Reception or Year One?

[NorthernLassie21]

I'd really appreciate some advice please....we are returning from New Zealand to the UK in July, to support my elderly mum. My daughter turns 5 in August, so I'm applying to schools soon.

She is due to go into year 1, and be at the younger end of the year. But she will totally miss out on Reception and the gentle introduction to school life, plus phonics etc. She goes to Kindergarten 3 days a week here in NZ and it is all free play and social skills but no 'sit down' learning.

I haven't a clue about the difference between Reception and Year 1 and whether it's a big step up. The primary school I'm applying to wants her to go in year 1. My son had a gentle start learning through play as a new entrant here in NZ and I'd like my daughter to have the same. She has good communication skills but can't write her own name yet.

Should I push for her to go into Reception, or does it cause a problem to be a year behind age wise? I want it to be the best start for her, with moving countries as well (not stressed much!) TIA 😀

Based on what you describe she’s not ready for year one. However, at her age you could probably teach phonics and get her writing over the summer holidays and she would soon catch up.

The biggest gap is phonics and it would take more than the summer for you to be able to teach her everything she needs.

In Reception she'll have been taught all the Phase 2 and 3 sounds and will have been taught how to segment and blend. Most children leaving Reception will be reading independently and able to write simple sentences.

If she can't do that, she will have to be taught phonics separately, because the rest of the class will be moving on. Due to staffing, this isn't necessarily possible.

Having said that, I don't know that you actually have the right for her to start school in Reception.

If she's August born I think you do have the right to defer her start to school and essentially start reception 'a year late' I think whether you should depends on a lot of things.

Is your dd willing to learn? Is she interested in letters and learning to read? Is she reasonably bright? If she is then you could easily help her reach the average academic level of a Y1 in the next few weeks but it's whether you and she really want to.

From my own observations it's also about learning classroom etiquette as well though. How would she be focussing on lessons all day? My observation is that children in the UK are built up gently but steeply from mostly child-led and playful learning at the start of YR and a 10/20 minute phonics lesson a day to almost entirely classroom, sitting at desks all day, environment by the middle of Y1. She will miss out on a lot of the buildup to this and the setting of expectations if she enters at Y1.

You also have to consider how she is with her peers. How emotionally mature is she? My dd is March born but a good chunk of the girls in her class are October/November born so around 6 months older. I'd say my dd is neither mature nor immature for her age but you can really tell the difference in age between them. She hasn't struggled to make friends but it's definitely noticeable. Bare in mind that if your dd starts in YR she will be mixing with kids who've only just turned 4. Will she mind this or find it frustrating?

I think what I'd do whatever you're planning is start doing phonics work with her. It doesn't need to be intense, just 10 mins a day. This will give you an idea of how she might cope with formal learning. I'd start by learning to blend as this is what kids find trickiest. I did this with my dd by splitting up words eg 'do you see that d-o-g over there'. Eventually I'd then let her guess what I was saying. I then moved on to pointing words out in books. Even if you go for starting in YR this will really help.

Tbh you are up against it wither way. You need to speak to LA regarding vacant spaces as that will dictate which schools may be available. It is up to the school if they will take out of year but Reception places are allocated already and popular schools likely full in both years. Ask the LA if you can submit a late application for Reception to at least get on waiting lists or if it should be an In Year application for year 1 first form where you can negotiate, Reception is also play based learning so she may not be as unready as you fear.

My DC is about to start Y1. In your situation I'd start her in reception. She probably could catch up to year one standards in the first term but starting in reception would certainly be a more gentle introduction to a new school (and country!). Also there will be kids in reception who are only a month (or less) younger than her anyway!

Also reception has involved much more phonics/reading/writing than I expected so there probably would be a fair bit to catch up on if she started in Y1.

We have had a number of children begin school in years 1 and 2, having never been to school before. This is usually due to having been in a different education system abroad when formal schooling doesn't start so early.
Some of these have never been to any childcare/school setting and some don't speak English either, though so do.

All have settled though the time to do so varies.
We have found that those who have been to some kind of childcare setting and who speak English tend to settle quicker - obvious I guess as the whole environment is much less scary to them. Being in a class of 30 children can be overwhelming if not used to it.
Even those with no English often quickly pick up their learning fast.

In year 1 the ability range is massive. You will have children who are still learning to blend to children who are reading fairly fluently for example.

She will be very young in the year group but I'm not sure you'd be eligible to start in reception in a state school - think the delay process has to be initiated when applying for reception before they start at 4y.

In many schools year 1 often includes a fair amount of free play, learn through play, etc and much less sitting down at tables and whole class work in the first few weeks or so. Many try to include a period of adjustment time so there is a cross over of reception style learning before moving to more whole class formalised learning after a few weeks.

You should definitely push to start her in reception, the biggest jump they do in school in from reception to year 1.
If her birthday is anywhere from May to August she will count as Summer born and that should make it easier.
We have several Summer born children who have delayed their start time at our school.
Honestly if that school won't accommodate this I'd be looking for one that will.

Should I push for her to go into Reception, or does it cause a problem to be a year behind age wise?

If that is actually possible at this stage it is worth pursuing I think, especially as she is so young for the year. We always ave one or two children in each year group who had a delayed start due to delaying reception as summer born. It doesn't cause them any issues as far as I can see.

I disagree with this. With a daily effort over the next 3 months, you could get the DC up to the same standard in phonics, reading, and writing as the less able end of the class for September. Not least because most DCs won't do a huge amount over the summer and will see their learning slip during the school hols. I taught DD2 phonics and to read over the first lockdown (making her sit at the table and do a bit of light school work was the only way to get DD1 to do her work), so a similar timescale. She was 3yo, and with OP's DC being older, it should be easier as the DC will be more developmentally ready. DD2's writing was significantly behind her reading level, as her age meant she was still developing the necessary fine motor skills, but even so she could form her letters and was starting to write things like 'a big dog'.
As for needing to be taught separately, our school uses the Read Write Inc phonics scheme with a 'class' for every level. The whole of EYFS and KS1 does phonics and English (DCs move to English once they've completed the phonics scheme) at the same time, and the DCs all move into their different groups depending on ability just for that lesson. The larger groups have the classrooms, and the smaller ones go to the library/computer room etc. It isn't unusual to have, say, a group that is mostly yr1, but with a few able yrR and struggling yr2 within it too. Because RWI is so formulaic, it can easily be delivered by teachers or TAs, so staffing all the levels isn't a problem.

@SkankingWombat But not every school uses RWI. Ours doesn't, and our scheme involves a whole class approach with catch up lessons for those who need it. The problem is staffing the catch ups.

Your suggestion that the whole Reception experience can be replicated at home over the next three months completely devalues what schools do.

The opportunity for summer born children to delay starting school generally applies to children due to start school in Reception. You'll need to contact your local authority to see if it's possible.

Coming from a Y1 teacher, I’d strongly push for her to start in Reception.

Most children starting Y1 will be able to read and write simple sentences independently. One or two children starting Y1 will be reading chapter books and writing their own stories. I wouldn’t put my own DD, who couldn’t write her name, in that situation where she is so far behind. Yes teachers will work to catch her up, but our school at least expects every child in Y1 to start on Phase 5 after a few week recap of Phase 3/4. That means your DD would be learning alternative digraphs before she’s even learned single letter sounds. We also have no phased transition from learning through play so your DD would be expected to sit down at a table and learn all day, right away. The amount of support your DD gets will vary from school to school due to different phonics schemes and different numbers of staff available.

On the other hand, plenty of children starting YR not knowing how to write their name and not knowing how to read. Especially with her August birthday, your DD would fit in well with her YR peers.

I would hope all schools use an approach that differentiates between the vast range of abilities that will be found in yr1, regardless of the specific scheme they teach. Not just catch up for those that are behind, but also work to stretch the most able. I have had DCs at both ends of the spectrum, and would have been very unhappy with the approach you describe.

I didn't claim you can recreate the whole reception experience at home over 3 months, I said you can catch up a large part of the phonics aspect over 3 months with daily 1-2-1 learning, which you can! That isn't devaluing what schools do. They have 30 children to a teacher, and teaching maths and phonics with those ratios is never going to get as quick results as daily 30min 1-2-1s. It is the reason homeschooled DCs require far less focused desk-learning. Obviously school provides a whole host of other subject learning and social benefits, and most parents aren't able to homeschool, so it is a valuable experience, but let's not pretend whole class learning is the most effective method from the individual child's perspective.

@SkankingWombat I take it you are not a primary school teacher. The current system is that ALL children are expected to move at the same (very rapid) pace through one of the government approved, prescriptive phonics schemes (phonics covers reading and writing). Those that fall behind receive immediate, intensive 'catch-up' and those that could move more quickly are not encouraged to do so. There is not expected to be a wide range of attainment when children hit Year 1 at all. As PP says, they would ALL be expected to be ready to start Phase 5 after a brief recap. The only exceptions would be those children with significant learning difficulties.

As a Aug born, I'd apply to defer and start her in Reception. She's not ready for year 1 . It's vey taught. As someone who's kid missed lots of reception for Covid, l say it made year 1 hard, but at least it was the whole class.

You can't trach her everything you need in a few months

Hi OP, my son is coming the the end of Y1 now and he really struggled at the start of the year with the lack of play time/ free "choosing" time.

There obviously are breaks, but Y1 kids have to sit and concentrate and listen to teaching staff for the majority of the day. Reception is much gentler.

I'd push the school, emphasise that she has no formal education so far and can't read or write at all. That she will be well below the attainment level needed for Y1 and will also struggle with the structure and focus needed. That she has an August birthday and you believe it will be significantly kinder to her to enrol her in Reception.

You're being very reasonable in your request and I think your instincts are right. You want her to love school and Y1 would be a bad start to that.

100% push for her to be in reception. I could have deferred my July born son but didn’t; in hindsight now I wish I had. He’s coping ok with school, and enjoys it, but will struggle in year one.

In which case, somebody needs to inform my DCs' school quickly! Yr1 are most definitely not all at roughly the same stage. Children are as they always have been (developing at different rates with different abilities), and the school works to meet their needs. My youngest is in yr2 now, but thinking back to this time last year, as the teacher above posted, some were reading chapter books and others were still struggling to blend. Most were roughly in the middle.
Not a teacher, no, but I am in school each week helping with weaker readers and assessing reading levels. The whole class approach is not something the school does, would be onboard with, or fits with how their phonics scheme works.

It will be a massive upheaval for her coming from NZ. Best to do it gently imho.

You have the right to defer and start until term after they turn 5. You don’t have a right to start in reception.

There is a really good Facebook group called something like delayed starts for summer borns.

You need to find a school which has space in reception as class numbers are capped to 30 unless you meet specific criteria eg adopted from care. Once you find a school that has space you need to ask for a place in reception and explain your reasoning and in the same letter ask them to justify why they think it’s appropriate for child to miss out on reception year at their school. You need to word it in a way so by offering a year 1 place they would have to argue their reception year teaching was pointless.

I wouldn’t start a phonics scheme unless you know which one the school will be following so you can follow the same one.

My dd went straight into year 1 from overseas having only been to preschool but I did teach her to write, basic maths, she learned to read herself already so she wasn't disadvantaged missing reception

Ps I never did a phonics scheme etc, she learned to read from books

The Facebook group is “flexible school admissions for summerborns” and they are excellent. They will be able to assist if you let them know area etc