Is it possible, anyone know, to start your child in primary school EARLY?

[Clary]

Bear with me ladies.

It's not me that wants to do this and I don't know why anyone would, but a pal of a pal apparently is hoping that her September 1 born DD will start school in the year above - ie when she is 4 and a day or two.

She's not 2 yet btw but still this is her plan (not sure why?). So my friend was asking if it was possible. I {with my not-vast knowledge} said I thought not but was not sure.

Has anyone come across this? Or is it in fact the case that Aug 31 is the cut-off point and she will not find a school to take her DD a year early? After all Jan would be the term after she turned 4 - or is that rule only about the school year?

Maybe private? Anyone know more?

pretty sure this isn't possible
what an odd thing to want!

I have 2 Sept born children and am quite pleased they are the oldest - or will be - in their years

I doubt it very much. Our LEA has a strict cut off so that you can only apply for a state school place if your child was born in a certain year, eg for admission this September the child has to be born between 1st September 2003 and August 31st 2004. You have to show the child's birth certificate.

Maybe a private school would admit her but I don't know for sure. I imagine they would just keep her in pre-school until she goes to school.

Back in the days when children started school the term after their 5th birthday, a boy born on September 2nd started school the same year as DD - he went straight into Year 1 as all the summer-born children did then.
But when it came to moving to junior school, the rules said he had to be 7 by August 31st - so he had to repeat Year 2.

no its possible, dd1s nursery would have liked her to move up early, as she went to private nursery and moved up in their group rooms early due to the fact that the friends she made there were older than and they thought that she would be able to understand the curriculum they taught, she had already covered that would be learning in lower groups at state nursery so they moved her in with the older nursery children, she has now learned everything they teach and is just repeating work that she has already done, but they arent allowed to start school early.

so micci is she starting school wihout being 4 in yr ending Aug 31?

(not sure from yr post).

I thought it would be so about LEA cut off date. As mum of summer borns I agree it's a very odd thing to want.

Maybe she's not keen on the child and wants to get her off her hands early

My LEA is completely rigid - cut off is 31st August. So a child born on the first of September would start school in September, just after 5th birthday.
We have 2 entries per year. So the children born on August 31st would start in the January after their 4th birthday. DD started in January, has a July birthday, so she was 4 and a half (pretty much exactly). Still too early IMO.
DS was born in early September, and he will be 5 when he starts school.
So what your friend is hoping is that her dd would start school a full year early - i.e. at just over 4? It is not uncommon, particularly in areas with only one entry per year, for children to be literally just 4 when they start, but this is as a result of a birthday in relation to rigid rules rather than parental choice.
Am talking of course about state only. Am pretty sure my nephews started v. young in their private school, straight from the private pre-school attached.

A private school is probably her on chance, but that will only be after assessment. Assessments often take place several months before the start of school too (ours was in the November before a September start), so little girl will be very young when doing that. Assessent won;t just look at academic ability, but also emotional and social aspects too.

Yes this can and does happen in private schools. Back in the age of dinosaurs when I was at school it happened sometimes in state schools too; but the kids often had to repeat the year before transfer to seniors. In state schools these days I've not heard of it. That's not to say it never happens, but there would have to be evidence of exceptional giftedness and a cooperative LEA and an agreeable school which sounds like an unusual combination. It's a little more common for bright children to be skipped up a year after they've started, but lots of schools/LEAs are against that too and it's becoming rarer.

We have a single intake in my LA so September born children start school just before their fifth birthday and August born children start just after their fourth birthday. I have never heard of a child with a September birthday starting in a state maintained school a year early ie before their fourth birthday.

she is starting school this sept she is five in dec the nursery that she is at now would have liked her to go up early *they wanted her to go up in jan) but it is not possible.

they have said that once she is in primary school if she is still not challenged by the work she is given then they can move her up a year group, but once it comes to going to secondary she would not be able to go up early she would have to repeat her last year of primary school (which would mean having to lose all of her friends) so i am happy with her just staying where she is meant to be and having more difficult work to take home as she does now.

i know a girl who has moved up a year group in primary school and she is v unhappy at leaving behind all her friends and feels v pressured. i think that is better for dc's to stay with thier friends and not be made to feel diffferent or special.

My DS has a 28th Aug bd so he was just over 4 when he started (single intake). He has coped OK but I really don't see why anyone would chose to put such a young child in school unless they had to. His is a private school and I think one child did start slightly younger than him possibly a very early Sept bd. However,as others have said, I think there can be issues with the follow on to secondary schools.

Micci - I cannot understand why you would want your daughter to move up a year, or go early.

For the OP - I am fairly sure that it is not possible, but someone with better knowledge than me will probably help you more than I can

I agree with you about that micci re social aspects etc.

I am sure yr DD will find plenty to challenge her at primary.

Thanks for input - Hula, yes I thought maybe private was the only way, but agree, the Nov before her mum's hoped-for Sept start she would be only just 3

'lose her friends'

At the age of 4 or 5, how can you think their friends are more important than education? Beggers belief, IMO.

Many private secondaries will still take children early too - well, round here anyway. So no need to repeat years. But I think that can bring its own problems too - esp re doing exams early and when you start hitting the universty issue.

But I think the main issue here could be the child's maturity - the social and emotional side of things can already be difficult for some summer born children especially, let alone a child oing into school an academic year early.

because surely a happy child is a child who is more willing to learn. if she felt she was being singled out then she may stop trying so as to be the same as friends.

and plus she will be covering all the same work at some point anyway so what education would she missing out on?

sorry dirty i think that you have misunderstood me the nursery that she is at have said that they would have liked her to go school in jan a few months earlier than she was due to start as she is notv finding the work challenging anymore since she has already covered it all due to being moved up 'groups' in her nursery . she started in jan but was moved in with the kids that started in spet as she already knew everything that they were teaching in her age group. but it not possible for her to go school early. so they had to leave her where she is.

once at school they could move her up if still was not challenged by the work, but i wouldnt want this to happen.

in state schools in my area it is definatley not possible to go to primary early, but i dont know about private, three does sound very young though.

It is true that a child with a birthday between 1st Sept and 29 Feb can be accelerated where one born between 1st Mar & 31 Aug can't, but I've never heard of one being allowed to start school a year early.

micci what kind of nursery is this anyway?

Do they call what she does there work? None of my kids did what I would call work at nursery ...

I'm pretty sure it's not possible. All LEAs seem to have similar rules on starting school.
I can't imagine why she wants to anyway. DS1 had just turned 4 when he started in reception and I think he was much too young but we didn't have much choice.

DS1 started school the term after he was 5 as it was the policy then in our area. Lots of mothers moaned about how their DCs (generally daughters) were so ready for school. DS would have been happy staying at playgroup! He did very well academically despite the "disadvantage" of not starting school until he was 5. YOur friend should let her enjoy herself as the big girl in nursery - she can teach her reading/writing etc at home if she wants.

it is state nursery a c of e she has loads of fun time/free time but spends a certain amount time each day in groups doing learning. so far they have covered the human body, healthy eating, foods and religion from different cultures and outer space. dd1 is very fascinated by saturns rings and is insisting that we find out why thay are there, what they are made off, why doesnt earth have them etc, she says she asked the nursery teacher but she didnt know. i dont think they go into depth they just touch on certain subjects.

they also have counting games and reading exercises and dd1 used to bring home a book that i had to read to her and she would have a draw a picture about what she thought the book was about.

I know someone who tried this - it is possible, but I think you would need a statement of educational need which would need to be reviewed annually.

There were 2 girls in D's year who were a year younger, state school primary and they went on to secondary school at the same time as the rest of the class. One girls's birthday is 3rd September, I didn't know the other one.

Some parents were unhappy about it at secondary transfer as one got a place at a highly oversubscribed local school, whilst their own daughters didn't, so they felt as though she was depriving their daughters of their rightful places and she shouldn't have been allowed to transfer.

Micci - that sounds lvoely at yr nursery, bless your DD about Saturn's rings!

Alibubbles, was that recently (sorry can't recall how old yr DC are)? Interesting if so.