Also see: 2014 SUMMER BORN REPORT / Press Release
The Summer Born Campaign was founded by parents and professionals who believe that a summer born child should be allowed to enter primary school in Reception class, at compulsory school age, and have a full, uninterrupted education thereafter.
Compulsory school age is the beginning of the term following a child’s fifth birthday.(1) Reception class is an entry class to primary schools providing education suitable for children aged five and any children who are under or over five years old whom it is expedient to educate with pupils of that age”(2) The law says it is the duty of parents of every child of compulsory school age to “cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable to his age, ability and aptitude.” (3) The law says there should be”regard to the general principle that pupils are to be educated in accordance with the wishes of their parents, so far as that is compatible with the provision of efficient instruction and training and the avoidance of unreasonable public expenditure.” (4) EU legislation states that in all actions relating to children, “the child’s best interests must be a primary consideration.” (5)
Yet parents of 4-year-old children who have not reached emotional, social or academic maturity and readiness for school are being forced to enrol their child a whole year earlier or have their child’s education entitlement reduced by one year with obligatory entrance into Year 1.
This is NOT in the best interests of the child and the current ‘system’ needs to change.
(1) Section 8 of Education Act 1996
(2) School Admissions Code 2012 (citing Section 142 of the School Standards and Framework Act (SSFA) 1998)
(3) Section 7 of Education Act 1996
(4) Section 9 of Education Act 1996
(5) European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights (Article 24, Clause 2)
The situation across England is very mixed, and in some areas, parents bounce back and forth between schools and local education authorities trying to establish what the child’s rights actually are. Evidently, the government needs to provide greater clarity, but in the meantime we hope that this site will provide examples of where the system is working well, and how other schools and LEAs can help ensure that admissions decisions are based on the best interests of an individual child, and not based on perceived administrative issues.
A large body of research and evidence supports the choice of delaying a child’s start into school, and while we completely respect the decision of other parents to enrol their child in school aged 4, when they feel they are ‘ready’, we believe that flexibility is needed to allow those who are not ready to wait a further year.
Fundamentally, we believe summer born children should be allowed the lawful opportunity to thrive, and not merely cope, at school.
summerbornchildren 
My child is currently 5 yrs old he missed reception as I wasn’t able to get him a place at the school with his sibling. I have been told he must start year 1. Even though its a different school to his sister and I can’t get him to the school that been given. He is not ready for year 1 and will be behind his peers. The school admissions are very unhelpful and he is currently on a waiting list missing out on important education
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Really good campaign. At present both choices are really bad for most summer born children – starting Reception at 4, or starting at 5 in year 1.
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Can anyone put me in touch with a family in Kent who has successfully delayed their child’s entry to reception until age 5? Many thanks. Kelly
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Hi Kelly, there is a Facebook group you can try called Flexible admission for summer borns. There are a lot of parents who share their experiences and help each other. I hope it helps, good luck! x
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Please can I have it too please I am going through same problem and I keep getting no for answers n my son need to start this year n I have only 1 week to getting my application in they won’t allow it otherwise please help
Chamila
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I’ve been looking at this again for my grandson, who was born prematurely in August, following my own experiences as a July birthday, and those of my two younger children born in May. I missed a year, but coped, both my children started at 4. My daughter was more than ready and has thrived, my son was absolutely not ready and at 17 is still trying to overcome the legacy of being forced into full time education too early. I just do not understand why it is so difficult to accommodate the individual needs of our children, why does it have to be such a problem? I’m so glad to see this campaign, and hope my grandson will be able to delay starting school if that is best for him.
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The problem you rightly address is not confined to the summer born children (born in the quartile June, July and August. The most advantaged in education are the Autumn quartile (born in September,October and November) and after them each quartile is progressively more disadvantaged. National assessment tests (phonic knowledge, SATs etc) do not include an allowance of marks for the younger children in each school year. Research indicates that streaming and setting segregates younger children disproportionately in the less able streams and sets and examination results show that the relative disadvantage persists right up to A level and even to the class of degree achieved in early adulthood.
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Test results should show the raw score and the standersized score …ask the teacher for both results
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As a June born boy who was also very tall for my age I felt double disadvantaged… Starting early was hard enough, but by looking at me everyone thought that I was older than I was, expected more and subsequently were disappointed when I didn’t perform as a year older than I was, I don’t think I really got over this till I went to uni. Great campaign
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Of course families should exercise flexibility about the age at which their child moves from nursery education to the sadly more formal environment of key stage1. And there should never be any nonsense of “is he or she ready for school?” Good teachers, in partnership with you, will assess the child’s needs and teach accordingly. It is the weak teacher who stereotypes children according to chronological age or the school year. There is more hope now for child centred teaching and learning as government moves from its absurd “expected” level for all children in a school year to an “expected” measure of individual progress which at least acknowledges that there are major differences in educational potential among children even before they enter school. But we have much work still to do because government will be all too slow to relinquish the misguided conviction that “progress” can be measured and recorded in data taken from the results of short bursts of testing. Education is about PEOPLE not test results, these are only part of a person and often not the most important part.
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It’s simple as this, in barnsley where my kids go to school they split the school years up and adjust the curriculum to compensate
E.g there is a year 1 class for the youngest kids of that age
There is a year 1/2 for the oldest year 1 kids and the youngest year 2 kids
There is a year 2 for the oldest kids of that age
The pattern continues until year 5 when they all come together again.
It works and the kids benefit, by the end of primary all kids have the same level and understanding of education
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Late July Daughter was accused of being autistic (attention deficit etc) in reception year. We totally
ignored the professionals and allowed her to develop at her own pace. Yes, handwriting isn’t the best, but socially and academically she is as smart as the oldest one in class. You know your child
best, so don’t be intimidated by forums and news reports!
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I am a summer baby (August 21st) and i wass kept in Nursery until the Easter before my 5th birthday when i went to reception. It did not affect me one bit, i ultimatley ended up top of my class in state school and ended up getting into a selective private school and had no problems (except for english but that was due to dyslexia which was not a result of being held back) I am and have always been young for my year, and am currently doing a masters degree without taking a gap year before university. I belive it should be the parents choice as to if they keep their child back or not, not the governments.
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As someone with a birthday in late August that struggled at school I think this is an important and largely ignored issue. I left school in 1985 age 15 with 2 O levels and a few CSE’s. Over the next 10 years or so I increasingly felt I had underachieved at school and eventually went to University as a mature student gaining a First. I am convinced things would have worked out very differently for me if I had been born 9 days later. Good luck with your campaign.
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Sorry to sound dumb, but could someone just clarify my position, as this is an issue that worries me greatly for my son. My son will be 4 years old on 25th July 2016, my understanding is that he will therefore ‘have to’ start school in the September of the same year – will this be Reception or Year 1??
As I have said above, this issue really worries me. My son is 3 in July this year and his speech has only just started to develop, holding a conversation is a non-starter at the moment. In addition he is very small and dainty – with these two points in mind, him starting school next September seems ridiculous and terrifies me. In people’s experience, would these be arguments that could be considered for a delayed start?
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Hello Michael. In the normal round of admissions you will be sent a letter inviting you to apply for a reception place for your son for the September following his fourth birthday. Reception is the first year of school, year one is the second! Confusing, I know. Compulsory school age is e term following a child’s fifth birthday so you have a variety of options. Apply for a place for reception at four and you can send your son full time in September, or part time until year one, where your son would reach compulsory school age. Or you can defer his start, you keep his place but you let the school know that he won’t be starting until either January or Easter in reception. Or you can delay his start of school for a year and not have him start at all until the Septebmer after his fifth birthday, you will automatically be offered a place for year one. This would mean your son would miss a year of school, however you can apply for him to start at five in reception. When your son starts and wherever he is part time up to compulsory school age are your choice, no one can make you send your child to school until the September after his fifth birthday. However the admission authority has the final say on which year he will enter if you delay the start until five. They have to take your views into account and any evidence you submit. Unfortunately, some admission authorities are more flexible than others. It was straight forward for us and our July born son will start reception this September aged 5. Please see the facebook page for this group for more information and support ‘flexible school admissions for summer borns’.
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Hello Holly
Thank you so much for your reply,it is very helpful.
Like yourself, we would like our July born son to start reception aged 5 (which means starting September 2017 for us). Without wishing to pry on your personal circumstances, any help, tips, copies of application letters would be hugely appreciated!
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East sussex county council will not defer summer borns without evidence ie sen – then, if parent successful, they will push for a srart in yr 1. My son has adhd and wont sit still- ever. cant communicate because of speech delay (apparently). He has ‘gone’ already today- and the expect him to start in sep this yr!!! Joke!! They call his year at pre sch-rising 5’s – he hasn’t turned 4 yet!! I am summer born and i know how badly the system failed me. Disgrace…seems we are still living in the dark ages..
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Hi Holly,
Im terrified because I have the same problem with Michael regarding my summer born son and starting his reception this September 2016 and he is also a premature baby and not reached his emotional, social or academic maturity and delayed his speech.
Can you email me the facebook page group
as I am struggling to find it.
Thank you for your time.
Kind regards,
Arme
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Hello Michael,
As the parent of a summer born boy who started reception at 4years 2 months I can only offer my experience. My son was not ready for school at this time but we were advised that he should start at the same time as his peers. The first 5 years were a struggle, he was behind his peers, to the point that the teacher said he had dyslexia. However through additional reading,spelling and writing work at home with us, my son finished 1st in class by the end of primary school. I hope this helps.
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Hi, my little girl is in the same position at the moment and my school wouldn’t let her delay a year as they said she would have to join year 1 and miss out on reception. So we call in sick every week telling them that she is too tired. It’s our way of reducing the impact of school on her. When my little boy (who is a few days older than your boy) I will ask to delay the start until January. My girl cried every day after school, became incontinent and not herself. School couldn’t understand the problem as she’s fine in school. But it was ruining her character. I find that calling in sick regularly solves most problems as we have the control over it.
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Hello Holly
Thank you so much for your reply,it is very helpful.
Like yourself, we would like our July born son to start reception aged 5 (which means starting September 2017 for us). Without wishing to pry on your personal circumstances, any help, tips, copies of application letters would be hugely appreciated!
Thanks
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The way I went about it was to first look around schools and ask the head teachers if they would support our application for a reception place at five. The head teacher’s view will be taken into account when a decision is made so it is pretty important to find a supportive one. Which country are you in? Some local education authorities are more flexible than others. We wrote a letter to our LEA stating our reasons as to why we wanted our son to have a reception place rather than a year one place, we waited until our son was already four to apply for a delay, some people find that you are more likely to get a ‘yes’ if you wait until after your child was ‘supposed’ to start reception. Please have a look at the facebook page as there are literally thousands of people on there! It is good to find people in your area who have already been through the process. There is also a files section on the Facebook page with lots of research and example applications etc. Good luck.
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I have 10 year old twin boys whose birthday is 29th July they were born 10 weeks early so should of been October babies althrough their time at primary school they have been “below average”
I wish I had had the chance to let them start at age 5 and have that extra year at school! Their first year at school was horrendous and their teacher told me that it had been a waste of a year for the boys!
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Hi Jo, your post just comfirm our position towards the subject. My twin boys were born 11 wks early in Aug. We’ve been in discussion with Herts and Essex council for nearly 2 years and yesterday we were told they must start nursery now, March, or risk not being given a place at year one in Sept. We feel, like you, that it’d a a waste of time. Hope your boys get over the stressful year…
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I totally endorse your campaign both as a parent of a summer born child and also as a educational professional. Whilst 70% of autumn born children meet the target set for writing at the end of the EYFS, only 50% of summer born children do ( through no fault of their own). I find that many reception teachers, nurseries, pre-schools and nurseries are not aware of the current DFE guidance so we do have a way to go. Penny Tassoni, author, trainer and education consultant.
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Okay so surely the problem is with the target setting, not with the fact that summer-born children go to school in September? I have a daughter who was a summer baby. She was totally ready for reception and did fine, but was not quite ready for Year 1 which they forced her to go into after the Easter break. It is what they do with the children at school, not so much going to school that is the problem; they could just let them play for a year! I think too there is a confusion between correlation and cause here. A great deal happens between 5 and 16, so it seems overly simplistic to directly blame poor GCSE results on going to school at 4 instead of 5.
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One of the problems in holding your child back a year is the issue of representing your school/local area at sport. At the moment children who are held back a year cannot play for their school or local team at that lower age group.
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My son is now 16, he was born 6 weeks early in mid July, meaning that he was among the youngest of his school year. He struggled through school particularly the very early years when we were pressurized by school to have him diagnosed with autism – the pediatricians view ” he may or he may not be” i.e. he was on the cusp. I often wonder how different it would have been for both him and us if we held him back a year………an opportunity missed – regretfully. To everyone out there, support this campaign, fight for the choice to hold your summer born child back
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This campaign is such a fantastic step in the right direction. Not only do these children lose out on less education in schools (being forced straight into year 1) but they have already lost out on more funded time in nursery. Children get their 15 hours funded placement the term after their third birthdays. So there are children who started nursery in January ready for a 2016 September school start however my twin boys (who were born 10 weeks early, birthday July) don’t get their 15 hours until September 2015 and will be forced to start reception in September 2016. If I defer a year they will miss out further. How is this system right or fair?
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I have found this website so helpful, but am still trying to work out how to apply the information. I am not even sure whether to apply to have my child educated out of her normal age group, as I would hate for her to be forced to join her correct age group when she changes to her junior or secondary school. Is anyone able to advise how likely this is? She has no problems, so it is quite possible she could be assessed as being suited to her own year group later. Does anyone have knowledge of how Surrey and or Richmond tend to treat these concerns?
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Hi Elizabeth, I am in Richmond and would like to get in touch.
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Hi Anna, That is very interesting. Thank you for being in touch. Do you Skype?
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We have managed to hold our august born child back. 🙂 He will join reception aged 5 years and a few days. It can be done. Any questions please ask
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Hi Emma, first things first, a huge congratulations – I can imagine you must be very pleased 🙂
Our son was born at the end of July so we are very keen to start him in Reception Class a year later – any hints, tips, advice, example letters etc that you could provide would be hugely appreciated.
Could I ask which LEA you come under?
Mike
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Hi. I got supporting letters from gp, pre school & local mp. I also wrote a letter explaining why we want him to start a year later & how starting in year 1 would be even worse. I think a lot of people have been accepted this year so good luck 🙂
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My summer born child (August 25 2010) started school last September. He had been attending half days so far. My husband and I corresponded with Norfolk LA on the issue of holding our son back a year, as we felt he was not emotionally or otherwise ready for school. Although the council told us that we would have a decision regarding our son very soon in June 2014, when we did finally receive a letter from them (after repeated reminders that they needed to give us an answers) their answer was that they would give us their decision in April 2015!! What a joke. We felt like we were being forced to either keep our son at home and wait for this decision, or send him to school. We chose to send him, as we felt it would be awful for our son to potentially miss out on practically the whole of his reception year. Now he is at school, I wish I could turn back time. He always complains that he doesn’t like school, and has no friends, and that people always run away from him, and pick on him, and yet he has no trouble finding friendships with those who are slightly younger (who would be in his age cohort had he been allowed to delay entry). Also his teachers have told us that he will not reach the literacy targets for reception year according to the new curriculum. Although they reassured us that we should not worry and that many children do not reach these targets, I feel as though I need to go back to the LA and ask them whether our son can repeat reception year on the basis of this information about his literacy levels, as it confirms everything I have worried about from the start, and surely this lag in his literacy will have a cumulative effect as his education goes on, causing him to always play catch-up with his peers?! Does anyone have any opinions or advice on this matter of re-engaging the LA to discuss a repeat of his year??
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I would urge you all to fight this all the way. My Summer born (end July) Daughter started school in September 2010, it was honestly the worst year of my life. Emotionally she was not ready for school, i had meeting after trauma after meeting after trauma with the school, who frankly said, she had to be at school and if i deferred her for a year she would have to go into year 1 or lose the place. I was between a rock and a hard place. We managed to keep her part time until Easter 2011. I so wish we could of taken this further and regrettably i should of done, my Daughter was so unhappy & tired. Even now I am struggling to shake off the ‘over protective/reactive parent’ reputation which caused disruption to the school as everyone else’s children were fine..
My Daughter still struggles with some subjects at school, i.e Maths which i help her with at home, and she does get more tired that her peers who are nearly one year older than her. I wonder if this deferring will extend to her starting Secondary school a year later which would be interesting..?
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Total rubbish.My birthday is late July,thus I was always the youngest in the class.Made no difference I was always top of the class.
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Well done Peter! But every child is different and lets not leave the fate of future generations down to the fact that you were fortunate… Not exactly a scientifically proven experiment
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The emotional and social development of a child should come first as opposed to the restrictiveness of formal education.
We agree that summer born children should be allowed to start later to compensate for the disadvantage that occurs when having to start a year earlier than some of their class mates.
Early years education is extremely important but should be primarily done to suit the needs of the child and not for the child to have to conform to statute.
An emotionally adjusted child will be more receptive to educational institutions and the framework of schooling when their emotional and social grounding has been attended first.
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All children enter into reception at 4. I do not believe that a few months difference in age will affect education – especially at such a low education level. As an August baby myself – I didn’t struggle whatsoever and I believe that such a small gap in age difference in peers will make a small difference. If the child experienced issues academically, there would be help offered and if needed they would be kept back a year. In all of my past education I have never had an issue academically, nor have I seen anyone experience an issue with such a small age gap. I am aware that there may be some individuals that struggle socially due to their young age, but academically, no.
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Every child is unique and should be judged on a case by case basis. You clearly have not researched this issue very well otherwise you wouldn’t be making such bold statements. It’s a massive developmental stage at this age and the changes in an entire year are huge! It’s not just a case of a few months… My daughters born on the 26th Aug and some children in her class have already turned five
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My daughter is a summer born child and she has been accepted to start school this September at our first choice school, however we would much rather she started in January or Easter next year, so she could just do a couple of terms in reception class before starting Year 1 next September. I can’t seem to find out any information about who to contact to make this request – is there a standard form to fill in or do you have to write a letter to the Local Authority or the school itself? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
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Just talk to the school, but don’t be pressured into changing your mind! If that’s what you think is best you stick to it
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Well done to everyone fighting this cause. I wanted my 1st daughter to start reception at age 5, and was told if I delayed her starting she would go straight to year 1. She started in the January and was not ready, the following September I changed schools & managed to get her put back a year. She is now 37. To get my second daughter, who is 15 years younger, into my school of choice, I had to accept her entering reception at 4 years old. I made it clear I was against the age difference and they had to accept her not being ready, & my refusal to push her to reach targets, that were not adjusted for age. Especially SAT’s, which were suppose to be an assessment on how well the school was doing, not tests assessing the child. She is now 22, and done very well at University. I informed parents, who didn’t seem to be aware that there was such a big age difference in a class, that they should consider this if their child had problems. I also spoke to teachers, headteachers, psychologists who all agreed it did matter, but nobody did anything. I took the issue to my local MP, Frank Dobson, who got Harriet Harman to look into it. She sent me evidence from psychologists who had been researching it for years, that it did have an emotional effect on Summer born children & could be detrimental. I took this to my MP asking him why this system has never changed, when they have had the evidence for years, he said, it’s legislation! I told him to legislate it then. Obviously they did nothing. I have continued to inform anyone I can.
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Could anyone clarify whether one has a RIGHT to defer one’s child starting school to the second or third term in reception – and whether that can really be relied on in practice. The same for going part time? I asked DfE but they were unclear. The Head at the school we have been liasing with is not keen on either educating out of chronological age or deferring or part time and I want to know whether we can insist on any of these. Thank you.
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Yes, definitely you have a right to chose phased introduction, part time or deferred education of your child. You do not have to legally send your four year old o full time school until the term after their fifth birthday. The only thing is, they may not be guaranteed a place at your chosen school come year one. Some local authorities expect another application after reception, but generally if your child has been allocated a school place then you meet the criteria and as long as long as your circumstances do not change then there shouldn’t be a problem. Talk to the head and reception teacher about your concerns but don’t be pressured into doing anything that you don’t feel comfortable with. It’s your child after all and you take their best interests into account, not the schools!
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What a fantastic campaign. The discrimination of summer-born children and consequent disadvantages they face needs to be end. It should be the parents choice whether they begin a year early at 4 or at 5 which is the age they should be starting school.
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This is a problem which is not confined to the summer born. Relative disadvantage increases with every month the child is younger than than the September born. The only answer is flexibility of teaching so that the individual needs of each child are met regardless of the month of birth.
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I started school at 5 and a half (born end of June) in South Africa which was considered young over there. Even at that age I was immature and the school wanted me to stay back a year. So heaven help younger children in the UK.
What is the rush to get a child to school? I had a great time running around and messing around before it was sadly ended by being dragged off to school. I think as long as a child starts some formal education by six then that’s enough. I did catch up by the time I moved to the UK in my teens despite fewer years at school and have seen no handicap in my education or profession from starting later.
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My eldest son is a July baby and I get what the law says but please common sense people he is not behind he has a great group of friends it’s ridiculous! Top sets in everything. How many parents are more than happy to send their children to nursery which is not the law but it’s so you can go to work.
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There is a massive difference between a nurturing environment of a nursery and an education classroom setting with rules and behaviour consequences if those rules are not followed correctly! There should be the flexibility for a parents discretion as every child is unique and parents should not be dictated to by the state! Parentswantasay
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Parents want a say
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Check out parentswantasay Facebook page and online support group
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I would like to receive more information about this please.
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Can anyone please help?
My son started reception in September this year and turns 5 in April. He was a very happy outgoing boy at nursery but since starting reception he has completely withdrawn and is very unhappy at school. I did worry before that perhaps he wasn’t ready for school but I had absolutely no idea he didn’t actually HAVE to start until after his fifth birthday. His school have told me if I now wish to defer his start to next year then he will have to go into year 1. They have said that he can start reception in Easter but I do not want this for him. I would like for him to start reception September 2016.
If I defer the year will my son still have a place for reception next year at his current school or will we lose our place and we have to go through the whole applications process again?
Thank you.
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Hi, we’re taking the first steps towards deferring our son’s place to 2017. Northants County Council require require a letter of support from the Head of your preferred school, PLUS supporting documentation from “relevant professional/s”. I’ve asked our son’s preschool to support us and the manager has refused on the basis that it is “too soon to tell if he will have a problem next Sept”. I agree it is too soon, but we are constrained by a system that requires us to make a judgement by the 1st Dec. The problem we have is that our son has no SEN, he’s not small for his age, not shy, he’s pretty bright…. People just cannot understand why we would want to defer him. I am considering asking an educational psychologist to write a letter of support, since we do not have any other “professional” to contact. Has anyone tried this? Does it sound like a good idea do you think? Our son is simply a Summer-born boy with a degree of separation anxiety, and an iron will. We are concerned about a) his emotional well-being, having to go to full time school when he currently cries every single day about not wanting to go to preschool and b) him being labelled as naughty because he’s a 4 year old boy who doesn’t want to sit still or do as he’s told. We really feel he’d be much better starting when he’s just turned 5 and its infuriating that we have to get professional “approval” of this. Any thoughts?
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We didn’t go through the LA initially, as I was told ‘we don’t do that in Worcestershire!’ We also bypassed his preschool setting as they are nervous getting involved in school politics! Instead I visited a number of schools and sounded out heads. Once I had the right school with the right head I then applied, with a supported deferment request, which the LA were very responsive to. We did eventually get a statement, but there was no diagnosis and statement in place at the time of decision. LAs are currently under massive pressure due to EHCP problems and failing to meet the shorter deadlines- so a supported request is likely to meet much less opposition. There is the rumour that this will get passed by the end of December, but worth getting the support onboard in advance. Heads are much more likely to listen- and one who dismisses you out of hand tells you everything you need to know about the type of school they run! I went to the meeting with the Head armed with stats and information about our son- it’s a lot more difficult to say no when they are turning down a real person.
It was a battle, but worth every minute. We were lucky- hopefully this won’t be such a lottery for much longer.
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Hi Sarah,
We live in Wigan and they have just given us permission to delay our daughters start in reception from 2016 to 2017. Didn’t need any supporting statements / letters from head teachers etc just a letter from myself stating my case for daughters deferal. If you like, I could send you the letter I sent to school admissions? What’s your email. It sounds like Northants county council are being difficult for the sake of administrative neatness. Out of order imho….
Good luck in any case,
Lisa
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Hi Lisa would you be kind enough to send me a copy of your letter please.
Kind regards Karen
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Does anyone know what the latest is with the proposed law allowing parents of April-August born babies to be held back a year. Our son is 4 on the 31st August so cannot be any younger if he starts school in September 2016…
I am not sure where I can get the latest so have resorted to mailing Nick Gibb who is the MP that proposed the law change.
My local council in Kingston Upon Thames are taking each case and judging it based on experts/feedback/assessments
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Hi Lisa, would you mind sending me a copy of your letter please, I don’t know where to start? I would really appreciate the advise. I was advised by my local authority to secure a place at a school first & then to apply to the school to defer, is this the correct information? Thank you for your support. Caroline.
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Of course Caroline, what’s your email address?
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Hi Lisa, sorry to butt in! I wondered if you could also send me a cope of your letter!? We too are hoping to defer our child’s reception until next year as she isn’t 4 until 29th Aug. But she has no learning problems ect – we just feel she will not be ready emotionally. We are hoping our council ( isle if wight) is not one of these who want professional evidence ect.. 😕
Kate Morgan x
katescourtyard@yahoo.co.uk
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Please could I have a copy too? wiki.daniels@gmail.com
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Our daughter born 31st August 2012 too K. I just applied to Wigan school admissions, no corresponding letters from preschool/ doctor etc. She has been granted deferred entry and will now start school in Sept 2017. The LEA have to do what’s in the best interests of the child so In my letter, I spoke about how I felt she wouldn’t be emotionally or socially ready for school and gave a few examples (still has accidents/ gets upset sometimes when I drop her off in the morning etc.) I also stated how she would be disadvantaged academically (some of the September children in her nursery are reading -stage 3 phonics – and writing well too.) I also mentioned that Helena is teeney for her age. Oh, and that I had every faith in the staff at the preschool where she is attending to effectively deliver the EYFS curriculum….and that she would be better served with a staff ratio of 1:8 as opposed to 1:30 or 1:15 if the TA is available in reception…and spoke about preschool being a more nurturing environment…
Anyway, I don’t mind sending you a copy of the letter as well if you send me your email.
Best of luck!
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devinecaroline@hotmail.com
Thank you very much, I really appreciate your help! X
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No worries at all. I will forward it over today 🙂 x
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Hi, my Sons birthday is August 26th 2011, he started school in September 2015. He is not coping very well at all, is regularly on time out for doing things that almost all his peers did at preschool, has nightmares every night about being left in the playground, can barely grasp the most basic phonics, and has regressed with toilet training. He cries almost every day before entering school, the whole experience is extremely distressing for all of us, especially him. I was wondering if there was any progressing with Minister Nick Gibbs proposals in making the start age for reception age 5? And, if so, where do I from here, as a parent who has already thrown her poor 4 year old into the lions den?
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Sinead, You should see the head of the school at the earliest convenient moment. It would seem that a teacher under pressure to teach phonics as early as possible is not teaching your son at all well.
The boy should be learning through play which of course should include the enjoyment of books and reading shared with other children and the teacher. A four year old confronted by phonics is the worst possible start to development as a reader.
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Such a fantastic campaign. Well done all.
I have an end of August boy & will be making the decision this time next year depending on how I feel he’ll cope emotionally at just 4. It breaks my heart that parents cannot be in control of such a huge decision that could impact their child for the rest of their lives. The head teachers comments in the latest post were real about a stranger in a county hall decides. This is just awful. I wish all the parents luck and every child deserves to start reception when they are ready. Thank you all for your stories to help me. X
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Totally support this campaign. We are parents of two summer born children who have both struggled at both primary and secondary levels. We appreciate that some summer borns are fine…but some are not. All of the research shows that summer borns can be disadvantaged. We just want a level playing field and some flexibility. Is that too much to ask?
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Having a real stressful time at the moment my daughter was 4 in May and is not ready for reception, the school told I cannot defer as she would have to go into year 1 next year and miss reception, which I don’t want her to do, don’t know what to do for the best
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