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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Is it possible to get your child into school earlier - i.e at 4 and a half

45 replies

numptysmummy · 25/04/2008 12:49

Ds 2 birthday is the 12th of september 09 so technicaly he won't start school until just before he is 5. This also means he won't start rising 5's until next jan. Is it possible to get him into school in the jan ( 4 and a half) and therefore rising 5's when he is 4? He's not g and t but bright and i think he will be more than ready for it.

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Original poster

numptysmummy · 25/04/2008 15:19

Thankyou stealthsquiggle - feeling a bit out numbered here!

OP posts:

sarah293 · 25/04/2008 15:22

This reply has been deleted

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DaisySteiner · 25/04/2008 15:25

Am I the only one who is totally clueless about what rising 5s is?

It sounds like a levitation class

Original poster

numptysmummy · 25/04/2008 15:32

It's where children start hlf days at school the term before they sre 5.

OP posts:

whatme · 25/04/2008 15:59

message for mrs Mattie

If you wish to defer you child's start you can, legally they do not have to start until they are five, often school tell you that they must start in September but certainly the policy in the local LEA where we are is that you can defer the start and the place must be held open for at least one term. dd1,ds2 both started in January and they are doing great at school, no detrimental effects starting later than other, dd3 will also start in January. Not always popular with the school but the choice should be there, just not always offered.It's worth checking with your LEA if you feel strongly about it.

ReallyTired · 25/04/2008 20:08

"Because he is more than ready now! We had the same thing with starting pre-school. I just can't do enough to keep him stimulated. It's not like his birthday isn't until the december. "

I'm sorry I find that hard to believe at the age of two. Even if he is gifted and talented, I doult he would be emotionally ready to for proper school. ie. the rough and tumble and the playground politics, doing as the teacher says rather than what the child wants.

Children benefit from being older, many countries start school at seven and get better academic results.

Prehaps you need to think about better pre school provision if you feel your child is un simulated. Children get five free pre school session a week when they are free. If you picked a montesourri pre school then there would be more formal learning.

mrz · 25/04/2008 20:30

I have children starting full time in my reception class shortly after their fourth birthdays as we have a single intake in September. Age isn't a good indicator of how children will cope I've known the eldest child in the class to be less "ready for school" than the children who are almost a full year younger.

christywhisty · 25/04/2008 21:05

Really Tired I don't think Numptys boy is only 2

Both mine are september babies 13th and 18th.

My DD was chomping at the bit to start school when she was 4.3. She stood at the top of the stairs one night and shouted
"I WANT TO START SCHOOL NOW"
She is a very bright girl and had to wait for September as did DS and it really hasn't done them any harm even though they both could have coped with being a year ahead.

Smithagain · 26/04/2008 10:22

ReallyTired, I believe from her original post that Numpty's son will be four this September. In which case, I'm quite sure that as an experienced mother, she is able to assess whether he seems as if he would be ready for school by then.

Just as my youngest child is not yet three, but having had previous experience from my own family and close friends, I feel quite confident that she will be equipped to start school when she is just four. When she will be in the same school year as Numpty's son. Which just goes to illustrate how ridiculously inflexible the system is.

mrz · 26/04/2008 14:46

numptysmummy asked "Is it possible to get him into school in the jan ( 4 and a half) " over half my class were younger than that when they started.

asteamedpoater · 26/04/2008 18:56

numptysmummy - I agree with the others that I don't think it's likely to be possible to get your child into state school early. I guess your ds2 is pretty socially confident, though, if you're hoping to get him in early, as it's the social side of starting school early and being the youngest that would bother me the most. Still, with 3 siblings, it's not surprising he's probably good around older (and younger) children.

I do think there's a lot to be said for being one of the oldest and biggest - it can be a real confidence boost to start out being a little bit more mature and capable than your peers, rather than always running to catch up.

I know you said you don't want to be his teacher, but perhaps you could find out what books his future primary school uses to teach letters and reading, etc, so that you could get him started on that at home without it being confusing to him once he does start school, if he really is getting bored? I could already read and write when I went to school and I don't remember being remotely bothered or confused by my teachers attempting to show me something I'd already learnt at home. I don't actually remember learning much academically at primary school that I hadn't already learnt at home, to be honest, but I did learn how to socialise and deal with lots of different types of people. We never even got homework at my primary school. Those were the days...

asteamedpoater · 26/04/2008 19:00

ps Wouldn't your son rather start school in September when the majority of other children start, so that he isn't confronted by a lot of already-formed friendship groups?

mumwhereareyou · 27/04/2008 08:23

Move up to where we live in S Lincs (only joking) but our local primary school has three intakes a year and you can start them the term after they turn 4.

So my DD2 who will be 4 in Dec 08 will start in reception in Jan 09 and will have an extra 2 terms in that class. You don't have to send them then just if you thing they are ready.

BY the way my DS1 was 4 last June and started in Sept and is due to move to yr1 this Sept still only goes part time due to SNs but school are more than happy in fact several children are only part time and take each child as individuals.

SpringSunshine · 28/04/2008 20:57

numptysmummy I am with you here too. Some children for whatever reason are ready just as others struggle even if they are older.

My dd is a June birthday and in a lot of ways very immature and would really benefit from being in Yr 1, except academically she fits fine in Yr 2

Ds will be 6 in November, and is in Yr 1 like stealhsquiggle's ds. He too fits in really well and most of his friends are the older children - he really could not cope with being with younger children and was very unhappy and frustrated. There are issues as there always will be with a younger boy, but his reading is excellent and for writing/spelling he is in group 2 of 3 so no real worries there.

I too will think about getting him back into his 'right' year group at some point, particularly if he is sporty, but that would mean changing schools and we are very happy where he is ....

I get very cross with this sterotype 'boys should be held back' idea, or the fixation with birth date - you know your ds and if he is ready then fight for him to go now. You can do it if you can find a head teacher to agree and get an ed pshycs report - I know becasue we looked into it for ds at a local school with falling rolls who were desperate for numbers before we moved to the city

leosdad · 29/04/2008 08:25

sometimes it would be wiser to have flexible year groups, a boy in DD's class with a september birthday is streets ahead of all the others and would be far more suited (physically, academically and emotionally) in the year above. He always plays with the bigger boys at breaktime and was lost when they all moved on to the junior playground last september.

notreallyhere · 29/04/2008 08:44

SpringSunshine - tell me more. I am thinking of moving DS in 2 years time - potentially to a village school - but I need to test the willingness of the head to leave him in the year group he is in now. What do I need to say?

leosdad · 29/04/2008 08:47

They are a bit more flexible in scotland if your childs birthday near the cut off date in march so a september child would be middle of the year group anyway

LIZS · 29/04/2008 08:51

In practice it rarely happens , I've only known it happen in independent schools. Although if there is a nursery class there may be some flexibility as to when the child makes a move into Reception or can do an extra term before their official start date in nursery. However rather suspect it depends on pressure for places from children who are of the "right" age at the cut off (I doubt they could do so if it denies an eligible child a place) and whether the school can claim the same funding for a younger child.

SpringSunshine · 29/04/2008 20:51

notreallyhere - I did my homework on the area so I knew there were three village schools close by and there was talk of amalgamating them so each Head was afetr the most number of pupils so they could keep the amalgamated school.

I looked round first and looked at how they mixed the classes - small village schools usual have composite classes, and then gradually moved onto the subject of children out of year group. They invariably think you mean to defer a year but you will get a feel for their attitude from that and can then move on. The Head will undoubtedly want to see your ds and assess him but it will be much easier for him to stay in his 'current' year group than if you were looking for him to start earlier.

Also have a look at your LEA guidelines - we used to live in South Glos and they have specific guidelines which is helpful because it means once they have been accepted into the higher year they stay there and there is no problem with secondary transfer. I spoke to the LEA also to see what they would need and they were actually very helpful once they realsied he was already a 'year ahead'

You will also need an Ed Pyschcologists report - the LEA may do this but that could take forever so it may be worth sounding out the LEA about a privately commisioned one and whtehr they would accept it.

I very much doubt it will be easy, but I am sure you will get there if you push hard enough - good luck!

stealthsquiggle · 29/04/2008 21:08

SpringSunshine (shh - that was me forgetting to change name back ) that sounds uncannily like our situation - 3 equidistant small village schools. Thank you so much for your advice - this has just moved up my 'to do' list now I have some idea how to go about it! I am off to the LEA site now tomorrow

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