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Original poster

Summerborn reception

347 replies

Userflower · 04/09/2025 20:25

I just wanted to share some good news, my friends child started reception this week (deferred summerborn so is already age 5). There are 7 summerborn children deferred in her class. There are no children born in July or August 2021, as they’ve all deferred to start next year!
Times are changing!!

OP posts:
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Fearfulsaints · 07/09/2025 07:13

citygirl77 · 07/09/2025 02:13

You maybe haven’t looked at the whole picture. A student in England can only be funded up to the year in which they turn 19. It is fairly common for students to repeat year 12, maybe they chose the wrong A levels or changed their mind about which course to take. It gives them a safety net. You have now ruled that opportunity out, because your child has already gone back a year. Or if they change schools because they have had problems - going back a year can help them reset.

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Im interested if this is still the case as when we looked at holding my son back which was pre the changes that made holding back easier, this is something the LA told us as a deterrent.

Allswellthatendswelll · 07/09/2025 07:37

LondonLady1980 · 06/09/2025 13:20

My friend has 5 children, all of whom are born between September and November which she specifically aimed for in order to avoid this issue.

When me and DH were TTC our second baby we made the stupid mistake of assuming that because I fell pregnant on our first month of trying for our first child, the same would happen the next time round too! So we started TTC in Dec/Jan time so we'd have a nice September baby but sadly it didn't work out that way and it took 11 cycles of trying before I eventually got a positive pregnancy test!

I found out I was pregnant at the start of December and I was obviously elated after we'd been trying for so long, as was my husband.....but after lots of excited shouts and cuddles etc he looked at me and said, "Oh no, that means it's going to be an August baby doesn't it?" 😂😂

It was obviously said in jest but we always knew from the start that we would defer our son's school start date.

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I just find this attitude bizarre as it puts a lot of pressure on people who aren't immediately fertile when they want to be (and is frankly a bit insulting to those who struggle). It is also basically pigeonholing a child before they are even born. You can't control so many things about your children, they are their own people in the end.
I think it's fine to defer on a case by case basis looking at the child as an individual but not OK to pearl clutch at a summer born baby!

citygirl77 · 07/09/2025 08:38

Fearfulsaints · 07/09/2025 07:13

Im interested if this is still the case as when we looked at holding my son back which was pre the changes that made holding back easier, this is something the LA told us as a deterrent.

Show quote history

Yes this is still the case. For example we sometimes have students who move from other schools and they repeat the year, usually because they have missed a lot of school. It gives them a a fresh start. And even the brightest students can change their mind about A levels and start year 12 again. My daughter needed major surgery after A levels and was told to defer uni for a year, so she could attend hospital visits. She was able to do a foundation degree for free at a local college, as she was 19 in that academic year.

TheNightingalesStarling · 07/09/2025 08:46

Does anyone know how it would effect free school transport? Its a problem in rural areas at the moment... there's no funding for Sixth Form transport, which can cost hundreds of pounds. The legislation all covers up to the end of school year when they are 16 (in line with the old leaving age of 16).

LondonLady1980 · 07/09/2025 09:49

Allswellthatendswelll · 07/09/2025 07:37

I just find this attitude bizarre as it puts a lot of pressure on people who aren't immediately fertile when they want to be (and is frankly a bit insulting to those who struggle). It is also basically pigeonholing a child before they are even born. You can't control so many things about your children, they are their own people in the end.
I think it's fine to defer on a case by case basis looking at the child as an individual but not OK to pearl clutch at a summer born baby!

Show quote history

It wasn't meant to insult anyone - so apologies to anyone who reads my post as being insulting to women who struggle to conceive.

It wasn't so much as we were pigeon holding the baby, it's just that we knew that as a general rule the educational outcomes are worse for summer born children.

My husband is a teacher so he was much more clued up on it than I was, and with him seeing first hand the differences between the summer-borns in the class and the eldest in the class (across all year groups) it was more him who from the start felt the strongest about deferral.

As our son was approaching the age where I had to apply for school I then started looking into all the research for myself and when I read it all, not just about academic outcomes, but also about the increased risks of SEN diagnosis and mental health problems, and how the effects of being summer-born can last for the duration of a child's education, it cemented to me that deferral was the path I wanted to choose.

If our son had shown signs (developmental and/or social) that may have indicated deferral would have been the wrong decision for him on an individual level then I imagine we would have sent him to school at just turned 4, but based on the stages he was at we felt deferral was the best choice.

For any parent who makes the decision to defer, or not defer, it really is a leap of faith. We have no idea if it will indeed turn out to be the right choice, we just have to trust our gut and hope it works out.

For the last 3 years we have been approached by the school to ask if we wanted to move our son back up to the year he 'should' be in, and we have said no. We have been told that at any point during our son's education we can move him up to the year where he 'should' be if we want to. It was nice to hear that the option to do that was always going to be there should we ever want to do it.

My son is very bright so at one point I was considering it and I asked the teacher if I did move him up but he then struggled, or he missed his friends, or if it affected his self esteem or confidence, or he was struggling with the work could I move him back down again, but I was told it wouldn't be an option. They said that if I chose to move him up then he was there to stay. That wasn't a position I wanted to be in, or put my son in which is why he have always declined the offer.

We have always been very open with our son about the fact we deferred his school start, but we just explained it by saying that children don't legally have to be in school until they are 5, and that for children born over the summer the parents can choose to either send their children just after they turn 4, or just after they turn 5, and we chose 5.

When we've had discussions with the school about moving him up to the year above we have always included our son and taken on board his thoughts and will continue to do so as the years pass. He's very aware of the situation. We are hoping that our openness with him will help him be accepting (for want of a better word) and as as he gets older we will talk more about the specific reason behind our choice (i.e the research that led us to our decision, as well as his dad's experiences at work)

It may be that as he gets older he starts questioning the decision more, possibly in anger/frustration but we are prepared for that, and expect that, but we will cross that bridge when we get to it.

I don't imagine that many teenagers in school would ask to be moved up to the year above and therefore miss a year of education, be separated from all their friends, be the youngest in the class, jeopardise their GCSE' and their future etc, just so they can finish school one year sooner.

But who knows.

Like I said, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Op1n1onsPlease · 07/09/2025 09:57

Allswellthatendswelll · 06/09/2025 22:52

Lots of people don't have the privilege of "planning" their child for a particular month!

Show quote history

Exactly, and that’s why it’s good that deferring is an option.

Hercisback1 · 07/09/2025 10:08

Has anyone answered the question about post 16 funding? I'd love to know.

Secondary age kids mostly don't like being able to play in the same teams out of school.
I've also seen 2 boys be huge compared to their cohort which they have been conscious about.

Allswellthatendswelll · 07/09/2025 10:39

LondonLady1980 · 07/09/2025 09:49

It wasn't meant to insult anyone - so apologies to anyone who reads my post as being insulting to women who struggle to conceive.

It wasn't so much as we were pigeon holding the baby, it's just that we knew that as a general rule the educational outcomes are worse for summer born children.

My husband is a teacher so he was much more clued up on it than I was, and with him seeing first hand the differences between the summer-borns in the class and the eldest in the class (across all year groups) it was more him who from the start felt the strongest about deferral.

As our son was approaching the age where I had to apply for school I then started looking into all the research for myself and when I read it all, not just about academic outcomes, but also about the increased risks of SEN diagnosis and mental health problems, and how the effects of being summer-born can last for the duration of a child's education, it cemented to me that deferral was the path I wanted to choose.

If our son had shown signs (developmental and/or social) that may have indicated deferral would have been the wrong decision for him on an individual level then I imagine we would have sent him to school at just turned 4, but based on the stages he was at we felt deferral was the best choice.

For any parent who makes the decision to defer, or not defer, it really is a leap of faith. We have no idea if it will indeed turn out to be the right choice, we just have to trust our gut and hope it works out.

For the last 3 years we have been approached by the school to ask if we wanted to move our son back up to the year he 'should' be in, and we have said no. We have been told that at any point during our son's education we can move him up to the year where he 'should' be if we want to. It was nice to hear that the option to do that was always going to be there should we ever want to do it.

My son is very bright so at one point I was considering it and I asked the teacher if I did move him up but he then struggled, or he missed his friends, or if it affected his self esteem or confidence, or he was struggling with the work could I move him back down again, but I was told it wouldn't be an option. They said that if I chose to move him up then he was there to stay. That wasn't a position I wanted to be in, or put my son in which is why he have always declined the offer.

We have always been very open with our son about the fact we deferred his school start, but we just explained it by saying that children don't legally have to be in school until they are 5, and that for children born over the summer the parents can choose to either send their children just after they turn 4, or just after they turn 5, and we chose 5.

When we've had discussions with the school about moving him up to the year above we have always included our son and taken on board his thoughts and will continue to do so as the years pass. He's very aware of the situation. We are hoping that our openness with him will help him be accepting (for want of a better word) and as as he gets older we will talk more about the specific reason behind our choice (i.e the research that led us to our decision, as well as his dad's experiences at work)

It may be that as he gets older he starts questioning the decision more, possibly in anger/frustration but we are prepared for that, and expect that, but we will cross that bridge when we get to it.

I don't imagine that many teenagers in school would ask to be moved up to the year above and therefore miss a year of education, be separated from all their friends, be the youngest in the class, jeopardise their GCSE' and their future etc, just so they can finish school one year sooner.

But who knows.

Like I said, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Edited
Show quote history

Sorry I didn't read your post like that I suppose I was talking about the more general attitude of people congratulating themseleves for conceiving an Autumn baby or being commiserated for having a Summer one. A friend of mine actually delayed her IVF because she wanted a September birthday (and then it sadly didn't work). A few other friends have planned for a September birthday and the baby has come early anyway.

Summer born babies are actually more likely to be healthy as adults so it's not all doom and gloom!

Obviously you can defer but it isn't completely straightforward and I dislike the attitude of the OP of this thread that caring, intelligent parents would obviously defer because of statistics. I think it's up to the individual child.

I am a teacher and I personally chose not to defer for social reasons as I wanted DS to go up with a cohort of kids he'd known since he was a baby. I won't know if it was the right decision for a while but I accept he might be behind for a bit and that's OK with me. I did choose a more play based school for him.

LondonLady1980 · 07/09/2025 10:48

Allswellthatendswelll · 07/09/2025 10:39

Sorry I didn't read your post like that I suppose I was talking about the more general attitude of people congratulating themseleves for conceiving an Autumn baby or being commiserated for having a Summer one. A friend of mine actually delayed her IVF because she wanted a September birthday (and then it sadly didn't work). A few other friends have planned for a September birthday and the baby has come early anyway.

Summer born babies are actually more likely to be healthy as adults so it's not all doom and gloom!

Obviously you can defer but it isn't completely straightforward and I dislike the attitude of the OP of this thread that caring, intelligent parents would obviously defer because of statistics. I think it's up to the individual child.

I am a teacher and I personally chose not to defer for social reasons as I wanted DS to go up with a cohort of kids he'd known since he was a baby. I won't know if it was the right decision for a while but I accept he might be behind for a bit and that's OK with me. I did choose a more play based school for him.

Show quote history

That's an interesting thought as my son had always been with a childminder as opposed to a nursery or a pre-school, so he was always with different aged children that came and went, as opposed to being a with a group of children the same age and who he naturally would have gone to school with if they'd progressed together through nursery and pre-school.

Maybe my decision would have been different if he'd been in nurseries/pre-school as then I probably would have had to consider the social/emotional impact it would have had on my son if I'd kept him back whilst he watched all his friends progress onto school.

Allswellthatendswelll · 07/09/2025 11:47

LondonLady1980 · 07/09/2025 10:48

That's an interesting thought as my son had always been with a childminder as opposed to a nursery or a pre-school, so he was always with different aged children that came and went, as opposed to being a with a group of children the same age and who he naturally would have gone to school with if they'd progressed together through nursery and pre-school.

Maybe my decision would have been different if he'd been in nurseries/pre-school as then I probably would have had to consider the social/emotional impact it would have had on my son if I'd kept him back whilst he watched all his friends progress onto school.

Show quote history

Yeah and mine was in a feeder preschool that had them all together from 2-4 so he would have ended up with another load of 2 year olds and been the oldest there for a year. Plus he is huge! I could have moved him to another preschool but then it would be another lot of transition. So I just decided he'd go up with his year. I don't actually know how it will play out yet but I did understand the process and give it thought and talk to different people about it (his preschool, colleagues at work who specialise in early years).

LondonLady1980 · 07/09/2025 11:59

Allswellthatendswelll · 07/09/2025 11:47

Yeah and mine was in a feeder preschool that had them all together from 2-4 so he would have ended up with another load of 2 year olds and been the oldest there for a year. Plus he is huge! I could have moved him to another preschool but then it would be another lot of transition. So I just decided he'd go up with his year. I don't actually know how it will play out yet but I did understand the process and give it thought and talk to different people about it (his preschool, colleagues at work who specialise in early years).

Show quote history

It's funny because when my son started school, although he was the oldest in his class he was still the smallest.... he was such a little dot 😂

He remained the smallest in the class through Reception and Years 1 and 2 and always looked quite young in general.

I think he's had a growth spurt over the summer though as he's just started back and gone into Year 3 and suddenly he is easily one of the tallest in the class and his face seems to look older too, if that makes sense. Other parents looking at him would now guess him to be one of the oldest (whereas before they never would have), but no doubt assume he's just a September/October born.

The sudden change has taken me quite by surprise.

But back on track......as you've said, none of us who make either choice know how it will play out, we just make the decision that seems best for our child on an individual level and go with it.

Salvagehunter · 07/09/2025 13:50

EYFS teacher here and feeling slightly offended that some people don’t trust us to make the Summer borns’ reception year a wonderful, exciting and rewarding experience (which it is!)

Original poster
Userflower · 07/09/2025 14:10

Salvagehunter · 07/09/2025 13:50

EYFS teacher here and feeling slightly offended that some people don’t trust us to make the Summer borns’ reception year a wonderful, exciting and rewarding experience (which it is!)

Sorry but this is a bit silly, if you read the full thread there’s absolutely no need for you to be offended!

OP posts:
LondonLady1980 · 07/09/2025 14:15

Salvagehunter · 07/09/2025 13:50

EYFS teacher here and feeling slightly offended that some people don’t trust us to make the Summer borns’ reception year a wonderful, exciting and rewarding experience (which it is!)

Where has anyone said anything even remotely like that?!

The discussion is about long term educational outcomes for Summer-born children, not how much fun 4 year old children have in their Reception year.

I really don't know how you're linking the argument for and against deferral to how wonderful Reception is?

I'm pretty confident that every child has a rewarding experience in Reception regardless of what month they're born in, but that's not related to the topic being discussed at all?

Allswellthatendswelll · 07/09/2025 14:52

Salvagehunter · 07/09/2025 13:50

EYFS teacher here and feeling slightly offended that some people don’t trust us to make the Summer borns’ reception year a wonderful, exciting and rewarding experience (which it is!)

EYFS teachers are amazing!

mondaytosunday · 07/09/2025 15:00

Meh in my sons class there were plenty of summer born children - he was late July as were two others and about four were born in August. Several others burn in September/October. They were all ready and thrived. Not sure why it’s a flex to defer for a year? You couldn’t tell the difference between them really. Unless they are emotionally very immature why hold them back?

Op1n1onsPlease · 07/09/2025 15:21

Salvagehunter · 07/09/2025 13:50

EYFS teacher here and feeling slightly offended that some people don’t trust us to make the Summer borns’ reception year a wonderful, exciting and rewarding experience (which it is!)

It’s not about the reception year at all.

It’s about the fact that with each year the academic demands are greater. There is a massive step up between Reception and Year 1 for example, and I’d rather my child made that step at 6 than just turned 5; and then again between Year 2 and year 3 (and I’d rather they make that move at 8 than just turned 7).

BingBongBoo86 · 07/09/2025 16:19

citygirl77 · 07/09/2025 02:13

You maybe haven’t looked at the whole picture. A student in England can only be funded up to the year in which they turn 19. It is fairly common for students to repeat year 12, maybe they chose the wrong A levels or changed their mind about which course to take. It gives them a safety net. You have now ruled that opportunity out, because your child has already gone back a year. Or if they change schools because they have had problems - going back a year can help them reset.

Show quote history

Delayed kids are still eligible for 3 years post 16 funding so essentially get funding from 17-20. DFE confirmed this.

BingBongBoo86 · 07/09/2025 16:20

Hercisback1 · 07/09/2025 10:08

Has anyone answered the question about post 16 funding? I'd love to know.

Secondary age kids mostly don't like being able to play in the same teams out of school.
I've also seen 2 boys be huge compared to their cohort which they have been conscious about.

Still eligible for 3 years post 16 funding.

JPT96 · 07/09/2025 16:48

Salvagehunter · 07/09/2025 13:50

EYFS teacher here and feeling slightly offended that some people don’t trust us to make the Summer borns’ reception year a wonderful, exciting and rewarding experience (which it is!)

I’m feeling slightly concerned that, as a teacher, you lack basic comprehensive reading skills.

Mademetoxic · 07/09/2025 16:51

Someone has to be the youngest. Pushing the can further down would mean the oldest would be like 2 years older than the youngest? I honestly don't get it.

Crocledile · 07/09/2025 16:57

What a shitty thread OP
Parents don't need people like you judging decisions they have made. Its all down to the individual child / circumstances.
Bore off

captureitrememberit · 07/09/2025 16:59

I can see how it may benefit some children when they’re younger, but once they get to sixth form/ uni, a lot of these kids are likely going to want to be with their age mates.

BingBongBoo86 · 07/09/2025 17:13

captureitrememberit · 07/09/2025 16:59

I can see how it may benefit some children when they’re younger, but once they get to sixth form/ uni, a lot of these kids are likely going to want to be with their age mates.

But these kids are only a matter of months or sometimes weeks or days older.

Uni? What about gap years? I took 2 years out after sixth form, then went to uni at 20. It was absolutely fine!

TizerorFizz · 07/09/2025 17:23

@BingBongBoo86 Lucky you didn’t need to earn a graduate income any earlier then. A luxury now. My DD did a 4 year degree, 3 year job qualification afterwards. Some earnings in the last year of that. So earning at 25. 2 years off before degree, that’s age 27 before decent money. My August born has done well though! No play needed at YR. Just a brilliant curriculum that met her needs. Some dc just can learn more quickly and earlier. Some 4 year olds can read before they start school so why would they need extensive playing?