Category Archives: MEDIA COVERAGE
Why can’t summer-born children start school later?
On February 26, journalist Sarah Cassidy published an excellent article in The Independent titled, “An age-old problem: Why can’t summer-born children start school later?“. Her report included the experiences of parents of summer born children who are facing a year 1 entry for … Continue reading
New website launched for Scottish parents
A new website Taking Parents Seriously launched in Scotland this week with the aim of offering advice to parents and guardians on their rights and on how to get heard. The impetus for the site’s creation was the experience of two parents who … Continue reading
BBC Two Daily Politics summer born report
Lib Dem MP Annette Brooke appeared in a report and studio discussion on the BBC Two Daily Politics programme today. More information and links to Watch again are here: BBC: Primary school start age for summer born children challenged
Pre-school Learning Alliance adds its support to our campaign
Neil Leitch, Chief Executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, has formally added his organisation’s name to the Supporters of our Flexible School Admissions for Summer Born Children campaign. He has given us permission to quote the comments below, which he made during a BBC Radio … Continue reading
Report Authors’ Response to the DfE’s press statement
Report Authors’ Response to the DfE: 1. “We have changed the School Admissions Code so that it is more flexible for parents of summer-born children, making it easier for them to defer their child’s entry.” This comment is not relevant to the issue … Continue reading
New SUMMER BORN REPORT published
Following months of research, Michelle Melson and Pauline Hull have today published the 87 page report titled: Compulsory School Age in England has been Lowered to 4 through an Unfair and Unlawful Summer Born Admissions Process. The report claims 2012 School Admissions Code … Continue reading
Sir Ken Robinson today on BBC Radio 4
On Desert Island Discs this morning, Kirsty Young’s castaway was the educationalist Sir Ken Robinson. A must listen if you have the time! Also see Sir Ken’s own reflection on his interview here.
Day of Action in Parliament
Wednesday 30th October sees a Day of Action as the Too Much Too Soon campaign lobbies Parliament, Read more here: Too Much Too Soon Day of Action
Summer born VOTE on daynurseries news article
An online vote question this week asks, Should the Government change legislation so parents make the decision whether their summer-born children start school later? The question follows an article by news editor Ellie Neville, on the daynurseries website: ‘We don’t want … Continue reading
Starting age of formal education debated this week
Take a look at the ‘In the News‘ page for links to articles this week on The Telegraph and BBC News websites. I will post more on this week’s events in due course, but a few things to note in … Continue reading
Summer born irony in China
This week, the article ‘Schooling policy brings about a C-section rush‘ describes how August has become a highly sought after month for children to be born in China – so that they won’t have to wait an extra year before starting school. … Continue reading
BBC One’s ‘Inside Out South East’ reports tonight
“Coming soon” on BBC iPlayer in case you missed it tonight is a film by Chrissy Sturt on BBC One’s Inside Out South East. Chrissy reports on “the parents fighting to change how summer-born children are matriculated into school”. Shortly after the programme aired, … Continue reading
Flexibility Exists in Law – Please Let Parents Use it
This month, an article in the TES asked, ‘How can we help summer born children to keep up?’, and some of the issues it raised have prompted me to again clarify many of the myths surrounding parental calls for greater … Continue reading
Assessment and testing in early childhood? No thanks!
This is a guest post by campaigner Dr. Richard House; he lectures in Early Childhood at the University of Winchester and is a founder member of Open EYE, Early Childhood Action and the Save Childhood Movement. Dr. House is an avid supporter of our summer … Continue reading
Is there a magic ‘age’ for kids to begin playing sports?
In the context of expert opinion that many children are experiencing “too much too soon”, I thought that this article might be of interest to readers of this blog: Is there a magic ‘age’ for kids to begin playing sports? … Continue reading
New government proposal: Formal Testing at age 4
There are many individual reasons why some parents want to wait until their child reaches compulsory school age (i.e. the term following their 5th birthday) before starting school, but news of the latest government proposal — formal testing for all children within weeks … Continue reading
Thought for the Day – an absolute must read
Reverend Lucy Winkett, Rector of St James’s Piccadilly, presented today’s Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4, and I was really touched by it: New tests have been announced this week for 11 year olds and a new national league … Continue reading
What can five-year-olds be expected to learn?
This week, Hannah Richardson, a BBC News Education Reporter, asked the question: What can five-year-olds be expected to learn? Of course, as we know, the vast majority of children are only four years old when they start school, and many summer … Continue reading
Parent fights for full-time flexibility of age 4 school start
The article below appears in The Observer today, in which journalist Paul Gallagher explains how a parent who WANTS her child to begin school in Reception class age 4 (so the very opposite of parents in our summer born facebook … Continue reading
Under-Fives need More Time to Play
Emily Dugan’s article in The Independent this week is worth reading: Under-fives need more time to play, say carers as they warn of ‘schoolification’ of children’s early years (July 9, 2013)
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