Summerborn reception

[Userflower]

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!!

I think this thread has alot of people who maybe feel personally offended by the stats who didn’t deferred their summerborns.

‘My summerborn did great…..’ etc etc

ultimately the research shows it’s categorically best to defer all summer borns but I appreciate a lot don’t have the financial means or knowledge on how to do

Just to clarify one point.in your area do schools have selection by ability?

The research was published in 2019, they’ve then done the study each year since but non of this level prior to 2019

I have 2 August borns, youngest just turned 4 a week ago. They are both doing fantastic at school, and my eldest is in the top reading and maths sets in her class, despite being the youngest. Solidarity - they were both so ready, deferring would have quite literally held them back!

How strange

So how do the statistics work for the children who end up being the youngest because the younger children deferred ? ie May / June babies who are now the youngest ?

Can you share the research that was published in 2019 please?

How condescending. I most definitely had the knowledge and the means - in fact my mid August baby started at a private school at the age of 3 and they would have encouraged us to defer had they thought it necessary. The fact is that, for him, starting a year late would have been a disaster. He needed the stimulation of school as he was bored at day nursery, hence our reason for choosing a more formal pre-school at age 3. He could read fluently by four. All children are different and you need to respect that.

From seeing the other side of this. My DS is a mid-Aug bday and started school just after turning 4, he's now 19. In reality, I personally felt he was always on the back foot. I always felt the following summer from a big school event - 'he feels ready now'. e.g. starting secondary, at the beginning of yr 8 he felt the right level. He really needed to do GCSEs a year later. His maturity was a lot further behind. In hindsight, for him, I do think he would have benefitted hugely from deferring. Wonderful thing hindsight!

they focus on summer borns who are deferred vs those who aren’t

Not to my knowledge.

Some may, but certainly not the primary school my son goes to or the secondary school he will go to.

Thank you for your very helpful insight, I’m sure this will help parents in future years. It’s rarely about primary school. More secondary

Please do a freedom of information request for this - it’s thousands of pages!

It is just not my experience with entry to secondary schools, as much as those on the thread are saying ‘they have to’. Academies (of which over 80% of secondary schools now are) can set their own admissions criteria. I am sure there are some that will accept. I have a premature child with a mid August birthday who should have been a September birthday. I really felt they were not ready for school but having researched I was just not willing to take the risk of possible policy changes/ secondary academies refusing admission or anything else which might happen during the primary years. I would have much rather they started school potentially 6 months sooner than they might be ready for, rather than missed year 6.

Am not offended just think you are a bit out of touch with the real world!

Completely agree, I don’t understand why so many people make such a bloody fuss over summer borns ‘needing’ to defer. My child was late summer and was absolutely starting reception shortly after turning 4.

It’s not about who can read at age 4! It’s about the overall emotional wellbeing of that child, right throughout their life well into adulthood. Being a summerborn affects them throughout

My nieces birthday is 27th August and she started school last year just a week after turning 4 and she is thriving! Definitely dependent on the child

I am glad she is! I think this post is more about the long time benefits of deferral into adulthood rather than primary school specifically

They’re offended because of how you are phrasing everything! The idea that it is ‘categorically best‘ is laughable - if this is the quoted conclusions of the research itself then that is a quite frightening conclusion to draw from this type of data and makes me question the researchers’ capabilities to interpret their own data.

No it’s more people don’t like to think ‘what if….’ And I understand that. That’s why I put the blame onto the government and not individual parents. They government have identified the problem so they should fix it

There’s a consequence that those who do this don’t think about, which is the impact on the following years summer borns. So instead of my late August kid being the youngest in a 12 month spread, they are the youngest in a 14 month spread with the oldest ones even more noticeably bigger, brighter, faster. This solves nothing structurally, just a sticking plaster for pushy middle class parents.

Just own your decision and don’t get arsey. It makes it look like you have a chip on your shoulder about it.

Your tone is really goady, and quite unnecessary.

And I say that as someone who deferred one of their summerborns.

The conversation around the pros and cons of it all, for all children, would be much easier to actually have if folks like yourself didn't deliberately take such a tone.

If all summer born children were deferred then the youngest in the year group would be those born in February/ March, these children would then become the disadvantaged cohort. Ultimately the age that children start school isn’t what’s disadvantaging them, it’s the fact that they’re close to a year younger than many of the peers they’re assessed again. If summerborn children were all deferred then it wouldn’t matter that the youngest were 4.5 on starting reception and the oldest children, who all deferred, 5.5, the difference in age would still be a year and research would just shift to say that late winter/ early spring children are disadvantaged at school.