at Clary!
Satlitegirl:
Some schools actively support the idea of part-time places throughout reception. Others - and it really depends on the HT - want everyone full-time from day dot. But - as I said earlier - it just depends on the school.
No, ds1 wasn't the only one at his nursery. We moved when he was 5 and the school starting policy was radically different in the County we moved from.
We just applied for his yr1 place in the normal way and were fortunate enough that a space came up at our preferred school. When ds2 came up to 4 though, there was no right to defer as there is now, and we didn't want to gamble with is chances at that (fantastic) school, so sent him to reception as normal. It wasn't a disaster for him, but in hindsight I wish I'd had the courage to keep him off for reception too.
The start of yr1 for ds1 was a bit bumpy as he struggled to come to terms with the formality of education and the strict discipline required when dealing with a class of 30 5 yr olds. But within a couple of months he was completely integrated and from then on was a "model pupil" really!
He didn't find it very easy to make friends - but I think that's more to do with his personality tbh. He was like that before too. He's very contented and has lots of 'mates', but he's never had very close friends. But I don't think that's about his reception year experience at all. I thoroughly expect him to be one of those people who suddenly has a mega-intense, excluding all-else relationship in his teens, but so far he's generally happy with his own company and is a bit of a loner!
Academically there has never been any question whatsoever. ds1 actually taught himself to read at home precociously early, so that wasn't an issue. But at age 5 he'd rarely written anything (though he had dictated stories to me). So - to help him with yr1 - during that summer I taught him correct letter formation.
By Christmas his yr1 teacher told me that he was consistently writing far more than his peers (many of whom had been forced to write before they were physically ready IMO).
Anyway, fast forward on a few years - he got some of the highest marks ever for yr6 SATs in his school and is now at a large secondary school (210 pupils per year) and won a stack of prizes for academic subjects at the awards evening. He's also a very keen reader and writer and last year won a children's national writing competition.
One of the most important things that the extra year of 'freedom' gave him, I think, was the freedom to be himself, to be creative and individual, rather than have to fit into someone else's box, someone else's mould. Obviously it's hard to separate nature and nurture, but people often comment on his imagination, his creativity and his individuality. ds2 on the other hand started a nursery at age 3, which was pretty rigid and structured and then ft reception at age 4+3months.