interests, which is tough for them to do, but there are no guarantees they will say yes. Its also hugely stressful not knowing whether your child is going to end up in reception or year 1 and battling schools with this.

It can be done, but it's a bit risky at this stage surely.

The procedure works differently in different areas. In some areas it is automatically approved. Some not. My area used to be particularly difficult a few years ago but after losing several tribunals that LA realised they had to follow the law so by the time I applied to defer it was approved immediately with no fuss. My point was that realistically they can't legally decline it even if you do happen to have an LA who is still stuck in the dark ages, doesn't understand the law and tries to be difficult so, if they do, you can fight it and are extremely likely to win. But yes it is ridiculous it's even a possibility still that someone might have to go through that nonsense. That's why I suggested to the OP that she contact the admissions officer at her LA ASAP to discuss their process and join the FB group to talk to people in her local area who've done it.

They can legally decline it. They just have to justify it. I'm part of that group too, and whilst
Its useful I think it can also overstate how much the LA is obliged to say yes. It's not as simple as issue as they make out.

Definitely talk to the admissions officer asap though! I agree with that.

My child has the same birthday as yours OP. She is in year 2 now. If i did it again, I would defer. I didn’t defer as when applying to schools, I knew she was clever and fairly confident. She’s been to nursery and preschool so I was happy with her social skills.

BUT she really has struggled being so young in her head. Academically she is totally fine (ahead of many of the older ones) but emotionally she’s much younger and it affects a lot of their interactions. Like, even just the types of games they enjoy or the way the friendships dynamic work. I think it exhausts and frustrates her because she wants it to work but she can’t quite keep up.

When I see her with kids from our neighbourhood who are the year below at school but in reality only a week or two younger, she is so much happier as they’re just that much more in tune with each other.

having said that, she’s unlucky as she is only one of two summer borns in her entire class. If there were more august kids then perhaps it would be better.

I have a teenage summer born (one of youngest in his year) and if I had my time again I’d defer him.

BUT he has a small developmental delay, and some mild SEN. which being the youngest in his year is more noticeable. It’s tricky in mid teens as so many of his peers are interested in girls, parties, etc where he is still relatively young.

What about at the other end? Is the child going to be happy with finishing school a year later? What if they decide to leave the term after they are 16?

Wow, thanks for all the useful responses, it's very mixed.

He is bright, he's quite advanced with his milestones and motor skills but he isn't very focussed. His pre school describe him as a free spirit so he's always the one who drifts off and will always do his own thing rather than follow the group he really struggles with instructions and focus. He learns things very quickly but isn't really interested in learning. For example I don't think I've ever been able to read a whole book with him, he just wanders off. I just wonder while everyone thinks this is adorable and fine at preschool will this be an issue in school.

My oldest wasn't ready for school, despite being almost 5 but he does have SEN so it's been a huge struggle for him. My middle one was absolutely ready. Not as bright as the youngest but just interested and curious and the teachers pet type of child. My youngest falls somewhere in between so I'm really not sure what to do.

I do however, know I don't want him to start in year 1. So maybe that's my first step, find out if I can defer to start reception later as that may well make the decision for me.

A child with a September birthday could also technically do that. 🤷‍♀️ Funding for further eduction etc is all exactly the same: 3 years.

They'll probably be happier later on if anything, not being the last one in their cohort who can learn to drive, go for a drink etc. As well as the emotional maturity issue.

Based on what you've described, if he was my child, I'd defer if at all possible. Reception is still fairly unstructured and play-based but think about how he'd manage in YR1 just after his 5th birthday. Why put him through that if no need? Definitely call the admissions officer and have a chat to them about your options. I hope it all works out for you and him whatever you do.

Yeah agree to defer if he has trouble focussing and getting through books. My July DS is in reception, and I don’t regret sending him but he sounds more like your middle child. If you know which school he is likely to go to can you speak to them or get them to speak to the nursery?

We delayed our August 19th born boy so he started in reception just turned 5. Best decision we ever made for him, the difference that year made was staggering. I don’t care about him being the oldest or the youngest in the class, my only concern was him not being ready. If school starting age was 6 or 7 I wouldn’t have done it, but we start children very young here.

Anyway, for us it has only been positive. He is part of a football team outside of school, and the FA provide a dispensation for children educated out of cohort so he plays with the under 8s currently, even though his birthday would put him into the under 9 age group by 12 days. So that hasn’t been an issue either (I know sports is a concern for some when considering a delay).

I really recommend the Facebook group for help and advice.

I sent my June-born boy to school age 5 rather than 4. It has been a brilliant decision for him. He is in Year 1 currently and thriving. I knew in my gut it was the right decision for him.

It's also definitely not too late - we made the decision mid-June (of the year he was due to start) and got it all sorted in time. Depending where you live it can be really easy! Unfortunately it is a bit of a postcode lottery.

There's a fair bit of misinformation in this thread, so I would also recommend joining the Flexible Admissions for Summerborn FB group as there is so much knowledge in that group and you will get accurate information there to help you make an informed decision. There's also a lot of information on the process and what you need to do.