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?

Clary, I'm pretty confident we are in the same area and know that DD's private school allowed a 1st September birthday to go into Y1 rather than YR. The little girl tranfered from the montessori school and had been with the older age group there too.

Private schools might well do it if they think it is the right thing for the child - DS has done it and his b'day is November

it might prove to be the right thing for this little girl

..but planning to do it from the age of 2 - WTF?!

It does sound like an odd thing to want! Although dd2 would have been ready to go in the summer term before she was due to start.

Your friend needs to learn that reception isn't all about learning - they need to be able to dress themselves and wipe their bottoms too!

when i asked dd2s reception teacher if she would have dd3 ( - she is only 2, it was a joke), we ended up having a vaguely serious discussion about starting early. She (the teacher) said it didnt matter how clever they were, they need to be able to listen and in her experience, this didn't happen until 5.

So the consensus seems to be as I thought that the only way to do this (really not sure why you would want to!) is to go private.

Yes ML we are in the same area, and that Montessori thing would make a bit of difference I guess.

Dd goes to a private school and they refused to take a girl who was 4 in early September a year early.

In state schools there is no chance.

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My DD will start her school this autumn. She's 4 in July.

She's already the youngest in her Montessori class and is brighter and more emotionally mature than most of them according to her teachers. She's also one of the tallest.

I planned for her to start school when she was 4 when she was 15months, and I was late in applying for schools here in Ireland - most apply when their DCs are a few weeks( or days in some cases) old. I also started school at 4 and was well up for it.

I wouldn't dream of holding her back with a younger group now. I think we have to assume that this Mother has her DD's best interest at heart and acknowledge that it takes all sorts of different people to make up the world, and we should be tolerant of others who have different wants and needs to our own.

Oh hello orinoco!

I need to know of anything going on down your way actually! I certainly agree being oldest in yr is a huge advantage.

zazen yr DD would start school in September in England anyway, where most children start at 4 yrs old. Only children born at the very start of Sept (like my pal's pal's DD) would actually be 5 when they start.

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My Nephew started school a year early but it was in Scotland where they start later anyway.

In Scotland for Aug 08 start a child would have to be 5 between 1 march 08 and 28 feb 09.

zazen - that sounds like the normal starting time for most children here in England. For one intake schools, a child starts school in the September before they are 5. DD was 5 in the July, after staring school ages 4y5m.

Some schools still have two intakes, so sometimes summer born children start in the January.

I suppose she could lie about her age - I can't remember whether they ask for birth certs or not. I don't think I was asked although mine are at a faith school and a lost of faith schools control their own admissions.

Come to think of it, I sent mine to a state nursery school (I mean a non-faith non paying nursery school) and they didn't ask me either.

Would lying be possible?

nope not possible.

dd2 is a 1st sept baby. she was ready for school long before she went, but still started when she was 5.

she could look into nursery place for her, dd2 went full days at nursery school two terms before she went to school.

Orinoco I need any scintillating gen on Ilkeston in general for work.

Especially anyone amazing doing anything amazingly newsworthy...

(don't worry if you don't have any!)

Re lying - pretty sure schools ask you for your child's birth certificate at some stage.

That reminds me. Nursery reminded me on Friday that I havn't taken ds's birth certificate in yet and they need a copy.

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One of my friends at senior school (private) was August born and went in a year early. So she was only 16 when she left school and was legally too young to drink when she started uni.

Not sure why she was in that position, she wasn't particularly bright (perhaps she would have been if she had been in the right year group) but it's what her parents wanted and the school were ok with it.

I wonder whether the difference in laws between teacher ratios of official rising fives and under 5's has anything to do with the strictness at primary level.

Hmmm, agree that it is very strange that she is planning to have her child moved up. Is it possible she is a bit pushy and is doing it as a status thing, as in DD is just sooooo incredibly gifted she didn't need to bother with reception/the school wanted her to start a year early etc?

FWIW I ended up leaving school at at 16, I have a december birthday and through moving countries a bit at primary level I ended up missing two years somewhere along the way! Think it had to do with starting school at 3 here then moving to America where they didn't start 'til 6 so I was way ahead, being in the year above so moving along at a quicker pace, then coming back and being ahead of the year group I left behind! It was ok, I fitted in well socially and did reasonably well academically in 6th form but when I was 10-13 it was a bit uncomfortable I suppose, there is abig difference, developmentally and emotionally between an 11 year old who is still very much a little girl and 13 year olds having their first kisses/periods/dates etc. I had to have a fake ID in 6th form as well and couldn't learn to drive until university holidays.

A child starting school when they are 3?

The teachers let me get away with murder though! They weren't used to 9 year olds in secondary and I was bright enough to play this to my advantage, starting first yr in age 6-7 clothes and size 12 shoes (I was a midget anyway ) I think I scared them a bit lol

"religion from different cultures and outer space"

hehehehe

are you quite sure about that

NotABanana, it was the nursery department of a pushy academic prep school, I was reading, writing, counting etc. No time for play, not when you're a big girl of 3...

my ds was also born on 1st September, and will not start school until he is actually 5.

Apparently, if she is planning to send him to a school with an early admissions policy, then it may be possible for her dd to go a year earlier. Instead of having nursery, reception and year 1, they have one foundation class consisting of children from all three year groups.

Our school are considering it at the moment, but if they do get it, it will be too late for my ds so I haven't looked that far into it.

Tell her it is waaaaaay better for her little one to be the eldest child in a class, rather than the youngest. Without a doubt.