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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Opinions on having only a september intake Reception Class...

35 replies

walkingprimrose · 17/11/2008 12:11

Hi,

I am trying to choose a school for my DD who will start school sept 2009 or jan 2010 depending on which school I pick.

My daughter has a july birthday so would only be 4yrs 2mths if I pick the school with the sept intake (which happens to be the primary school which feeds into the best secondary school in the area, or I would have imediately discounted it!). I feel so worried and anxious about this - I feel that it is too young and the longer she can be at home & nursery for half days, the better. Are my fears unfounded? - the school seems to think so, but when I try to research it on the internet, everything seems to support a later staring age and goes on about how Scandanavian children don't start school til 6 or 7 years etc.

Any opinions gratefully receieved.

Thanks x

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asdmumandteacher · 17/11/2008 12:13

Hi my son is August born and has suffered from being youngest in year ...so much so am considering pulling him out of state and putting him down a year in private school - is tough for the younger ones

asdmumandteacher · 17/11/2008 12:13

He is 9 now. But of course it depends on individual child

needmorecoffee · 17/11/2008 12:15

depends on the child. ds1 is august born and waited till after Xmas to go to school while ds2 june baby was certainly read that september but the school only allowed an Easter intake so he had to wait.

ZoeC · 17/11/2008 12:15

Our primary has a single intake, but really Reception is so much like playgroup they didn't seem to mind really. They don't sit at desks, it is very free and play-based (sand-table, building blocks, cars, etc) and they gradually introduce the idea of more structure. It works fine, and possibly gives them all an even footing whereas a January intake simply means some of them have already had 3 months to find their feet and establish friendship groups.

SoupDragon · 17/11/2008 12:17

It all depends on the child. Personally I thin kits better to all start at once. They have a Sept start at DSs school, split into 3 so the eldest start, then the middle bor both start morrnings only and then extend to lunch time and then whole day. The summerborn children start afternoons, then switch to mornings, then lunch, then whole day They tailor ot to how your child is settling though.

tortoiseshellWasMusicaYearsAgo · 17/11/2008 12:18

Dd is August baby, she started in September and ABSOLUTELY thrived - she was SO ready for school, and has done really well - top groups for everything, lots of good friends, including a best friend with whom she is inseparable. In fact it was much better for her to start then, as I think she would have been VERY bored doing any more time at playgroup.

Definitely depends on the child. The school may be flexible enough to allow her to do 1/2 days for a while if she's getting very tired,lots of places do this.

pooka · 17/11/2008 12:18

One of the deciding factors in sending dd to the local state school was that the private school we looked at (MIL v. much in favour) only had one intake and dd would have been 4 and 2 months when starting. Added to that, the private school had less emphasis on learning through play.

However, much depends upon your child, and the attitude of the school to the pressures on the new starters.

Would they entertain the idea of half days for maybe the first term? Lots of schools have varying lengths for settling in, and some state schools near here have half days for everyone for their first term, even where they have 2 entries per year.

lulumama · 17/11/2008 12:18

My DD will be starting school in September 09, and she will also be 4 yrs & 5 weeks when she starts. I am not concerned, she is confident, secure and is enjoying her 5 mornings at the pre school attached to the primary school. i thikn it does depend very much on the child and the reception teaching at the school

throckenholt · 17/11/2008 12:25

my DS1 is a July baby - and he went part-time until nearly Easter. He was still totally exhausted even by half days to begin with.

It is not the academic so much as the social that tires them out I think.

If she is used to long days in a nursery environment then probably she will be fine - but still - I would like to have flexibility of approach - after the current phrase is "every child matters" - so they should be open to a a one size doesn't fit all approach - especially with 4 year olds.

smugmumofboys · 17/11/2008 12:27

DS1 is 6 and an August birthday, DS2 is 4 and a July birthday. They have both settled in fine at school with half-days for a few weeks and building up to full days gradually.

Ds1 was rather silly at first and got into a bit of trouble but at his recent parents' evening his (Yr2) teacher said that academically he is doing extremely well and that, in fact, if she didn't know, she would never guess that he was one of the youngest in the year.

I actually go in and listen to Reception children read, and I must echo what others have said: there is so much play, it just seems likes an extension of pre-school.

Obviously, all children are different, but I wouldn't worry unduly.

Anna8888 · 17/11/2008 12:31

It is not really possible to opt out of the society you live in when it comes to school. You need, IMVHO, to support your child within the context of the society and school provision around you.

I live in France, and so my daughter started pre-school in the September of the calendar year in which she reached her third birthday - which is standard French practice. As she has a mid-November birthday, she started school at not quite 2.10. I picked a school that did half-days only for the first year, and even then I thought that that was a bit much (for both of us). So I kept her at home at the slightest hint of fatigue or illness.

I think you should send your DD to school in September 2009 so that she gets a full year of reception - with the proviso that you can keep her home for a day's rest here and there if you think she is getting overtired.

Fennel · 17/11/2008 12:39

Depends on when the others go. my dd3 is not particularly happy this term, she's 4.5, going to reception in January. But the older children in her year, 12 of them, went in September, including most of her close friends. And only the 4 youngest in the year are going in January. So she's really feeling left out socially.

I'm not too bothered at what age exactly they start but it feels unfair to just leave 4 out of all the start of school bonding. All starting at once makes more sense to me. Even if some of the younger ones aren't that ready, some of the oldest aren't either.

I can't imagine my 4yo will be that tired anyway, she's used to 4 full days at preschool, she's already institutionalised.

GrapefruitMoon · 17/11/2008 12:42

Do the younger children do a full day from September? In our school the children born from 1st march onwards do half-days for the first term. That means they do all the learning with the rest of the class so are not behind in January but have the afternoons to rest at home. My older dcs did this and were fine - ds1 is also a July baby.

coppertop · 17/11/2008 12:46

Ds1 is a summer baby and his school only has a September intake. The general policy is for all children to be full-time after the first few weeks but ds1 was allowed to work up to this more gradually.

mummypingu · 17/11/2008 13:23

ds1 is a june baby started reception in sept. he has really enjoyed it and would have been devistated if all his friends went and he didn't.

most of the children though are pretty grotty by the end of the week and i've always thought it would be good if they did a half day on a wed.

there was no option of a january intake, but they could miss reception and go straight to yr1 a year later, but they seem to be learning alot already.

Madsometimes · 17/11/2008 13:33

I would not place a very high weight on the number of intakes that a school has in reception, when deciding where to send my children. My children did both do a January intake, but our school has now scrapped this and only does September. If you find that your dd is struggling with the length of the day, you could ask for her to do half days, and school cannot refuse because she will not be of compulsary school age. (You don't need to mention this to them now, your dd will probably be fine attending alongside the rest of her class).

The reception year flies by very (too) quickly, so if you think that the September intake school would be best for your daughter throughout her school life, then you should go for it

Hulababy · 17/11/2008 20:26

One of the reasons we chose the priavte school we did for DD was that it had just one September intake. Our state schools here have two intakes and DD would have had to wait until Jan to start (April birthday). She was more than ready to go to school and I could see no benefit for her to be held back from starting, and missing out on a ter of work going into a class that had already made friendship groups and were already a step ahead in terms of school work. So she started in September, along with all her class (inc some with summer birthdays) and all have been fine.

ChippyMinton · 17/11/2008 20:54

If there's more than one reception class, how do they split the children? My DC's school have a 'younger' and an 'older' class so the day can be structured according to their needs. In Yr 1, when things have evened out, the classes get mixed up.

brimfull · 17/11/2008 20:59

our local has one intake in september
the younger(summer term b'day) ones have half days until january
the spring term b'day ones have half days until october half term
seems to work well

Littlefish · 17/11/2008 21:00

Walkingprimrose - a side issue, but are you sure that attending the primary school means that your dd will be eligible for the secondary school?

Secondary schools generally work on a catchment intake (if they are oversubscribed), so unless you live in the catchment, your dd may not get a place at the secondary.

Just wanted you to consider it, as it may make the decision easier.

bozza · 17/11/2008 21:09

I agree with fennel and hula. DD will be starting school in January and this term just feels like a waste of time tbh, combined with major childcare issues. Very frustrating for DD and me

MollieO · 17/11/2008 21:29

Think it depends on the child. My ds (end June but due August) started full time in Sept and loves it. We had two weekends of monster child from hell because he was so tired but that soon disappeared. We built up his nursery time gradually from 3 so going 5 full days wasn't so much of a shock. He chose to stop daytime naps when he was just turned 2 so seems to naturally have lots of energy.

gremlindolphin · 17/11/2008 22:58

Our school has one intake, youngest ones (incl mine July and August birthdays) do half days until Christmas. It seems mad to start with as I am always rushing up and down to school now dd2 has started (dd1 is in ks2) but at least you and your dc get to meet everyone.

She has been very tired but loves it. She is very happy coming home with me for lunch but last week actually asked when she could stay at school for lunch so I think that it has actually worked in terms of starting her gently.

DD1 did the same and has always loved it. It was harder at first as some children were literally a year older than her but she's never been worried and is doing well.

It totally depends on the child, try not to worry.

bozza · 17/11/2008 23:01

This half day thing is very hard if you are working.

hellion · 18/11/2008 13:29

I was in the same position for my ds, and nearly picked a different school because of the January intake. In the end we went for the Sept because the school overall was more suited to him.

He found reception difficult - but I think this would have applied whenever he started, but he is really happy in year1.

It is only 4 months difference between Sept and Jan when you consider school terms, and this isn't very long in the grand scheme of things.

Good luck - its horrible making the decision on schools. I am sure whatever you choose will work out.

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