My little boys birthday is 30th August so would start primary school only a couple of days after he turns four. Does anyone child go part time while in reception?

[Isobel1998]

Hi all, my little boy turns 4 next year 😭 his birthday is 30th August so would start school only a couple of days later. The thought of not spending any week days with him for our little outings breaks my heart and due to my job I often wouldn't be home in the evenings.

Has anyone got a little one in school who only goes 4 days a week? Is this allowed?

Not heard of that. I would defer a year.

My August born did half days until half term and then half days Tues and Friday until Christmas. I had to fight for it, and was told they would be disadvantaged which was all rubbish .

Thank you. I think I will try and get the school to allow me to send him in just 4 days a week, aparently until they are 5 there attendance isnt as much of a big deal. Trouble is I know he will enjoy it so if I picked him up half way through the day I think he'd be annoyed with me 😅

I wouldn't do anything that would single my children out as different within a school year. I have heard of children starting a year later though.

I know a local school that offers flexi schooling - a friend's son started off doing 3 days a week. I think there's a Facebook group which may be of use, something like flexi schooling families or similar

Equally my cousin is an august born. He's the 28th. He's a consultant at a top hospital. He started school in september.Having turned four only a few days earlier.

My best friend at primary school was very late august too. Like me she ended up a solicitor. She was not deferred.

When did this deferring thing start. Just send him to school. You've already admitted.He will enjoy it and he d be annoyed if he took him out half days.So just send him.

Thank you. I think if they start a year later they go straight into year 1

That’s not always the case. My DS starts in Reception in a couple of weeks and there is a child in his class who is over a year older than the youngest child. One was 5 last week and the other is still 3 and doesn’t turn 4 until later this week. They’ll both be in the same class.

I personally wouldn’t defer unless there were extreme circumstances and I also agree with a previous poster that PT isn’t ideal as you’re marking them out as being different.

There’s also some logistical issues to consider such as what happens if your DC excels at sport? You will find they’ll be excluded from representative sport at county level and above unless they move into the higher age category group. I know from experience with a close friend’s DC that it can be problematic.

I did two half days for both of my kids in Reception until the Christmas break.

They don't remember doing those half days and none of their peers would either!

Trust your own instincts. You don't have to follow what everyone else is doing!

When I was starting school, everybody started the team that they turned 5. There's a big difference from a just turned 4 year old and an almost 5 year old.

It will not affect their education, no matter what anyone tells you.

My kids are very academically able, and have not been held back by having a couple of half days when they were 4 years old!

My son was part time until Easter of his reception year and then flexible after that so the teacher would phone and we would collect if he was tired. He has just finished his first year of a levels

DD did 4 days a week until the Easter after she turned 5. School were a bit surprised when I asked but it was within the rules.
She's just finished A levels and I can say it hasn't affected her education 😄😄

Deferring is intended when the child is already at a disadvantage. One of DSs friends was deferred, late August birthday, was born 2 months premature and is autistic meaning at preschool developmental delays were noticeable even without the diagnosis until later. He struggles even in their year group so would likely be far worse a year above.

In England, it used to be the case that children who didn't attend reception were sent straight to year 1. Now you can defer summer born children to start in Reception the year after. I think the school have to agree or maybe the local authority. It is definitely possible. I would definitely defer if I had an August boy. Some are fine of course but many are just not ready and it's not just reception, it's every transition after that. Alternatively you can request flexi schooling and the agreement is with the school. Some schools are keen for children to attend mornings so they don't miss key learning like phonics but every school will be different. Some schools will be very accommodating and some may fight you on it. It's definitely worth having the conversation with head / deputy head while looking around the school. Same for deferring.

Surely it depends on each child. If you feel he is ready then I wouldn’t necessarily do part-time/defer. I’m August born, I would have been bored senseless and annoyed with my parents if they had held me back! Especially if they held me back because my mum wanted to spend more time with me

A lot of schools don't like it but they can't actually legally stop you. You can send him part time until the term after his 5th birthday and there's nothing they can do about it.

For various reasons my August born daughter went straight into Y1 at just turned 5. She didn't go into reception at all and is absolutely fine several years later.
If you want to spend more time with your child and not have them in FT, go for it. Time spent with you won't be wasted.

Deferring is something to consider. My DC -also a 30th August baby is deferred and it meant another year in nursery and then they have been in their adopted cohort all the way through. There have been.a couple of extra admin challenges over the years but they are now in secondary school and there has never been any suggestion that they needed to change year groups.
The Facebook group’Flexible admission for Summer Borns’ is a great source of accurate and up to date information about it.

My birthday is 30th August and so I was alllllways the youngest in the year! My parents did defer me until January for my Reception year though

My DD was 5 in July and goes into reception this September. I deferred her. She was not ready last year. I don’t want her to miss any reception ie. Be part time as I think it’s important. The extra year in nursery and at home has been great for her in terms of gaining more confidence. She did three days in nursery, rising to 3.5 in term time from Easter. This meant she still had plenty of time with other children and learning how to behave in a more school like environment, I made a point of using the time to help transition her and started her at the pre school and swapped out some of her private nursery time to get her used to it.

I’d encourage you to think about what you think will be best for him long term. I knew once DD started school that was it, I couldn’t easily then make her redo a year without causing big issues (like being made to feel she was ‘held back’ and having to start again with friendships).

I am a school leader and have worked mostly in Reception for a long time. You have the right to send your Reception child in part time until they are statutory school age, which for your child will be the beginning of Y1. You should be able
to negotiate this with the school. However, not all summer borns are at a disadvantage. The biggest difference we notice is in how tired they get and how their phyiscal strength and stamina can be less than older children’s. Deferring is an option but it has to be the best thing for the child. In the nicest way possible it sounds like it’s you that’s not ready for him to start school, not him.

if you want to defer, the headteacher has to agree and often they won’t. Also, if he needs to change school in future, for example if you move, the new school may not agree to have a child out of cohort. Secondary schools can also refuse to have them out of cohort although this is less common now that deferring is more commonplace.

No, you can usually defer a year on request and start reception a year later. That would be much better than keeping him at home one day per week and making him different from all his friends. And you've got a year to find a job that doesn't keep you busy in the evenings.

Your post is very focused on you and what you will be missing out on. What about your son's needs? Do you think he'll be ready for school next September?

If you don't feel he'll be ready, for whatever reasons, I'd look into deferring rather than messing about with part time timetables which means he'll miss out on lots of things in school (social things, as well as the obvious academics).

With all due respect, wanting an extra day with him to have days out is not a reason to disrupt your son's schooling as it would be to satisfy your needs rather than his. What would you do once he's compulsory school age? If you want greater flexibility, you need to look into home schooling to be honest.

Being able to spend less time with your child once they start school is sadly something most parents have to face and get use to, especially those who work evenings. It's part of them growing up. The years before they start school are indeed precious and need to be made the most of but you adapt. That's what weekends and holidays are for, quality family time.

You still have a whole year of regular days out before he starts school. Make the most of it, rather than dwelling on it.

Obviously I don't know what you do for work, but is there any chance you can look into changing your shift pattern next year to work more during the school day and be around more in the evenings?

It sounds like you are deferring because of you (missing outings) , not because you think he’s not ready!

not sure how 4 days a week would work - presumable they cover key information 5 days a week?

No this isn’t correct. They can defer a year and stay in reception now. (In the past they had to go into year 1, which didn’t make any sense)

I work in a school, this is not correct- you would defer the reception place so he would stay in nursery another year and start reception in sept 2026.

its really worth considering if you can do it, Its not too late to do this and in my opinion much better than a part time reception year. The impact of being very young for the year is often felt more in the move to year 1 when they move out of early years curriculum, especially if reception has only been part time.