Can I defer my children's entry to school until they are 5 and insist on reception?

[bothcholma]

This is an old hot chestnut.My girls are 4 next May.They are being steered to enter reception.I know that legally I can defer their entry to school until they are 5.My Local Authority says they must then enter year 1 having lost the learning encountered by their counterparts.They say this has to happen because they have to transfer to secondary aged 11.Are they telling me the truth? Can I defer their entry and insist upon a place in reception?

Can anybody help please?

you can home educate for a year but they will have to go into school into Y1

As far as I am aware thry are telling you the truth. There are a few exceptions to this. Bradford LEA and I think Leeds allow children to defer a year, and Scotland does too, but in general most have the same guidlines as your LEA.

I have to say my ds is having so much fun in reception, he has made loads of friends, does mostly playing, listening to stories, singing songs, doing festive things for xmas.

Your LEA is telling you the truth.

What is your reason for wanting to defer your children's schooling by a year?

I was told the same.

I know that my local LEA (in London) are pretty relaxed about deferring school until the age of 5 yrs old (probably because a fair few parents choose to do this) - but they absolutely insist on children then going into Year 1. They won't make an exception and have been very strict on this rule even with children with special needs.

You can defer their entry until the term prior to their 5th birthday ie: by law they have to be in school start of Easter term 2009. To do this the school will have to keep 2 places open for them until Easter - this is extremely unlikely as they will want a full class to maximise their funding. It all depends on how popular the school is and if they are over-subscribed.

If you defer them an academic year (until Sept 2009), they will have to join yr1 - this may be difficult for them as the 'jump' from rec to yr1 is huge. Lots of play based learning in rec and straight into formal, structured learning in yr1 - and as younger children they would probably find this harder.

You would put them at a disadvantage by deferring them IMO. I have an Summer child and believe me, it entered my mind to do this too. Dc is now in Yr 1, the youngest in the class, and loving it. My dc is reading, writing and coping with number problems (all age appropriate). More importantly, they have built good relationships with peers.

The only way to defer your dd's is to send them to a private school. My dc2 attended a private school and there were 2 boys in their class that were a year older than the rest. The independent system is far more flexible - probably 'cause you are paying through the nose for it .

Good Luck

the lea isadly correct, i have a jly boen sn ds3 that i requested deferment for, the answer was a clear no.

your options epend on if the school is over subscribed.

if it is, you need to decide if entry now or in yr1 is preferable.

If not (or if there are factors such as a statement as we have) yu have more flexibility.

our solution was to start ds3 part time at Christmas, full time from Easter. Seemed to work, although he is moving to sn unit now.

If you are interested in this subject you have probably already read my rants and theories. If not, I'm in Bradford LEA, will defer for a year and have campaigned actively on the subject. I would have moved house rather than enter my late-talking August born boy in reception at 4.0.

I suggest you hold on until Sir Jim Rose publishes his report. It is due out any time. He has been briefed by the government to report on options to increase flexibility for school entry for summer-borns.

You might also wish to contact Leeds LEA and find out who is behind their more enlightened policy and what the rationale is. Bradford follows Leeds, apparently.

I'm sure you know that fewer girls than boys struggle. Doesn't make it right though.

I have a July born DS and reluctantly on my part he started reception in September. I did this because he would have had to go straight into year 1.

He is having a fabulous time though. He loves going, does loads of fun things. They aren't pushing him at all, he's learning his phonics and beginning to read but its all done at his pace. I was expecting him to struggle but he isn't at all and I'm glad he went in September.

I've no involvement in this issue, but just being nosy.

If you pay for private education, and can then choose to hold off for another year. Well what happens to that child if later on in their schooling they change to a government funded school?
Do they continue from where they are, and are then a year older than all their classmates?

Just wondering!

depends on LEA potoftea. I know a child who has done this but was made to skip a year to go into their correct year.

Thanks snorkle.
That must've been very hard for the child. New school, new people, and finding the work very hard.
Also puts pressure on the parents to continue paying for private education.

Year 1 is not play-based in our area so summer-borns who thrived in reception are hit even harder in Year 1 .

I have june baby who is now is yr1, considering what he learnt in reception it would be one hell of a jump.

He learnt to read, write and do simple maths in reception.

For example in year 1 they write with pencils on paper or on the white boards. In reception they learn to write with chunky chalk in the playground, writing in sand with their fingers, using squirty washing up bottles to squirt their their name with water etc

I also considered holding him back and come under an authority where they would let me but I wanted him to form friendships and also for me to form friendships with the Mums.

It is all play in reception, I had one very happy but tired boy. He loved it and I don't regret it for one minute.

If you are allowed to defer entry into Reception in an oversubscribed school, do you get priority over the normal Reception intake for the year you want or do you have to take your chances on the sibling/distance crieria like everyone else?

Wheresthehamster,

You don't get any priority in Bradford and I can't imagine you would in Leeds. Haven't had to check as mine's a sibling.

I suppose you'd also have to factor in the risk that, in an over-subscribed school, there might not be space for them in Year 1. 'Specially if there are two of them. You certainly wouldn't be able to hold places open for them, anyway.

The School Admissions Code says that entry can only be deferred within the same academic year (and, even then, not beyond the term in which the child turns 5). See para 2.64. But, as lingle says, change may be on the way.

That's interesting I've never found that Bocca. thanks.

You're welcome! I sit on my LEA's appeals panel for school admissions and I came away from a recent training event under the impression that deferred admissions in the Leeds/Bradford model were going to be permitted. But I've just looked through the course handouts again and I think I must be getting ahead of myself and deferred admissions may be permitted nationwide if the Rose report recommends it (and is implemented).

It may be worth having a more thorough search of the DCSF site....

More on school admissions on the DCSF website here.

if you found it was too much for your child could you do something like send them just mornings or just 3 days a week or something? it's not compulsory to be there at all until they're 5. i guess it would mess up the school's unauthorised absence figure though?

is it really so bad to skip reception? here children dont start school till the term after their 5th birthday, which for dd is May so she will be going into yr 1 in the sept after her birthday, which i was happy with

if they are in nursery/preschool which is free with the gov vouchers with all the eyfs stuff isnt that pretty similar learning wise at a diff location>