What is going on with deferrals?

[definitedeferral]

I'm wondering if any parents or teachers are noticing a growing issue with the number of children deferring in Scotland, and the impact on other children?

I'm referring to the change as of 2023 which means any child who is not age 5 at the start of P1 can defer and will now be entitled to another year's nursery funding. My child started school this year and is youngest in the year (Oct birthday), which came as a shock. I don't know exact numbers but there are numerous kids in the class who are already, or soon to be, 6 (ie they've all been deferred). So, in some cases over a year older than my child.

My kid is keeping up in terms of academic work, but on an emotional level it has been hard. They are mocked for liking "babyish" things. Their peers seem much older and are into different things, they're more confident and obviously ahead in a lot of the school work. My child has been in nursery for 4 years and everyone told us they were ready for school, so deferral wasn't really considered.

I now feel naive. Had I realised how many people were deferring and the disadvantage this would place on my kid, I would have done the same. Are we now at a place where you have to defer because so many other parents are? Not because your child isn't ready or out of genuine concern. Perhaps our case is isolated so interested to know if anyone else has found this too. Obviously might become more obvious as the rule change is very recent.

TIA

I too was concerned about the growing trends of deferral, I found these freedom of information requests put in to East Lothian and Edinburgh City councils on the subject

@Eastcoastie thanks for this. Very interesting indeed. So Aug-Dec deferrals have doubled from the 2021 figure. I would be interested to see the 2024 figures.

Surely more people are just going to defer August-December children once they realise this is what's happening. It would be better to officially review school start age to keep it fair.

I completely agree, it's such a big gap. For your Oct born to be the youngest in the class seems unbelievable. I think the Scottish Gov need to reduce the parameters. If they want to push for a later start then so be it but make it fair. To have a child start school born late Feb aged 4.6 and another child born mid Sept aged 5.11 is crazy. Iv heard that the gap closes as kids climb the years and girls particularly mature faster but it still doesn't seem right. My sibling wasn't deferred and was a Jan born, I'd always been quite firm that I wouldn't be defering but I changed my mind largely based on the number of children in my area who were.

Hardly anybody defers where I am. I have deferred my January born daughter because emotionally, she's nowhere near ready. Also, she only had 14 months of nursery compared to other children's 2 full years.

In every year group, someone has to be the youngest. No point changing the goal posts!

Only two kids in her year have deferred and the other has ASN.

I work in a school and we had zero deferred entries this year. Must depend where you live and could change year to year.

My ds born at the end of November has just left school (started school in 2011) and was the youngest in his class at high school! Being one of the youngest in the year definitely impacted him socially, particularly in late primary/early years of high school and it was a difficult time but it did resolve itself. Despite the difficulties, he is a happy, sociable boy and he excelled academically. He was ready for school at 4 and I wouldn’t change that if I were to do it again. Unfortunately, someone has to be the youngest, I don’t think there is any way around that.

@BossFloss someone has to be the youngest, but if you can now choose to make sure your child isn't the youngest, wouldnt most parents do this? Where does it end? Previously the youngest child would have been in a year group of kids up to 11 months older. Now the youngest child will be in a year group of kids potentially 18 months older. In the statistics above, if 40% of Aug-Dec kids are deferred, and you send your January kid "on time", they'll have 40% of the class over a year older than them.

As in my child's case, I know of at least 3 pupils who turned 6 before my child turned 5, it feels like such a big gap. It's a small class so probably more noticeable.

@Peachtastic true it will vary by region/school. I might do a FOI like the previous poster. This is only a recent thing though (2023) so numbers might increase as parents get wind of it (like me, who is now definitely going to defer my second; purely because I don't want them being the youngest/I can).

Hi, my youngest is the same. October birthday and went to school at 4, me telling her she was doing so well because she was doing the age appropriate biff and chips for going to school ... but on arrival her classmate, who was more than a year older, was reading David Walliams novel in P1. And then reports come out and my child is reported as well under the average- except she's my 3rd child and I've been a teacher for about 700 years (so it feels) and I know she's OK for the correct level at her age. And then over the last couple of years I realised that she's one of only two non deferred children in her class. And the other non deferred girl is also reported as being below class average.
Scotland is crackers for logging info.

I wonder how some parents will feel when they realise school leaving age hasn’t changed and their children can leave at the start of the Christmas holidays in S4 before taking any exams…

@CustardCreamsAndMintTea this is my fear that my DC will be perceived as behind, when in fact they are just "behind" the kids that are a year older. It's not a level playing field. Sorry for your experience, it's so disheartening. At least I know I'm not alone or imagining this, thanks.

@GillBeck it's a good point. Will this cause issues at the other end, rather than"give them time" as it's designed to do.

@definitedeferral I completely agree that it is a parent’s choice to make and if you don’t want your child to be the youngest then that is the correct choice for you and it would seem that is what many people in some areas are choosing to do. I was by hoping to offer reassurance by sharing my experience of having a younger in the year child, and that although we had a few bumps, it all turned out well and I wouldn’t change anything.
I also have a December born DS2 who I jumped through hoops to defer because it was the right decision for him. Kids are all different… My eldest (young in the year) in the year excelled at school and my youngest (old in the year) has always been very average.
I hope it all turns out well for your little one.

Thank you @BossFloss, I hope everything will turn out ok, it's just been a shock to us all/unexpected. I'm sure things will even out, it's just so obviously in P1! Thanks for sharing your experience, good to know being the youngest isn't always the bad thing we're lead to believe.

My DD is 28 Feb birthday so I deferred her on the basis she would be the absolute youngest in the year! To be honest she would have been ready for school and if deferring wasn't so common these days she would have gone. So I absolutely deferred her because everyone else does which I felt pretty pissed off about at the time but now I'm glad I did. I'd be livid if my October born was the youngest though. Thats madness!

It's tough, I'd really like to do this for my Nov DS2, but I can totally see your point. We moved overseas into an American-based curriculum when DS1 (also Nov) was younger and he didn't start school till more like six which was really beneficial for him - I didn't feel he was ready younger. Think his brother might be similar. I really think they should all start later, and wouldn't care about Ds being seen as behind, but kids being mocked or called babyish for just acting their age would be really upsetting.

I think this is dependent on the area and school tbh!
We deferred DS1 (Jan birthday) it was absolutely the right thing for him and the difference in his ability to sit still is chalk and cheese. All of his pals went to school last year and initially I felt very guilty. Not many parents defer in our area. He is the second oldest in his class.

I believe parents know their children best and therefore its up to them to make the decision. We will absolutely be deferring DS2 as well (Feb birthday).

The reason they changed the rules was because they were having to deal with so many appeals and paperwork for requests.

I really do think they should stick to a rigid start date. All the middle class parents defer, the others don’t and it widens the attainment gap. I’m not sure the Scottish government has really factored in the cost if the extra time in nursery.

How can you know the birth dates of the other children in the class and be sure your child is the youngest?

Probably through kids having birthday parties, talking about how old they are/when their birthday is, or parents chatting.

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences!

@London2024 yeh just process of elimination, through talking to other mums, birthday parties etc. Kids having birthdays on school days with massive "6" badges on. It's a small village school, everyone knows everyone. I alluded to it at parents night and the teacher agreed with me. There are kids only a couple weeks older tbf.

I do think 6 would be a more sensible start age, or at least 5 anyway. I do wonder about the financial side too, was the additional 30 free hours introduced to make it possible for less wealthy families to defer? Along with the paperwork/appeals reasoning. Where is the funding coming from to pay for an additional year's nursery for all these kids? Just wondering out loud!

@definitedeferral the 30 hours without being assessed in Scotland compared to English 30 hours for working parents was an attempt to try to encourage disadvantaged children into nursery to help them before school to close the attainment gap. But that's not worked and there is still a big gap.

Sadly for some children they are stuck in an endless cycle.

Someone on another post suggested that because kids can leave school at 16, there is a risk that older deferred kids could leave in S4 without sitting any exams. I guess we need to wait 10 years to see the outcome of this SG policy.

My DD is January born so is the youngest in her year - I've not found it's held her back in any way at all although there is a year between her & some of her friends, she is on their level academically and socially. I think I would have done her a disservice by deferring entry for her but I am aware of the issues as she gets older, like driving lessons, nights out etc she will be a year younger.

@Scottishskifun thanks, it's awful for these kids. I wonder if there still hasn't been time for uptake of nursery places for disadvantaged kids. From the financial side I was meaning more the funding for the additional year of nursery due to deferral. The 30 hours funding was from age 3 (mostly) to age 4 or 5 when starting school. Now with deferrals nursery is funded for an additional year.

@JobMatch3000 yeah it's a good point I hadn't considered. This is what I mean about the whole thing, it seems poorly thought out!

@Dontletthebedbugsbite2 thanks for sharing a positive experience. I'm wondering if your DD is P1/2 or older? With this post I'm not necessarily concerned about my DC being the youngest, more the specific issue created with the change of deferral rules since 2023. I.e there doesn't seem to be a gradual spread of birthdays over the year, with a year's gap between the youngest and oldest. What we've experienced is a significant portion of the class having deferred so there are only a couple of other kids similar age to mine. At least half the class are a year - 18 months older. The goalposts seem to have been moved considerably. There is an obvious difference both physically and emotionally between my 4 year old, and the 6 year olds in the class (as would be expected). I hope it evens out, but this is a very new situation created by the change in policy only a year ago so I wondered if anyone else is seeing the effects yet.

Sorry I should correct that; in my DC1 case some kids are 12- 14 months older. There are a lot around 12 months older, became obvious with all the parties. 12-18 months older is hypothetical for a child born in Feb who doesnt defer. I'm struggling to get my head around it all, clearly.

In 2022, we had 6 deferrals where I work. Last year one and this year none. We have a few who can defer for next year but it is ultimately down to the parents.