4 in June 2010, sep '10 start or Sep '11?

[Disenchanted3]

DS has just turned 4 and is due to start reception in September.

When his brother started reception his 5th birthday was the Dec after he started so I feel he was much older and ready.

DS does 5 mornings a week at surestart playgroup but its playing AND HE DOESN'T HAVE ANY CLUE ABOUT NUMBERS, WRITING HIS NAME ANYTHING LIKE THAT REALLY AT ALL (sorry caps!)

DS1 knew alot more and I was still worried.

I'm worried DS is going to labled 'slower' because hes younger and I think he would struggle with the stuff DSis doing now in reception!

Is him starting reception next september an option or does he HAVE to start thi Sep?

DH wants him to go this Sep as he is being a real handful but for me that just rflects how 'small' he is - still having toddler tantrums!!

Erm, I think it has to be this September, but I could be wrong. Have you got his name down for a place anywhere? It is getting a bit late in the day if it has to be this September TBH.

Most local authorities would require him to start in year one if he started this time next year.

Ah right, so it has to be this Sep? thanks

He has a place already but was dithering on sending him.

Top tip for starting? work on the bum-wiping.

He has to be educated by the term after he turns 5, so you could send him next September.

However many LEAs won't hold places if deferring entry without a very good reason (ie SENs) so you may find yourself 'having' to send him this year.

I wouldn't worry too much, any decent reception teacher will be very aware of the difference in maturity between children in their class and will vary their approach accordingly. There is no need for him to know much in the way of reading and writing - I think it's helpful if he can recognise his name and feed himself, use the toilet (mostly) independently, get mostly dressed etc.

Urgh, funny you should say that as he refuse point blank to wipe

Yes, it has to be this September unless you are in an area which does a January intake (which there are very few of now anyway).

If you do choose to send him the following year he would go in YR1, and I think you would have lost his place so have to reapply anyway.

Seriously, work on the wiping, fastening shoes,dressing/undressing, zipping his coat up, that sort of thing.

Some areas/schools may still stagger the start of younegr ones, with a period of part time or not at until January. However his Reception year will be Sept 2010-August 2011,starting Year 1 Sept 2011. It is likely he would soon outgrow those left at nursery if left there more than a term or so and socially find it harder to fit back in with his peers if they all started together.

If your LA operates a single intake he will start in September (you can ask to defer if you wish)
If you delay until September 2011 he will miss out reception and go directly into Y1.
Bum wiping is an essential skill

It may not make you feel better but he won't be alone and probably won't be the youngest. My 2nd dd's bday is 29th June and she will go in 2011. I worry a bit about how young she will be but on the other hand my other dd who is in reception now (and is a Dec baby) really doesn't seem to have been up to much more than playing!
I expect I will feel like you next year tho!
Bee

In our County you would have a right to defer entry and send him later in the year (Easter at the latest) and they would have to keep the place open for him. But when he started he would join his age peers, ie reception in the next academic year and yr1 in Sep 2011.

I thought this was a national policy, but I may be wrong.

(Btw my ds1 - summer birthday - didn't do reception and went straight into yr1. 8 years on he is flying academically and it was the best thing ever for him.)

See page 142 of this document to read the guidance for deferred entry in Cumbria. Your LEA should have similar information available online.

I worry too, DD2 is mid-July AND she's tiny. But hey-ho, 6 weeks after her 4th birthday (2012) she'll be wearing a teeny-tiny uniform and heading off to school with her big sister! They must have a huge range of abilities and maturity in the year group. DD1 is starting this Sept (May bday) and while she can wipe her bum, she cannot write her name or hold a pencil properly. Oh, or even BEGIN to dress herself.

roisin it is National Policy but if the OP wants to wait until September 2011 her son will join Y1 not reception.
There are many things to consider when making that decision good luck!

Disenchanted, we have agonised and agonised over this - DS was 4 yesterday and is due to start in Sept.

Its a small school and they only take one intake. I think if you have excellent pre-school it is worth holding them back a year. Providing you can work the logistics of it. My impression from talking to other parents of summer children and teachers is that the norm is now to do one Sept intake because 'parents wanted it' - largely due to the pressure of work for so many mothers.

If you have excellent pre-school, it appears that boys especially can benefit from not being stuck in a formal classroom too soon. Having said that, it also appears that reception is very play based anyway, and teachers SHOULD be taking a lot of account of individual needs.

My DS is pretty articulate and interested in things but has no inclination to hold a pencil at all. A very good friend of his who is an October girl and will be in his class is writing very clearly and starting to spell words on her own. Boys just don't want to do this so early.

Have you read 'Raising Boys' by Steve Biddulph? Very readable and well worth it for helping to understand what's going through their heads and how they develop - especially if you have two of them!

floraflora reception follows exactly the same curriculum as pre school so you shouldn't notice a difference.
I'm afraid the gender stereotypes don't always apply so every child should be viewed as an individual

If you did defer and start him in y1 in September 2011 it would be much more of a shock to the system IMO, since reception is largely play and as mrz says follows the same curriculum as pre school. In year 1 the other children will have had a whole year to get used to the routines of school and the work will be less play-based. He also might struggle more socially if he starts later.

Having said that, my ds2 is July born , so when it comes to it I'll probably be having the exact same dilemma.

My DS2 can dress himself (quickly), write his name and many other letters, is very sociable and generally together for a May boy. Apart from wiping his own bum which he will not contemplate. "I've tried and I can't reach" is the regular refrain. AAaaaaargh.

I have about twelve weeks to crack this!

But in pre-school you generally get better staffing ratios, sometimes much better than in reception. Which means the environment has to be more formal and less flexible than a nursery.

I agree (mostly) with floraflora (except the Biddulph bit - I'm not a fan!)

Of course we don't need to follow gender stereotypes in our expectations, but research shows that boys mature more slowly than girls. On average boys are 'ready to write' later than girls.

roisin
many nurseries and reception classes are combined and provide the same environment in fact the same staff.

Really? They're not round here at all: They are completely separate entities.

And many parents choose to have the pre-school provision (ie everything before reception) in a private "day-care" nursery, offering much longer hours and generally much higher staffing ratios.

For 3-4 yr-olds They have to deliver the same 'curriculum' for early years in schools, to get the funding, but IME tend to do so in a less rigid, less formal way.

mrz, reception may follow the same curriculum, but there is far more to it than that. I have several friends who have kept their boys back a year, particularly at Montessori pre-schools, the boys have benefited from being the big fish in the big pool, have gained lots of confidence and gone on to fly when they actually started school proper.

I don't think the 'boys are later picking up a pencil' thing is a false stereo-type, it is true of all the boys I know, both those about to start in September and those a bit older, i.e. 7, 8, 9 year olds, who now 'get it'. It doesn't mean they are not bright, on the contrary in several cases, they just learn in different ways from girls. Moreover, this observation is confirmed by DS's pre-school principal, who has many years of experience both in primary and pre-school education. Of course, there will always be exceptions to every rule...

my ds is end of june baby and he went to school nursery and was fine. hes now in yr 1 and doing brilliantly.

my dd is the youngest in her class(end of august). she started nursery in september a few days after her 3rd birthday. she is seen as a bit slower and struggles a bit but that is what school is all about. they go to school to learn.

im a bit worried about her starting reception in sept as she is tiny and seems nowhere near ready for 'big' school but i know she will be fine. your DS wont be the youngest in his class and being at school will really help him with all the things he struggles with.