August born child - starting school at 4 or 5?

[August21yellowbaby]

My son was born in august. Meaning when he starts school he will only JUST of turned 4. Whilst some of his class mates could be close to turning 6

I feel quite strongly about not sending him to school until he is 5 but my questions are

How hard is it to defer ?

Will there be any negatives of holding him back a year?

I don't want him to miss reception but I know on gov website it states they won't miss reception they will just start reception the next year

And will it affect when I do his high school application?

Hoping someone with experience can fill me in 😊

I Defford my dd school start until the following year. It's been the best desision I dontvregret it for a second

Just FYI, none of his classmates (those in his year anyway) will be close to turning six. There will be some who are five in September, so almost a year older than him, not two years.

Does he have any specific SEN or other reason for delay? A friend had b/g twins who were developmentally delayed and mid-August-born, they fought (several years ago so harder) to get them delayed by a year and they did everything a year later - so yes, started secondary when they were already (just) 11 and took GCSEs when they were going on 17. Not an issue AFAIK.

OTOH another friend had a DS whose b/day is end August; he started school aged 4 and was fine. DS had a classmate who was similar - all good. Took GCSEs and A levels, wasn't even 18 when he left school! and is now at uni.

You need to assess based on your child's needs rather than just "he is August born so must defer" if that make sense?

No, I really wouldn't. Especially if your dc is bright, they won't get stretched and will be bored.

It depends a bit where you live but it would have been very easy for us to defer our August DS if we'd wanted. He'd have then gone into Reception at 5. In the end, we didn't though and he's just finished his first half term in Reception. It was absolutely the right decision for him. He's doing amazingly well and the amount he's progressed across all areas (gross motor skills, fine motor skills, speech, socialisation) has been incredible since he started school. Almost half his class are young summer babies too so he's by no means the youngest. It's very much an individual choice though. We took our DS to meet with three Deputy Head to talk about it and he advised against it having interacted with DS. If you have a preferred school, it may be worth asking their opinion.

Very important to know that if you defer, at the end of reception the school will decide if your child then goes into year 1 or skips year 1 and goes straight into year 2. Year 1 is such an important year, the first year of proper school really as reception is so play based, that jumping straight into year 2 could be a big shock. You don't get a say on this as a parent, the school decides where to put the child at that point. Don't think this is always fully explained when parents are deciding whether to defer.

Can't answer your how hard... question, but I'm in Ireland and it would be normal for August born children to start at 5 - it can only benefit them.

I think schools can manage it quite well all the way through. The hiccup comes when there is a cross over with external rules and regulations. The obvious example is sport where there can be strict rules on age boundaries so if he chooses a town sports club then he may always have to be in a different group to his school friends.

DS is late August and his entry was not deferred. Reception class at age 4 was a bit tiring but by end of year 2 he was heading for top of the class academically. I think deferring would have resulted in him being bored more of the time. Yes I understand differentiation. Is it always delivered well in classes, no. Whatever your reasons for deferring they have to be comfortable for your DS to explain because other children will be curious as to why.

@Msmbc do you have a source for your assertion? As I know the complete opposite to be true- once a child is accepted out of cohort, they can only be moved cohort again if it is strongly felt to be in the child's best interests, which would involve consultation with parents.

I wouldn't. They might be young to start with but it is mostly play and fun learning the first few years. They level out around year 1/2 regardless of if they have been held back or not.

Depends where you live. I'd say it's nothing to do with being 'stretched' etc. Consider emotional maturity, will they cope in the playground, do they need more play to build confidence, can they put shoes, coat on and fasten, share confidently, understand turn taking, can they handle the inevitable noise and other issues from the 4 year olds who are not coping.... No way would I send a child that age to Primary school.

I'm guessing from your username that this is two years away. I think it's far too soon to know what is right for him.

I was all ready to fight for deferral (which would have been a big fight in those days) if my August-birthday-but-due-late-September DD wasn't ready for school. As it turned out, she was almost completely ready, and the pre-school was definitely not going to cut it for another year. (The only respect in which she wasn't ready was that the full week was just a bit much - fortunately her school was quite happy for children to have an afternoon off if they were flagging - she had an afternoon off most weeks. She'd have coped if that hadn't been possible, though.)

This actually isn't true. Some summer born children take all of primary to catch up, and some never do.

You know your son better than anyone but I can tell you about my experience with my August (10th) born daughter who is now in year 2.

I was aware that you could defer but didn't want that for various reasons (mainly paying for childcare). She started reception after just turning four and really the main issue I had was her confidence as she is very shy and I think the an age difference of a few months makes a difference at that age. Academically she was fine and finished on target for reception. In year 1 she just flew academically and is doing so well now. She is a free reader and her spelling is great. You would never know she was practically the youngest in class. If she had been held back then I know she would be so bored.

I also have a summer born son (June) and I would say he has struggled a little more but now he's in year 6 and right on track. Social skills is where I feel we have struggled with more that academia. It all seems to have evened out now though.

Statistically summer borns do worse throughout education. Some level out but many don't.

I have one DC born in the last week in August and one in the first week in September so have seen both ends of the spectrum. What I would say is defer for a reason, not just because you can IYSWIM. Look at your son’s individual needs and base your decision purely on that.

My August baby was absolutely fine. They were the smallest in the year for several years, struggled to skip when all their friends were already doing it in PE and found pencil grip hard (messy handwriting). Often overlooked in sports teams as others are faster, stronger, taller, older. But mentally, socially and academically she was 100% ready and hasn’t looked back. In top sets from the point at which setting started and on track for all 8s and 9s at GCSE. Deferred them would have been a huge mistake.

My other child struggled far more being the oldest in the year and this lasted until Y2/3. They are exceptionally bright and mature for their age. An odd year group in that 75% of them had birthdays from April to August meant that whilst their classmates were still watching Peppa Pig, they had moved on to unicorns and older TV programmes. She was miles ahead academically and whilst school were great at giving her extension work etc, she was bored. She struggled socially due to the massive age gaps. Fast forward to the end of primary and things have evened out. I honestly wish for the four days difference that she could have gone into the year above.

My friend also has a son with the same August birthday as my DC but a few years older. He really struggled in school and so when he got to 11 he moved to an all through independent school but repeated Y6 there as opposed to going into Y7. Best thing to ever happen to him and my friend wished they had just deferred him from the off.

There is honestly no easy answer. You know your son best. Defer because it’s the right thing for him, not just because you can.

That's not the case.

The guidelines are very clear that once a child has been accepted out of year, it is expected they will stay in that year unless there are strong reasons not to, including at transition to secondary.

My son was born end of July, and my stepson in August. My son was soooo ready for school no way would I have held him back. Ditto stepson - i didn't know him then but he did fine.
Some kids are not as mature as others so if that's the case maybe, but otherwise I wouldn't.

@Gro · Today 23:23

I wouldn't. They might be young to start with but it is mostly play and fun learning the first few years. They level out around year 1/2 regardless of if they have been held back or not.

Untrue - there’s quite a bit of educational research globally suggesting some don’t ‘level out’ until 13/14/15 years old. There were also stats looking at grammar school (11+) entry and how, despite supposedly adjusting for age, cohorts were Sept-Jan heavy.

My eldest is August born but stayed with her year grouping. It’s really difficult to know how this has affected her. I’m not sure it has. She’s a working adult now and again surrounded by ppl much older than her. Through the years I’ve wondered if deferring would have been a good idea but she’s always been middle to top set, been in sports teams etc. Maturity may have been an issue at certain times especially as she had two younger siblings, which I think kept her young, if that makes sense.

I agree with others, do what is right for your child. A friend deferred her august born and it was great for him having another year of nursery and he thrived in reception. Year one came and he started getting bored. Friend was constantly at the school asking for extension work and for him to be stretched. School told her the focus was on the children who were struggling. He’s year 2 now and very disruptive. He’s bored and they are trying to find a private school who will take him. It might have happened anyway but he honesty sticks out like a sore thumb in the younger age group.

Check out the Facebook group called flexible summer born admissions. You should be able to find people from your area on there who will be able to tell you the process in your county.
I've deferred 2 of my children, both August born. We're in Hertfordshire and the process is extremely simple here.

I know a few instances where this has happened at different points. Transferring from an infant school to a junior school - the child went into year 4 instead of year 3. Transfer to Secondary school where the child went into Year 8.

OP, my GS is an august born. He started school at just turned 4. He’s now in Y2. He has absolutely thrived! The alternative would have been another year in his private Nursery where his friends would have left and he would have wondered why he was still there!
When I go into our Reception class, I really can’t tell how old the children are individually.

Lots of the stats on the summer borns being behind comes from areas and times when they simply had less schooling and from being simply younger when they take various tests

It always interests me on these threads how different England is to Ireland. Here we can choose to start school anywhere between 4 and 6. It used to be common to send at 4 but has almost universally changed to 5 where I am (and I think country wide)

My daughter, now 15 was born in early May, At that time, the school principal's advice was if they are born before Easter, send at 4, otherwise (and you could afford it) wait till 5.

I had absolutely no idea whether she was ready for school or not at 4. How would you tell? Especially when I'd have had to apply when she was 3. Preschool teachers said she would be ok going at 4 but it would be better to wait.

Staff in the preschool/crèches in Ireland would be absolutely insulted at the idea that 4-5 year olds would be bored in their care. They are professionals and it is their job to educate early years in an age appropriate way.

In hindsight once she got to school, I realised she was pretty mature, got on great throughout primary so she might have been OK going earlier - but was this just her or because she was older?

In sports teams (which have age cut off in Jan) she is with her friends from her year group which has encouraged her to keep playing team sports and going strong at 15.

Secondary transition also fine.

I know lots of English people reading this will be horrified that she will be 19 doing her Leaving Cert exams (A level equivalent) and will be putting on the school uniform for a whole year after her 18th. But nobody in her circle would bat an eyelid at this.

I think the "done thing" on school starting age changed in Ireland as so many people of my age were scarred by going to college at 17. And it has now swung the other way.
The change happened due to parental choice. The compulsory school starting age has been the same (4-6) for donkeys years.

It is a different culture, a different school system so horse for courses. I'm just sharing this to give a different perspective.

My friend who has been a primary teacher for 15 years who is currently deciding whether or not to defer her August born baby told me. She says she's not going to defer for this reason. Maybe it's different depending on the local authority?