Page 3 | P1 school deferal

Mamabear04 · 2023-10-26T11:22:30+00:00

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?

User23452 · 30/10/2023 11:52

That’s what we heard too treading and my dc who is young for their age socially and emotionally hasn’t suddenly made a leap so she’s now overly mature - they’ve maintained that better fit with the younger cohort.

in fact, the one who went young for their age is the most socially mature - they’re well into secondary and still plenty of kids playing like they’re two to three years younger than their actual age. I’d say age is partly a social construct too….kids really do vary.

Suunnyd · 30/10/2023 15:18

@User23452 i agree with your final point that its down to the individual child.

My friend who is the teacher has a December born DS and won't be deferring him.

Both he and my DD have been playing together since nursery at around 10 months old. Maybe because they went to nursery early that has helped them to progress?

I have one friend who is a Feb born and my sister was a late January. Both were not deferred and enjoyed being the youngest. Looking back they believe it spurred them on. Obviously not all children will feel this way, perhaps for more timid children, staying back is a better option.

User23452 · 30/10/2023 15:22

Yes my young for their year one is the same - competitive, loves winning, not phased by being younger, can’t think what good it would have done them to start later.

checkedroses · 30/10/2023 21:44

I have a december birthday who wasn't deferred, and overall I think prob the right decision (back then you could only defer December kids if the nursery agreed it was needed) - however I think the next 2 years will be tough, with friends turning 17 days after he turns 16 and being able to start learning to drive etc (then the same the year after with going to bars etc). Academically and socially he's done fine though.

mummywithtwokidsplusdog · 03/11/2023 17:06

We deferred both winter babies and have always been glad we did…. Not the right decision for some children but for ours it absolutely has been. Including now as teenagers.

goodkidsmaadhouse · 03/11/2023 22:02

I work in a primary school. We don't have a single 4yo P1 who is really ready to be there. I don't know any teachers or support staff who think it's a bad idea to defer and my friends who teach high school agree with the PP that it's still very obvious which kids are the youngest even at those later stages.
However, I do wish that the government would just change the cut off to Dec 31st so Jan and Feb have to go in at 5.5. And over time adjust that so that kids have to be 5 by the start of the school year.

SaffronSpice · 04/11/2023 10:53

Tessiebeare · 27/10/2023 11:57

There are 6 year olds starting primary 1. They have to be approved by the local authority but there’s been over a 100 a year across Scotland approved the last few years and there are Facebook groups campaigning for older deferrals. There are also much more end of August and September children being deferred and from speaking to parents who’ve done this they seem to think that it will give their children an advantage which of course it will being as they can be 18 months older than the youngest in the class.
It does seem a bit unfair as they are physically bigger and stronger which is obvious in gym or in the playground and some kids will have had 3 full years at nursery compared to 1 year and a term for the January/ February born and so the older ones tend to be a bit more domineering.
The age range seems to be far too large now and I think it would be better if they just changed the cut offs and everyone went when prescribed unless exceptional circumstances.
Realistically some one has to be the youngest but no one wants that to be their child anymore but how the government are funding all these kids for an extra year at nursery I don’t know.

Those local authorities are breaking the law. All children MUST start school if they turn five before the school commencement date (varies in local authorities but set date in middle of August rather than first day of term that year). And that must not be in a nursery class.

Just a reminder, deferred children can leave school earlier too - including before exams.

Groovee · 04/11/2023 18:03

There is something called a retained year where it's not a deferral but an extra year in nursery. They can be hard to get and you need the Ed Psychologist involved mostly. It's usually a child who has medical complications, additional needs which are complex or Adverse Childhood Experiences where trauma is involved. I know of 2 children where the nursery were successful in getting the retained year approved for this year.

My friend's child was granted one as he had missed 2 years of nursery due to cancer. He needed that year to return to normality after what he had been through.

In our LA they are not granted easily.

SaffronSpice · 04/11/2023 22:58

Groovee · 04/11/2023 18:03

There is something called a retained year where it's not a deferral but an extra year in nursery. They can be hard to get and you need the Ed Psychologist involved mostly. It's usually a child who has medical complications, additional needs which are complex or Adverse Childhood Experiences where trauma is involved. I know of 2 children where the nursery were successful in getting the retained year approved for this year.

My friend's child was granted one as he had missed 2 years of nursery due to cancer. He needed that year to return to normality after what he had been through.

In our LA they are not granted easily.

That would also be unlawful.

Education (Scotland) Act 1980 s32(9)
In this section, “primary school” does not include a nursery school or a nursery class.

Suunnyd · 04/11/2023 23:54

@SaffronSpice thats really interesting, I had never considered that deferred kids could leave school before sitting any exams at all. Quite scary!

I get that being a late Feb born means you could have friends turning 17 and learning to drive etc days after you have turned 16 but we are only talking a handful of kids at most - there will be plenty kids not turning 17 within days of the Feb born.

Regarding sport, when I was younger, I played sport to regional level. We were always encouraged to train with better players to help improve. The older March born child may well be bigger and stronger, especially if its potentially the 6 year old vs 4 yo but this age gap lessens in severity the older you get and if the sport was out of school and in any sort of proper team/league etc, the children would not be in the same age category.

Suunnyd · 04/11/2023 23:56

@groovee is the retained year in addition to the deffered year?!

Groovee · 05/11/2023 12:46

It's usually a child who wouldn't be entitled to deferal.

@SaffronSpice I would expect GIRFEC to come into play when working with children who are in need of a retained year. If it's so unlawful how can it be stopped? As a practitioner I welcome children getting the right support in the early years to help them through traumatic things.

SaffronSpice · 05/11/2023 13:44

Groovee · 05/11/2023 12:46

It's usually a child who wouldn't be entitled to deferal.

@SaffronSpice I would expect GIRFEC to come into play when working with children who are in need of a retained year. If it's so unlawful how can it be stopped? As a practitioner I welcome children getting the right support in the early years to help them through traumatic things.

GIRFEC does come into play but in school. These children must be in school and provided with the appropriate support and school setting. Yes that is probably more expensive than nursery but the council is not entitled to avoid the costs of properly supporting children in school by placing them back in nursery.

How to stop councils? I wish I knew the answer. The Scottish Government doesn’t seem to care about children with ASN being failed.