P1 school deferal

[Mamabear04]

Does anyone else think it's mad that there could be a 15 month age difference with kids starting P1? What does everyone think and parents of young kids will you defer?

It is absolutely madness.

There are kids in my son’s P1 class who are younger than kids in the nursery.

I think the norm will be that all those who are eligible will defer, but again, it’s the least privileged who will be disadvantaged by it - ie those who can’t afford to defer

Yes, My DD is still 4 but has kids in her class who aren't far off their 6th birthday. She was so ready for school though and just outside the acceptable range for deferring.

Lots seem to be deferring now. Lots of 6 year olds starting P1.

Ds was 4 starting school.

As long as the child turns 5 after the first day of term they're entitled to another full year of funding.

I will have this quandary soon. My DD is December born so I wouldn’t really have deferred her unless there was real concerns but now I feel if everyone starts deferring then I maybe should. I’m thinking of doing an FOI request to find out how many children were deferred V’s not in my council area to see what is happening in practice.

it’s the least privileged who will be disadvantaged by it - ie those who can’t afford to defer

This gets trotted out all the time in these discussions, and it really isn't necessarily true. Needing wraparound care makes school far more expensive for many people than nursery with the funded hours.

@anon0007 funding isn’t automatic depending on your council area and for some nurseries it only covers 2 full days a week so even with after school care school will still be cheaper than sending a child to nursery if you work FT

Unusual to start school at 6yo in P1.

Lots of 6 year olds starting P1

Really?

DS September born and was a matter of days from turning 6yo when starting P1. He isn't the eldest in his current primary year though as it is a composite class , so he is mixed in with other older pupils. Less noticeable.

Yes! Mine had a 14 month difference in the year but the school managed it well.
My DC are older now but their primary had 2 classes at every level. The school put the Dec/Jan/Feb deferred children all in one class with the other birthdays in class spread from March to Sept.
They put the young Dec/Jan/Feb in the other class along with children with birthdays from June onwards.

Manageable in schools with more than one class but of course the big issue really comes with secondary school with big maturity differences starting secondary, sitting exams etc

@Vettrianofan

Lots of children in P1 where I am are turning 6 in the lead up to Christmas whereas when ds went to school the majority were turning 5.

I was surprised.

@anon0007 just for clarification, you are saying that the children at your child's school turn 6yo the first term after starting P1?

@anon0007 just for clarification, you are saying that the children at your child's school turn 6yo the first term after starting P1?

The SNP also want to increase the school age to 6? I wonder if this is their way of doing it through the back door.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-63206170.amp

Funding often doesn’t cover a full time place at a private nursery

This is what I would have wanted for my own but it's too late now all mine are beyond nursery/P1 age now. Hopefully it gets rolled out.

I have yet to come across an after school club that costs more than a private nursery (although granted they can end up pretty similar if you throw in holiday club, but I think generally childcare for a school child is less than a for a child at nursey)

@Vettrianofan

Dd isn't at school yet. A few children in dds nursery have recently celebrated their 5th birthdays. My friends dd was 6 in September and she started P1 in August. There are other children in the class who are similar ages with her dd.

Another poster on here has commented that her child was 6 days after starting P1.

@Vettrianofan can I ask you why you’d have wanted it for your children? Genuine question. I don’t know what’s for the best and would love to hear arguments both for and against it.

I deferred my February born, would not have even considered sending him to school. In my area nearly all defer post-December birthdays.

Our school has composite classes anyway so they're good at dealing with kids of different ages and abilities.

There would be no need for deferral as it would be a gradual transition into primary education for all. Lots of outdoor learning. Less battles for parents to defer (no problem to defer one of mine, but opposite situation for another child in the family). Less stigma all round.

I agree. It's less noticeable in my DS(8) situation as he is mixed in with P4 children who are older than him, even though he is one of the P3 who is deferred. The teacher is having to cater to a wide spectrum of ability levels.

It's actually very unusual for a September born to be deferred, most common November/December/January. DS was deferred due to speech and language difficulties (he has caught up with his peers now) but as a general rule I am not aware of any children with Match to August birthday being easily deferred.

Children can't usually be deferred if they turn five before the first day of the August school term. That's why I am wondering why you know so many that are already 6yo in P1. Doesn't make sense unless they are exceptional circumstances but often requires multiple agencies involved to back up the deferral. Many local authorities won't allow children to start P1 as they turn 6yo.