The right to defer mainstream reception entry for possible SN kids by 1 year.

[lingle]

This is a continuation of another thread which, because I made a poor choice of title, drifted away from its intended subject.

My child has receptive language delay. He was due to start reception in September 2009 at 4.0 - August birthday. He will now start reception in September 2010 as a matter of pure parental choice - I have not had to refer to his SN at all. This is very helpful for me as the nature and extent of his SN are unclear. I'd have been extremely reluctant to press for a HFA diagnosis at this stage as his elder brother outgrew similar difficulties once the language kicked in.

I have been strongly advised by nursery and reception teacher, specialist SALT, learning support teacher and consultant paediatrician to exercise the right to defer. But I'm in one of only two LEAs where this choice can be made as a matter of parental choice, irrespective of diagnostic process (or lack thereof as is the case for most kids with receptive language delay).

I had hoped this right to defer reception till children are 5.0 would be extended nationwide. But this now seems unlikely following publication of the report by Sir Jim Rose into the primary school system.

Rose appears not to have fully considered the statistical results from a report by the Institute of Financial Studies which showed enormous discrepancies between numbers of autumn and summer born children who get placed on the SEN register by the time they are eleven. Whilst this does not mean that any particular diagnosis is wrong, it does suggest we are exacerbating and creating problems by our almost uniquely inflexible and early English school start date.

Here's hoping this is a more informative and useful OP!

ok, hope this doesnt offend, but can i ask what is involved in reception year, is it full time?

i only ask as i am in scotland where from age 3 nursery care is 5 x 2.5hr sessions per week up until they start primary 1 when they are automatically admitted to school in August if their fifth birthday falls between 1 March of that same year and the last day of February of the following year.

i was going to ask on your previous thread but that got a bit mental

ooh fifth should read 5th, dont know what happenned there!

Hi glittery,

Here in England we start the September your child turns 5 (except for one or two LEAs who start every single child a year later- very unusual). So some children are 5.0 when they start, others are 4.0.

The default is to start reception full time. Some parents do opt for part time as there is no obligation for the child to be in education at all until the term after their 5th birthday. If Rose's recommendations are followed, part time will become more common (question mark re working mums there).

thanks, kept wondering what reception was!

reception class is often part time to start with. dd's class went full time at October half term but dd still does half days cos I inisted.

This is the Times Educational Supplement's lead story this week

www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6007190

www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6007213

www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6007232

intresting I for one hve given serious thought of putting of september start for my summer born son who has Gd of 2 years and SLD but hve met lot of opsition from school and sencan

Thank you so much for those links.

So it all comes down to money:
"To defer entry for summer-borns to the following year, as happens elsewhere, is an option but not a cost-free one: pre-school provision has to be increased, the school estate decreased"

Bradford Council are now, as expected, planning to abolish the deferral right for the year below mine and although they are consulting right not, the parents who need to respond to the consultation are the ones whose kids are only 2.4 so it's unlikely anyone will realise the significance of the issue. I'm wonderering if I should ask my speech therapist, learning support teacher and paediatrician if they would be willing to make representations. Are they allowed to do this sort of thing do you think? The learning support teacher has commented that most of her charges are summer-born.

Bradford would probably go for a special needs exception route BUT as we all know most mildly ASD /ADHD/other mildly challenged children are not even "in the system" at school starting age let alone diagnosed - so a "no-label" deferment right like the one I've benefitted form would reach so many more people. I'm thinking that in Bradford city centre especially there may be very different attitudes to seeking medical help among the Asian communities - they tend to want to solve their own problems within their own community (apologies for gross generalisation but it's a tight-knit community). Hmm, my MP is heavily involved with the Asian community - may be able to involve her perhaps.

Any tips welcome.

lingle - will your child go into Reception or straight to year one?

Reception