Delaying Reception for Summer Borns Post Reply

[WannaBe]

Has anyone delayed Reception for their summer born child? In the private sector, obviously, I don't think it's possible in the state sector. We are registered for Thomas's and Eaton House, and I will ring them up to see what they think. But I was wondering if anyone has personal experience and whether they think it was a good thing to do.

Thanks.

[Pud1]

Personally I think it's a mistake delaying reception start. I think a lot of time is spent in the autumn term settling in, establishing rules and routines and forming friendships. The kids do a lot of groundwork with early reading and writing and phonics etc If a child comes in late they miss all that and it's much harder for them to find their niche.

[WannaBe]

Hi Snoopy,

I don't mean going in later in the year, I mean going into reception in September when the child has just turned 5, rather than September when they just turn 4.

[shopper]

I don't know for certain - and perhaps someone with more knowledge can confirm or correct - but I had heard it can cause issues further down line in that birth year is used for school results stats and if you fall out of that, some of the next stage schools are more reluctant to take the child.
It does feel a bit brutal for such young kids to be going to school and there is a difference at the very start between the Sept / Oct births and the summer kids as they are, pretty much, a whole year older and I think you just have to take that into account when you look at what they may or may not achieve in the very beginning by comparison and not panic! I have to say though that it levels out pretty quickly and we are now year 4 and for some time I haven't noticed a difference between the early birthdays from the later birthdays.

[2009Kat]

I know someone who did this, however they did it on a fully informed basis (they are teachers). From what they said, they knew this would rule out the child from a number of schools at secondary level (private as well as state but not all schools obviously) and I think what they actually did was put the child back a year when he changed schools as they moved as they felt he was just not thriving (very late August birthday).

[MrsAmanda]

It is possible to defer in State schools, too. It's only obligatory for a child to be in education from the term after their fifth birthday.

But, that assumes that a school will have a place available. If a school - state or independent - is full, it's full.

I won't be deferring my son, he'll start in September. At his school, the Reception year is a bridge between pre-school and 'proper' school, ie, a more classroom environment. If he misses that, he'll go straight from the play format of pre-school to the formality of a classroom. Also, he has his friends at pre-school going with him. If he misses a year of that friendship, they'll move on and forget all about him. Rejoining that group might not be easy.

Sometimes, I think, goodness, they're just four, it's too young, but I've spoken to other parents with children born late in the school year, and they've all said the children coped well.

[WannaBe]

Thank you all for replies. I obviously need to find out more, and may discuss it with schools. My son is a veeeeeeery late August birthday and slightly premature and I can just see (he is only two though) that he is hitting all the milestones as well as any other ones his age, but a little bit later.

[ellesmum]

I had the same dilemma (birthday in two days!), but I am so, so glad I sent her into Reception at just-turned-four and didn't defer it. Yes, she's still that little bit behind, yes, it's been pretty hard going at times, and yes, she's absolutely exhausted now, BUT the difference between her and the children from nursery who are just a few weeks younger is actually quite big. Even if they don't leave reception with all the academic stuff under their belt, they leave with a lot more maturity (well, as much as an almost 5yo can have!), independence and discipline than either keeping them at home or in nursery for the extra year. And, most importantly, at least for the State schools, you can't just keep them back for the year and send them into Reception the next year, effectively making them the oldest in the year - they have to go into their rightful year, which means going straight into Year 1. That was what clinched it for me. I didn't want her to miss out on the important ground work which is laid in the reception year. The academics, for me, haven't been as important as the preparation for the "real" curriculum starting in September - she'll read, write, etc when she's ready for it to "click", and once that click happens, she'll catch up quickly. They catch up, but it just takes a little time for them to reach that point of maturity. The almost year difference between eldest and youngest is massive when you have children who start in September and turn 5 straight away, but others who have only just had their fourth birthday - they're still babies! I'm sure that gap will gradually close, though. And, as my daughter's teacher told us, she's a June baby herself and she's done very well, thank you very much!
Your summer baby will be fine, but just don't be disappointed if they need a bit extra time to master some of the skills the older ones (or even the ones the same age!) get quite quickly. Nurture other talents in the meantime and everything will be fine

[mrsmilk]

Hi

I would like to second absolutely everything that ellesmum said. I have had exactly the same experience. My youngest is 5 in mid-August and I was really concerned about the obviously wide gap in maturity between him and the September/October children who are almost a year older.

I investigated all the options thoroughly - although only in the state sector only - and in the end, just like ellesmum, the clincher for me was that if he delayed reception he would not have gone into reception the next year, but straight into Yr 1 with his normal cohort.

So he has just finished reception and, as ellesmum said (sorry ellesmum to repeat you but I did say I agreed with everything!) there is definitely a lot of room for improvement in terms of the academics but I know that those will come soon enough. I have absolute faith in his ability, it was really his maturity that worried me. He has come on leaps and bounds in that regard and while he was slightly terrified at the beginning and very reluctant to try new things for fear of failure, by the end of the year he is ready to try everything, is reading, knows his numbers, is talking about basic operations (add, take away) as if he understands the concepts and most importantly, has really enjoyed himself and really loves his teacher, his class, and his school.

I have not pushed him on the academics as I believed really strongly that simply coming to terms with being there every day, building his self confidence, and making friends, were by far the most important things for him this year.

I truly understand how you are feeling and there have been some tough moments where he was exhausted and a little scared, but we have pulled through and he has really blossomed.

I wish you all the best with this difficult decision.

MM x

[MrsAmanda]

Another thing which helped me decide: my birthday is Sept, but I had a best friend at school who's birthday is 29th August. She's 50wks younger than me. I was obviously too young to notice if she was behind or struggled when we were at primary, but by high school she'd caught up and overtaken - she got better exam results than me, and has had a much better career.

[BalhamMumWorkingFT]

I held my son back because he wasn't ready. It was the absolutely best thing I could have done. He did a very small class of reception at just 4 at one school and then I moved him to a new school to repeat. His sister is right behind him and will start reception at the school in the fall.

He is so much more confident and mixes so well with the entire class. There are a few kids that have their birthdays at the very beginning of September so he doesn't feel tremendously older and he is right in the thick of things.

It is a very personal decision and its now clear that I probably won't be able to move him back to a grammar state school at 11+ because he will have to jump a grade. But I am ok with taking that particular issue on.

I had a very hard time trying to find a school to agree to this so I'd start with some conversations with the heads.

Good Luck.

[jensterx]

I have an addendum to this question. We just moved to London two weeks ago with our 5 year old (20 July 08) and our 3 year old. My kids were in daycare in the States - and there was a "pre-school" program at the daycare but it's no where near as intense as Reception here in the UK.

I have to decide if we go with a state school and enter my son as Year 1, or if we go private, we can enter at Reception. Academically, I think he could mostly catch up with the Year 1 kids, but socially - he's much more suited to enter a Reception class.

We will most likely only be in the UK for 2-3 years so I won't have to face the Secondary school issues that were mentioned above... Would you still recommend starting him here at Year 1? Ugh!!

Thanks!
Jen

[BalhamMumWorkingFT]

You may find that no matter the private or state, they would want him to go into year 1. Go talk to schools and help them help you. You may find he is fine in Year 1 and that reception is not as intense as you think. Or you may find you want him back in reception and the schools agree.

[kcai]

DfE recently posted "advice" on this issue here http://www.education.gov.uk/f00227046/a ... n-children

My son is August-born and had no problem in Reception but I think it's very much down to the individual child and whether the parent thinks they're ready.

[usedtobeorganised]

My son is also an end of August baby - he's nearly 3 now, but I've always assumed the cut-off has to come somewhere, so 1 September seems as fair as any other date. Otherwise we're just adding to the group of oldest kids in the following year, which seems a bit unfair! I appreciate some kids have a genuine educational need to be held back but generally I think things sort themselves out as the kids get older anyway, which I'm glad to hear has been the experience of other posters here.