Summer born boy

[Dee198600]

I am hoping for some guidance / helpful advice. My little boy was born at end of July and will be starting in reception at primary school in September. I have read a lot about the difficulty summer born children (esp. boys) can face in school and being almost a year younger than some of their peers. Can anyone reassure me that I haven’t made the worst decision in letting my little boy start in September and not deferring until compulsory school age? Thanks in advance 😊

Our late June boy has been absolutely fine. Currently considering applying to Oxford University next year.
If you feel your DS is ready, don’t let others talk you out of him starting in the correct cohort.

I know loads of July and Aug born people and no issues. Those that are behind will be regardless of when they are born. Everyone has their own abilities.

August born girl- no issues, ready to start. In year 3 now, never behind academically although struggled with ks2 maths but I think that’s her weakness rather than an age thing. Honestly she would have been bored stiff another year of pre school.

Both mine are summer born. DS is now 7 (8 in August!) and thriving in year 3. DD is 4 (5 in July!) and thriving in reception. It really does depend on the child I think.

I have a June baby. Turns out he also has ASD and ADHD to add into the mix.
I reckoned he was about ready to start school summer in year 1... of course he started autumn in year R, unfortunately full time rather than as previous years which had kept the younger ones part time until after Christmas.

I would have kept him back if I'd had the option, and the first year was very ropey.

But I can say now (he's about to leave school after a-levels) that would have been totally the wrong thing to do. He would have been bored in the year below; he's got a lovely group of (quirky) friends, and he probably (he admits) would have decided at the end of year 10 that as he could leave school without the hassle of doing exams he would have not really gone back for year 11.
Instead he went through 6th form and is now planning on university.

No it hasn't been plain sailing, but nor was it for either of my autumn girls - different issues though.

Of course you haven't made the worst decision. Obviously we don't know your son, but you don't mention any SEN or any other reason to suggest he might not be ready yet. I am a Reception teacher and each year I see plenty of summer borns shine. Someone has to be the youngest, but it doesn't necessarily mean they're not ready. There's no need to defer on age alone.

My mum had this issue with me, I was born at the end of August and my mum wanted me to start a year later due to me basically being so much younger but was repeatedly refused but I have read that apparently it's at the schools discretion so each school could be different.

I’ve got a mid -July boy - he’s never had any issues at all and is working at greater depth across the board at the end of y5. He was a bit tired in reception for a bit longer than some of the older ones but it didn’t last long.

I have a boy with a July birthday. When he was starting school deferral wasn't an option in the same way as it is now. You could of course delay starting until the term after their 5th birthday as the law allows but that then meant starting in Year 1, there was no option to start Reception a year late. I felt that missing Reception was even worse than being youngest in the class so he started. He's been fine. He did very well in his GCSEs and OK at A level and is due to graduate, hopefully with a good degree, this year. He did have a gap year before University though as he wasn't really ready to go. So it's been OK.
However, there is quite compelling statistical evidence that as a group Summer born children, especially boys, do less well at school and that the difference lasts at least as far as GCSE. That is what has driven the change in admissions policies to give parents more choice. Of course this does not mean that every Summer born child will have problems - I was born at the very end of July and got the best A level results anyone had ever had at my school. But nor do anecdotes about successes mean that the data are wrong. Population statistics describe populations, they can't predict outcome for individuals. But I think it is worth being aware of the data even if you decide not to defer, so that you can look out for and try to mitigate for any problems early.
To be honest, if I had had the opportunity to delay DS's school start I probably would have done. He's fine and I don't think he's been scarred for life or anything, but I think that on balance starting later had a greater probability of being advantageous rather than disadvantageous for him. But that doesn't mean that I think it is wrong not to delay. Every parent has to weigh up the pros and cons for their child as an individual.

Hi there. I work in a job where we have to rigorously examine the evidence base for offsetting summer born children. The general consensus across the evidence available is that there is no advantage to offsetting children for any reason, including if they are summer born.

its also worth noting that it could be a bit humiliating for a child further down the line. E.g when they are in a Year 4 class but are the age of a year 5. This can be a big deal for kids.

My ds was born end of July he’s now in y7 we were always told that they caught up by yr 3/4 and that was the case for him. He’s a clever kid and did well in SATS but on reflection I wish I had kept him back he wasn’t emotionally ready and cried everyday for 4 long years. He’s doing great now in 1st year of secondary and is in top 10 in the year but I do notice he’s more immature than his peers and I think that will always be the case. I think I will encourage a gap year before he starts uni if that’s the route he takes. I think it’s all very dependent on there personality etc as my youngest I think would have been fine.

There isn't any blanket right or wrong with delaying school till CSA. Some summer born boys will be fine, others will struggle. So long as you've make the choice based on your knowledge of your own child & their circumstances then you've made the best choice that you can.

My best friend was born 31 August in the evening.

She thrived at school, and is now a senior nurse.

I'd back this up - we have had a number of requests for parents to move their child back to their normal cohort over the past few years. Our LA used to grant it automatically prior to the change and need to treat each case individually. They now have to consult with the schools and in our Trust we agree to those who provide good reasons. We don't agree to all requests though.

In tge past couple of years we've had 5 requests to move children to their normal cohort. The children can't play competitive sport with the year group they are in, out of school or in inter school competitions(they have to play with their normal age group). Some of their social activities depends on their age (rainbows moving to brownies moving to guides, etc).

Parents have also cited that the children aren't sustaining friendships with their new, younger cohort, and in some cases, are questioning why they aren't in the same year as it her children their age. One parent was upset that their child wasn't 'top of the class' so 'there was no advantage in holding him back'.

I think you have to have a very good reason to hold a child back. Most children do well as summer borns and by the middle of KS2, no one would be able to pick them out as a group.

I think deferring on age is a real blunt instrument. My youngest is an August born and was totally ready for school. He’s got two big brothers so he came on quickly trying to keep up with them, he was at nursery from eight months so was used to the structure and we’re a bright family who read a lot so he’s always done well academically. Having the target of school made sure we were always focused on teaching him the skills he needed…getting dressed, coats on etc. Someone has to be the youngest but teachers understand that and will set expectations accordingly at first. I do think sometimes the September/October borns have an advantage socially at first but having seen three boys go through school, it all evens out eventually. There are much bigger factors at play than chronological age in what holds children back.

some mumsnetters love the idea of deferring, to each their own. I have a July girl and I know she will be very bored in pre school if she had to stay an extra year. so she will be starting reception as one of the youngest and I believe that’s the best move for her.

My brother was summer born and youngest in class… got on well with his peers

My August born boy is now reading Computer Science at Cambridge 😁. To me, being the youngest and a boy is only one of a whole host of things that can potentially be difficult at the start of school, and many children find it hard at first, regardless of age or gender. Much of it evens out by about Y3.

My son is a July boy and he absolutely thrived in a formal school environment. He was more than ready for it academically and socially and I genuinely feel it would have done him no favours to defer him. He's now at the end of year 4 and greater depth in all areas except writing.

I am a July 23rd girl myself and it's never been a problem for me either.

I absolutely understand that there are children who are much better supported by deferring and it is child specific with statistics showing summer borns can have difficulties but that is very much not a given.

Your concerns seem to based on what you have read. Read your children. Are they sociable? Can they use the toilet and engage in activities? Are they inquisitive?

My August born ds loved primary school which was small (17 child intake), rural and very laid-back.

The staff are used to teaching a range of DCs. It happens every year.

If I could have easily held my late August boy back a year, I would have, but it was over 10 years ago and it was really hoop jumpy in my area back then.

However, he is doing really well. Not as well as his (also summer born) older sibling, but that's because he's just less academically inclined. He is a happy, confident boy, and is starting to settle down in high school now he's finally dropped the subjects he didn't like.

I think it all evens out by Year 2. In our school there were kids who were "exceeding" by virtue of being older. But they're now levelled out.
My cousin's kid got 11 GCSEs Grade 9 and he's an August boy not held back. If you have it, you just have it.

These kind of threads often seem to assume you're comparing a summer-born child with a whole class of September-borns, but worth bearing in mind that isn't likely to be the case. There will be children in the class born all throughout the year so the difference may not be much - in my youngest's class, I would say at least a third of the boys have birthdays in the summer term or summer holidays.

My summer born was absolutely fine and loves school.

My June born did struggle a bit with sitting still etc in reception (but school are used to that and lessons are short in reception), but kept up academically and started hitting greater depth in year 1 once he'd grown up a bit. He's now doing very well at grammar school.