PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO READ PARENTS’ COMMENTS.
Please write to us with your experiences (example questions only below):
Have you been able to delay your child’s entry into reception class?
Are you facing/ did you face opposition from your local school and/or local education authority?
Why do you want your child to wait an extra year before starting school?
What has been the reaction from other parents or family members?
Have you been denied the opportunity to delay your child’s entry into reception but decided to defer their starting date until late in the reception year?
If you have an older child whose entrance into reception was delayed, are you happy with this decision or do you have any regrets?
If possible, please tell us the area you live in, as we’d really like to build up a picture of what is happening around the country. If you’ve had a positive experience with a very supportive school, please provide the name of that school, as we think it’s important to highlight good practice and to demonstrate that WHERE THERE’S A WILL THERE’S A WAY.
summerbornchildren 
Does anyone have any experience of the opposite – asking for their child to be put forward a year?
I have a son born 29 Aug, who has flourished in reception and year 1, but my daughter, born beginning Sep, will be the oldest in her class, going to school a year later and I would rather her go earlier!
I know the discussion is about summer born babies being deferred, but it therefore makes sense that early Sep babies could go up? Anyone heard of this happening? I am applying for her to get a Jan 18 preschool place, as I feel to hold her back until Sep is not fair! Are there any local authorities that you have heard of that are flexible in both directions?
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I was a year early and do not recommend it at all! I think it was a terrible decision,because there is no way a child can be put in a situation where his/her peers are1 year older in emotional and psychological development, and come out of it with more benefit than being in amongst real peers.
Only my opinion, but through experience.
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I am in the same situation! My 7th September born son is more than ready for school, given his mental and emotional capabilities. I have worked for years as a scientist tracking nerve development and some children have a much higher IQ and EQ levels compared to the majority of their age group. I am baffled at why councils will not even entertain an interview to these children or at least allow entry in January term to reception. I feel this is denying them their rights to education and holding back the most important factor – denying them environmental stimulus to facilitate learning and growth!
Can like-minded parents or teacher please suggest how to apply for a January 2019 entry?
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I live with a 40 year old who has suffered due to being moved up in the independent sector. The social and emotional difference was ignored due to academic ability. Resulted in ok GCSE and just passed A Level and a 2:2 at uni. Should have been capable of so much more. If school are suggesting move would query the quality of their more able offer.
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Hi all,
My son is turning 3 on the 28th Aug so is to start school next year. I really do not want this, but I also do not want to hold him back and for them to just put him in to year 1 the following year!!!! I have also been told that if I do manage to hold him back to start reception in 2019 he will then (before year 6) be moved up!!! Is this true?
Trying for advice as to were to start…. thank you
Becky
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My son has the same birthday as yours. He did have delayed speech as well so I sent a paragraph explaining to Brighton and Hove Council explaining why I thought he should be allowed to join reception just after he turned 5 along with a speech and language report from the previous year even though he had been signed off. No problems at all – the council agreed it and he’s due to start this year on Sept 11th in reception which is 2 weeks after he turns 5. He is so much more ready for school this year than he would have been last year. Good luck!
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Hi, my son sounds very similar to yours – end of August birthday and speech delay. Can you remember what you said in your paragraph? Or how detailed the SLT report was? I am hoping to get a letter from the speech and language therapist but wasn’t sure what to ask her to put. Thanks 🙂
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Hi Ruth
My son sounds the same he is waiting to be seen by a speech therapist I would like to hold him back a year could you give me any advice on what to day to the admissions team please on my reasons why.
Many thanks
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Hi Tanya / so it was a few years ago for me as my son is now in year 4. Call the admissions team and check the protocol but I had to apply as usual and get a place for the ‘correct’ year and then instead of accepting it, send through the request to defer with supporting evidence to the admissions team which was then quickly agreed along with a letter confirming his place at the school would simply be rolled over to the following year. Good luck and feel free to contact me again if you have any other questions. Ruth.
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Hello,
How does that affect him going to high school though?
I have been told my son will have to go to High school in year 5!
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Have you been able to delay your child’s entry into reception class? NO
Are you facing/ did you face opposition from your local school and/or local education authority? YES
Why do you want your child to wait an extra year before starting school? THEY WERE BORN ON THE 31ST AUGUST AND THEY ARE BEHIND IN THEIR EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL SCORING FROM NUSERY
What has been the reaction from other parents or family members? SURPRISED THERE IS NO FLEXIBILITY
Have you been denied the opportunity to delay your child’s entry into reception but decided to defer their starting date until late in the reception year? NO
If you have an older child whose entrance into reception was delayed, are you happy with this decision or do you have any regrets? NA
If possible, please tell us the area you live in, as we’d really like to build up a picture of what is happening around the country. WOLVERHAMPTON – I HAVE RAISED AN FOI ASKING HOW MANY REQUESTS HAVE BEEN APPROVED OVER THE LAST 3 YEARS AND ALSO FOR ATTAINMENT SCORES FOR SUMMER BORN VS NON SUMMER BORN CHILDREN.
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My daughter, a June baby attended the local school’s nursery (3 mornings a week) and had made friends. When it came to moving her to reception I didnt want to defer her and break up her friendship group but I didn’t feel she was emotionally ready to do 5 full days. I requested that she go part time but was flatly refused. I was also shocked to discover the school didn’t offer any kind of staggered start for reception children. I felt trapped and got together a petition asking that they offer a staggered start for those parents that want it for their child. A good number of parents signed and although the head called us in for a meeting she again refused to change her policy which I believe was largely due to her attendance figures. I really feel that this school is not putting the needs of it’s children first and feel very disappointed. We live in Northumberland.
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we have a daughter who is going to be 4 on the 25th August and have decides to defer her entry into reception till sept 2018. We have agreement from the local council admission team but have to go through the applying process again, so no guarantee we will get her in.
A question I have is if she does get in – is she safe? Can she be moved down a year later on if we were to move schools or is it that once she is in reception and started school, that’s it? any help would put my mind at rest 🙂
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When I asked my local council about this (Brighton and Hove) they said my son would stay in the year he entered school and wouldn’t be asked to move years by an LEA school although to be aware that some academies may have their on rules. As far as I’m concerned, I am expecting my son (he turns
5 on 28th Aug and has deferred reception until this Sept) will stay in the year group he enters all the way through. If a school tried to move him I would be very surprised and would fight it as can’t see any reason in the current education system (I’m a secondary teacher) to justify making a child miss a year. Have confidence in your choice and your ability to know /fight for what is right for your child’s
All the best!
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I would like my summer born child to go part time as I feel the school day is too long but our chosen school have said no. Is there anything I can do? Would the council support the schools decision?
Thanks
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lots of comment, articles and features around ‘holding back’ but very little I’ve found about helping Children already in school and possibly struggling and disadvantaged. Whats the solution for these children?
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I have a son born in Aug 2008 already in the system he is now struggling to keep up with his peers and in lower groups in all subject I am trying/ fighting the system to make him repeat a year. Yes what about these children who are already in the system struggling? . I feel it’s fighting the personalities who just do not understand emotional and mental development needs.
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I’ve dropped mine back a year officially! I can not tell you the happiness it has bought my daughter, she now has lots of friends and is so happy. Even the school respect what a amazing choice it was. I’m don’t have the stress of deeply depressed and unhappy child who was struggling. She was a year behind though. She did year 2 twice, so still nice and young.
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Hi, my son is 8. His due date was 13th November 2010 but he was born 3 months premature at 28 weeks. His previous school suggested putting him back to repeat nursery but also told us that he could be required to join senior school when leaving year 5. We felt that would be more detrimental to him in the future. His consultant said that most premature babies catch up by the age of 8 so we decided not to move him back then and to wait and see how he develops. His peers are now maturing very quickly and he is beginning to struggle at school and we are trying to put him a year back. He is at XXX School in Aldridge and the school has been fantastic and happy to put him back but our local authority (Walsall) have verbally told me that he would be expected to join senior school according to his birthday. I am preparing a written request to the local authority and would welcome guidance and support from other parents who have been through the process. I am fully prepared to take this to any level as I’m adamant that my sons maturity level will result in him being different from others which could lead to bullying and loss of confidence and impact on his academic achievements. He is a very bright child with a photographic memory But he is very immature and mirrors children from the year below and does not fit well with is current year group.
In summary I want to move him to the year group below (according to his actual due date) and not remain in the year group he is in according to his date of birth.
If the local authority refuses, what are my next options to challenge them?
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I had a private educational assessment carried out and the lady in her report stated the child should be moved back a cohort. As she was a year behind everyone. Once I had the evidence it happened within weeks, the school was a academy, so the local council did not get involved. I told the school if they did not do it I would find a school that will! I was not going to stop.
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Hello Sasha, great outcome & I am very very happy for you. Can I have the independent assesors details please u can mail on Kansagra.suruchi@gmail.com. Thank u
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Elvie Brown Associates Limited
Educational Psychologist in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England
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Hi did you see anyone in particular? If you did can I have their name please . Thank you kindly suruchi
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Can you share with us how you found an independent assessor so parents can find one in their area?
Many thanks
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She is a private educational Pyscologist. They spend around three hours with your child carrying out various tests and also look for other things like social communication problems, adhd etc. They then write a big report. My child came in a year younger than she was academically and maturity at several points in the report said it needs to be considered to lower her a cohort. I took the evidence in and said either they do it or I will find a school that will.
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Hi Sasha
I am trying to get my daughter back into year 2. I love hearing a positive outcome.
Thank you for sharing
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Hi Sasha, I’ve just read your comment from last year and wonder if you could give me some advice. I have a Summer born child (22nd Aug 2015) who is currently in reception and as predicted is struggling and way behind his peers (who are in many cases a year older). I saw above that your child was able to repeat the year. How did you go about getting a private educational assessment carried out? I often question why a school would support a child moving through school (where the curriculum is the toughest to date) and constantly struggles to keep up with their peers and emotionally unable to deal with the pressure of writing tricky words at the age of 4. There is undeniably a pattern of younger children requiring intervention as they move through school just because they are younger.
How is your child doing now?
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Hi, are you based in the Somerset area and is your school an academy?
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Hi,
I am glad I found this site. My son is june 2014 born and due to start reception next year, he has just started preschool which he is not settling in very well and i am thinking of taking him off and deferring him a year . Our Warwickshire council says we can apply to defer but it depends on the school and then the council will decide. He is so small, and now i am scared after reading here that councils are not always easy to handle:)
Any tips on do’s and dont’s will be really appreciated to enable me to put forward a strong case.
Thankyou
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Hello! We successfully went through this process 5 years ago- can’t believe it still hasn’t been resolved. We met with the Headteacher of the school we wanted our son to go to and presented a calm, rationalised argument as to why he needed to be deferred. Be cautious of anyone saying that your child will need to go straight into year 1 as that’s not the case and may be an indicator of a wider lack of additional support. Once you have the heads backing they will complete the county paperwork to get this formally agreed. Never agree on a handshake- there are too many cases of heads leaving and with no official agreement in place the child gets moved up a year whether it’s detrimental or not. In our experience councils are not your battle here- they are so stretched and underfunded they won’t contest Heads paperwork- although it may differ county to county. The relationship with the school and the head is the key and get it formalise by the Local authority.
Good luck!
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Hi Caroline, would you mind sharing on what your cased was based? And was your request based on any feedback from a specialist / GP?
I have a son who was born premature (his due date was 30 Aug) and can see that his communication skills are far from his peers in nursery. We speak two languages at home which also delays the speech development. His attention span is very short and I can’t see him sitting calmly for activities for more than 10 min.
I’m wondering if I could get any formal feedback from a specialists before heading to the head master?
Thank you in advance
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Hi. I am currently struggling to know the right decision for my 4 year old. (Birthday July 4th). He started school in September and I took him out for odd days and half days. I had to fight for this right as the school was reluctant. They were not willing to allow half time attendance or agree to let him be deferred a year which was my initial preference. Currently he is struggling to meet their learning expectations and there have been a few incidents of biting other kids! I will keep taking him out for occasional half days to give him a rest. But wondering whether I should take him out completely and demand to be deferred a year. Any thoughts whether this could do more harm than good or how likely a school would be to accept that? Thanks
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Hi everyone – does anyone have experience with a summerborn child repeating a year? My 5 year old is summer born and did ok in Reception but is struggling and very unhappy in year 1. It would be better for everyone involved if he either moved down to Reception or repeated year 1 at the end of the year. From what I hear this seems almost unheard of, anyone been able to do this?
Any advice or ideas of where to look for more information are much appreciated.
Many thanks.
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Hi
I did this with my son and it has worked really well for us. We were worried about him settling into his class in the new year but it has worked really well. We talked a lot to him about it being a choice as wanted him to understand why he was finding the work hard in his current class. As it happened he was keen to make the move. A friend of mine also did this with her son (he was less keen to move for friendship reasons) but she also feels it was the right move. My son is so much more relaxed and condident now. The school felt he could have continued in his normal year but he definitely wasn’t thriving and i (and his current teacher) feel he would be really struggling if he had stayed in his normal year. I would trust your instincts. It’s a scary decision but in the end i thought there was more risk of a bad outcome if i left him than if i moved him. The only short term downside was his original classmates kept asking him why he had moved classes (which he didn’t like – they were intrigued rather than being unkind) but this stopped after the first term. Good luck with your decision.
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I tried to defer but found it too difficult, so my daughter started in ‘the correct’ year group, she was fine in reception but is struggling in year 1. She now hates going to school. Socially she’s fine, has lots of friends etc but finds the sheets hard (her words) and I think she just zones out.
I have moved her to another more nurturing school this year (although in the same year group though) because of a feeling she is not allowed to be sick, she must reach targets (to make the school/ teacher look good for ofstead), we must do all this practice at home so that she achieves.. what about play time?!?! Play is more important at 5 years old than practicing for tests. Children are people not a tick in a box.
My advice would be to really look for the best school you can too.. sometimes it’s not the one you think it is. If you don’t gel with the headteacher there’s probably a reason for that.
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Hi, my son is 8. His due date was 13th November 2010 but he was born 3 months premature at 28 weeks (20th August 2010) His previous school suggested putting him back to repeat nursery but also told us that he could be required to join senior school when leaving year 5. We felt that would be more detrimental to him in the future. His consultant said that most premature babies catch up by the age of 8 so we decided not to move him back then and to wait and see how he develops. His peers are now maturing very quickly and he is beginning to struggle at school and we are trying to put him a year back. He is at Leighswood School in Aldridge and the school has been fantastic and happy to put him back but our local authority (Walsall) have verbally told me that he would be expected to join senior school according to his birthday. I am preparing a written request to the local authority and would welcome guidance and support from other parents who have been through the process. I am fully prepared to take this to any level as I’m adamant that my sons maturity level will result in him being different from others which could lead to bullying and loss of confidence and impact on his academic achievements. He is a very bright child with a photographic memory But he is very immature and mirrors children from the year below and does not fit well with is current year group.
In summary I want to move him to the year group below (according to his actual due date) and not remain in the year group he is in according to his date of birth.
If the local authority refuses, what are my next options to challenge them?
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I had no problems delaying my daughter’s start here in Hertfordshire. The council site states that all you have to do is refrain from applying then apply for reception the following year.
Very straight forward. I hope this becomes the norm all over the country soon. Good luck to everyone out there!
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I am considering deferring my son’s entry to reception (he is July baby so due to start this Sep). His development is totally normal and he’s a very happy boy. However, I’m concerned that he will be extremely tired, as he still has a sleep some days and can become quite unreasonable when tired. This is my main concern, along with knowing he is potentially at a disadvantage being one of the youngest. Having spoken to our borough (Havering), I feel I have no option but to put him in full time from Sep. They said it is very unlikely he will be allowed to defer as he has no SEN and I would need evidence to back up my request.
Having also spoken Hertfordshire borough (where we are thinking of moving to in the next few yrs), they said there was no problem at all in deferring. No reason needed and he would stay in the same cohort throughout his school life. Very unfair that the admissions process is not the same in every LEA.
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My son had SEN which was raised the year before he went into reception. I too was worried that he wouldn’t ‘catch up’ with his peers as he was also a summer baby (late May). However, we eventually decided to let him progress to reception instead of deferring. We have just started his second term. His first term has been amazing. He has made huge huge progress. If you thought they made leaps and bounds in nursery then wait till nursery. He has come back a little man. Full of independence. His SEN was mainly speech and language and social and interaction skills. He has been signed off speech therapy. He also can’t stop talking and saying hello to strangers and initiating play with his peers. Please don’t worry if he does follow onto reception without deferring. Sometime they need a challenge and reception quickly teaches them independence. Good luck.
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Hi, father of a summer born child, born May 2013 here.
I’m amazed at the battles and outright refusals some of you are having to deal with. My wife and I made a decision to delay our daughter’s reception year after a lot of research into other countries, including Scandinavia, and emotional and academic progress compared to starting ages.
We live in the Newark and Sherwood admissions area, and when the applications for first admission for 2017 arrived, we phoned the admission office, and told them we wouldn’t be applying as we felt it in our daughter’s best interest, and in line with government guidelines, to delay her reception year. The lady I spoke to was very supportive, and asked us to e-mail staring what we’d just told her.
After a few bureaucratic false starts (mainly getting the right people to read the e-mail), they granted the deferral. No medical or SEN reports were required, indeed we feel that our daughter would probably have coped very well if she had gone in with the expected intake.
This year, we have just completed her application process, and every Head Teacher we spoke to agreed with our decision, said thar she would be their first such admission, but would happily take her for Reception (Foundation 2) year as normal. The only problem I had with the application, was due to the online system obviously not expecting an deferred reception, but a bit a creative form filling got around that, and a phone call to the LEA admissions office confirmes the applications are on the system correctly.
I don’t know whether we were just very lucky, or whether Nottinghamshire/Newark and Sherwood LEA are better at dealing with it, so reading a lot of other people’s experiences with other LEAs is shocking.
-Chris
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Hi Chris,
Thank you for sharing your experience and may I ask how is your daughter doing now as I see your comment is from 2018? I am in the same situation with my daughter who I believe will cope with reception without any issues but after doing the research I felt I would wait and give her that extra year and head start. The school has been very supportive and let her stay in nursery for one more year where she seems happy but my dilemma now is, did I hold her back unnecessary? Am I stopping her development by keeping her with her younger peers rather than pushing her though with the group of kids that would challenge her more. I hope in the long run she will be better off but for this moment of time I am riddled with doubt.
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Hello,
My children are both summer term children, so they don’t get their funding until September but all their peers who are born between September and end of march receive and extra 1-2 terms of nursery. The younger children are already on the back foot because the difference in development between a child turning 5 in September vs one who turns 5 in July or August is huge.
I think they should all receive the funding with from the September before they start school or the January term regardless of when their birthday is. I wouldn’t know where to start or see whether this has been done before?
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My son was born in July 29th, I am really devastated because the online application rejected his entry into great 1. This is the first half I am going to see my child go to b grade 1 at seven. His 3 sisters started at 6 yes. ..
What should I do?
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I don’t know what to do…
My Summber norm (mid June) Daughter is starting school in Sept. I am very torn, she does actually seem ready I am nervous because he August born brother is really struggling.
We have a strong history if dyslexia in my family and my son is in the process of being diagnosed.
So whilst she actually seems ready and no problems are presenting yet I feel the pressure of knowing this is my only opportunity to buy her more time to mature.
Any advise would be greatly received.
Any negatives to starting a year later?
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Wish I had read this properly before posting… I too have dyslexia sorry
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I’ve just decided to apply to defer my daughter’s entry to reception, after several months of weighing up the pros and cons. She’s only just ‘summer born,’ with a mid April birthday. She’s a ‘more able’ child academically, but is a bit lacking in confidence and her personal, social and emotional development is a little behind her peers. I eventually ended my indecisiveness by taking an ‘err on the side of caution’ approach. If I don’t defer and she enters reception this year, and ends up struggling socially and emotionally, the effects could be profound and lifelong. If I defer her the main concern I have (will she receive enough challenge in school) seems so minor in comparison!
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Oxfordshire Council have just refused my application to delay 15th Aug born child to start Reception at CSAge. School were supportive until council asked Head, he now feels not in best interests of child. As a EY teacher and parent my views have not been listened to at all. We are considering sending her to Reception as don’t want her to miss a year. Also as a military family, we have been threatened with ‘it is likely child will be moved back up into correct year group at some point in future as you move across the.country every couple of years’. I know my child will cope but that is not good enough surely. How can a child fulfill their potential if they are not ready to begin?
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Hello,
Sorry for the difficulties and the stress you are facing. I was originally rejected too, for my July born son. We appealed, I commissioned an educational psychologist to give us a report on my son (cognitive assessment) which stated that his attention span is short and sitting still and focus at this stage would be difficult for him etc. and the psychologist supported our cause. I also wrote to my MP. Eventually the request was agreed. I just moved house and the new school just asked for evidence that my son is not in year 3 but in year 2. They took him into the same year almost automatically. The moving house problem is scaremongering, they can’t just bump your child up a year. Fight, don’t give up. Good luck.
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I have a little boy born 31st of August who will be starting nursery (5 mornings a week with a staggered start in September). He is attending the nursery of the school we hope he will attend. I really would like him to stay in Nursery for two years and start reception when he has had his 5 birthday. I am so daunted by what is ahead of me, and will hopefully begin a conversation about this at our nursery open evening (later this month) even the thoughts of it all make me feel so emotional. I just wondered if anyone could offer me a bit of encouragement and perhaps a conversation starter that I can present to the school. Really appreciate any words of support and advice. Thank you in advance.
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Can I defer my son’s senior school entry. He is currently in year 6. Born 23rd Aug 2007 prematurely. Repeating year 6 would so him world of good. Head teacher said no. Dfe said it’s possible
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Hello,
We have just been given approval to defer our daughters start. She was born in August 2014, and we have no concerns about her development – she is in fact coping very well and enjoying nursery. She would be fine to start reception this year but we feel quite strongly that to start at 4 is just too young. Based on research done in other countries esp Scandinavian countries, as well as my professional experience as a paediatric OT having seen how children can really struggle without enough time to play and be children prior to school, we wanted to give our daughter the chance for a more solid pre-school foundation to enable her to better cope with the social and emotional aspects of school, and all the pressures she will face academically. We also considered the impact of being the youngest in her teenage years.
Our admissions team were helpful, but it was down to the head teacher and school goveners who were incredibly supportive and understanding. We have had a very peaceful process and it feels a little surreal to have had it approved in this way, considering lengths others have had to go to.
I really do hope that it becomes the norm and that parents are more supported. If more children do start later, it won’t be such a big thing.
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Hi
I am looking to start an application and wanted to ask what ‘evidence’ you stated in your covering letter for your daughter to be accepted?
Many thanks for your help and I’m glad to hear you got the result you wanted.
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Hi Lina
I want to hold my August boy back wondering what cover letter you wrote just if you could give me some advice would really appreciate it and if you could private email me would be so much appreciated.
Thank you so much
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Hi, our request for summer-born offset admission was denied. The council stated they only approve such request when backed up by evidence the child has a medical condition. They gave us a school place for year 1 (our daughter will be 5 in July). I’m writing for advice. We plan to home school for a year until our child is more ready to start school. But the council told us that if we wait a year she will ha e to start at year 2! We are seriously considering moving. Does anyone know what might happen in another council? If we 1. Home school this year 2. Move 3. Come Jan 2019 request a year 1 place for Sept 2019 ? Our child will be just 6 then. Thanks for any input.
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Hi, I live in the South West and no issues. Both schools that accepted my request are academy’s, thus they made the decision and not the authority. Plus both schools are small country schools. If I still lived in a large town I don’t think I would of had my request accepted.
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How can we help a summer born child prepare to be in a class with peers almost 12 months older, without pressure? Are there any services available?
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My little boy has just started I’m nursery 5 mornings a week, he was pre term EDD 19th September he arrived 28th August. He’s is such a happy little bit and has taken every step in his stride! Until this he sobs every morning I leave him and is sobbing when I pick him up. There is 7 months difference between him and the next child in his nursery class. All the pics I see he is on his own and I am so so worried about him. I want to delay him until September 2019 which is when he would have started nursery if he had been born when he was due but his school have said if I delay him, he will miss nursery completely and will have to start reception and go all day full time. This will really impact him. I think I’m going to have to go down the lagal route to try and get them to listen to me. I know my boy and this is really impacting him. Any
Advice would be greatly appreciated x
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My little boy has just started I’m nursery 5 mornings a week, he was pre term EDD 19th September he arrived 28th August. He’s is such a happy little bit and has taken every step in his stride! Until this he sobs every morning I leave him and is sobbing when I pick him up. There is 7 months difference between him and the next child in his nursery class. All the pics I see he is on his own and I am so so worried about him. I want to delay him until September 2019 which is when he would have started nursery if he had been born when he was due but his school have said if I delay him, he will miss nursery completely and will have to start reception and go all day full time. This will really impact him. I think I’m going to have to go down the lagal route to try and get them to listen to me. I know my boy and this is really impacting him. We have now seen a consultant due to massive nose bleeds, he’s had some hearing tests which he passed but they were concerned about his spontaneous speech, I’ve got a
Meeting with his health visitor and they have done a referral to speech and language. I really want him to re start nursery sept 2019 when he will have just turned 4 by 3 days. We live in north wales and they are just so behind here, so when you speak to the council they flat refuse unless there is “special needs” I hate that term, I don’t want him to be made to feel different, and I try to explain to them that if he had been born when he was due 19th September that we wouldn’t even be having this argument!!! Help!! Has anyone had any joy being in wales? Any
Advice would be greatly appreciated x
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My 6 year old was refused delayed entry in wales and is now in yr 2, he has some mild additional needs not learning difficulties.
Things have got worse each year, there is no support for summer-born children or for additional needs, they say he is fine in school but clearly he is not. My son’s anxiety is so bad I am close to having to home school him as I fear for his future. I wish there was a record of how many families are in this situation and are denied schooling appropriate to their child’s needs.
I would advise to always defer entry if possible.
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It might be worth writing a letter stating you feel so strongly about the issue (repeating year 2 would help your son immensely I imagine!) that if the outcome you want is not approved you will be removing him from school for home schooling. I know of quite a few nursery parents who appealed the school their child was allocated when applying for a reception place (so not a summer born application) by stating they will home school if appeal is unsuccessful and lo and behold, they all ended up in the school they wanted in the first place! Of course this relates to a different issue, and a different LA, but it might be worth a try in your case. Best of luck!
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We are in our second year of year 2! My summer baby had been falling further and further behind and first time in year 2 ( last academic year) my child was a year behind. I decided enough was enough, I was not going to tolerate it anymore my 6 year can’t be a year behind and never catch up. I went out and got a private educational assessment done and told the lady what I wanted. She totally agreed my child should be moved down a year and wrote her findings all in the report, including that she recommended her being moved down a year. I stormed into the school with my evidence and said either you do it or I will find a school that will. They moved her down a year and I have never had a happier child, she is not behind anymore and happy being the average kid in the class. Made lots of friends. Best fight I’ve ever had to fight.
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I’ve been looking into a private assessment, I’ve been fighting for support and getting nowhere, they will not consider educating out of yeargroup under any circumstances. If I had the money I would move to a private school with less children in a teaching area, 60 kids noise is too much for a deaf child. I’m not in a position to homeschool unfortunately.
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Hi. Great news. Glad to hear you got it through. Have you got it formalised in writing with your Local Authority? Have come across families where they had the agreement with the Head and the Head left/ child went up to secondary school and their year group was ‘corrected’. It’s a massive jump to go from year 6 to year 8. If you have that’s great, if you haven’t hope this helps. Good luck. Hope all continues to go well.
Caroline
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I completely agree and I’m sure people come across this issue. We are in catchment for a first, middle and secondary school system, all academies and these are linked by a trust. The headmaster at the middle school and secondary school signed the agreement, along with the head of the trust. These are top class country schools in our catchment, so we are guaranteed never to have to move year groups.
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Pleased to hear you’re happy with their guarantees. Hope it all goes well.
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My daughter is now 8, born on the 10th August. Year upon year she is struggling to keep up and each year from reception to present day, we have asked for the school to keep her back as she is clearly struggling. Our local education authority (Surrey) have refused unless there are medical grounds. Out GP has referred my daughter to CAMHS as he believes she has ADD which means she is falling further behind and is obviously not mature enough for her year group. CAMHS are not going to assess her and the school SENCO has not been much help in re-referring her either. She has been referred to a speech therapist as this is another area where she is lacking development.
We and her family have noticed that she is becoming less and less confident as she knows all her friends are now 9 and more confident, mature and aware than she is.
Has anyone else had any success in taking their child back a year at this age group?
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Yes, in Somerset! We are doing year two for the second time. Best fight that I have had, she is so much happier. July child.
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HI Holly
How did your daughter deal with repeating the year while her friends moved up? How did you approach the subject with her for her to understand?
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She’s actually made a bigger circle of friends in her new cohort. I personally believe it’s because they are more on the same maturity level as her. I explained to her that I’ve found a way to make school a happier place for her, no more intervention groups or struggling at the bottom of the class. That in her new class she would be just a normal kid and no longer have to get sad because it’s just to hard for her.
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Our daughter started school this September. We deferred her as her birthday is 28/08, so she went into Reception, which was great. This was in Oxfordshire. We are a military family and are due to move to Wiltshire next summer. I phoned a potential school and they said that Wiltshire only defer children with SEN. I am now worried that she will miss a year and be put into year 2. Does anyone have experience of this or know how I should approach this. Thanks in advance.
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Hi Suz,
I’ve just read your post from 2018. I appreciate that you’re unlikely to read my reply 4 years later but I thought I would try!
We too are based in Oxfordshire and are about to start applying to schools for my Son who turned 3 on the 29th August. We’re really worried about this and would like to delay his start to the following September, but are worried about him needing to go straight in Year 1. I see that your application was successful in Oxfordshire previously, are you able to share how you approached this and any steps that you’d recommend based on your experience? Thank you!
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Hello
We did this 11 years ago now, when LAs would just say we don’t do this (which was the initial response I got). Outcomes vary between authorities and I’ve since kept abreast of how this work has developed; the common thread for success was to get the Head onside. Once you have the Heads signature in agreement the battle is mostly won. Unfortunately the second most common factor is money. Highlight that a years’ deferment will reduce the need for additional support etc. Grim stance to have to take as a parent but if you can be objective about the support your child may or may not need it should help. Good luck, well worth the headaches and best decision we ever made👍
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I am in a bit of predicament and seeking advice. My family live in Australia, where children do not have to start school until they are 6 years old and it the parents choice to start before this. We have decided to move back the UK for a while to be near family but as my son is 5 years old in May according to the council (Torbay) he will have to start in year 1 because we were not in the country last year and couldn’t go through this ridiculous process of applying and rejecting a place! We will fight this all the way and will even consider home schooling to avoid putting my son through this, which is far from ideal for us. Does anybody have experience of a similar situation? What can/ should we do to try and get a reception place? If they refuse what other options do we have? Thanks in advance.
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Hi Laura, Our son was born 30/08 and we were pressurised by Essex to start him when he just turned 4. We resisted and deferred him for a year. In the end we decided to send him to a private school although we were offered a reception place in two state schools. Another two state schools insisted that he would have to miss reception. We were astonished that some of the so called professional educators seemed to think that they knew our son and what was best for him better than we did. In many cases it is the Head Teacher of the school who makes the final decision so l would recommend that you try to make personal contact with the heads of any schools you have shortlisted and see if you can obtain their support. The other option would be to make contact with the MP for the area and copy him in with any correspondence. Keep persevering, it is outrageous to even think about forcing a child to miss the first year of their education because of political dogma.
You are not legally obliged to send your child to school in the UK till the first term after their 5th Birthday.
Kind regards
John
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My boy is 5 and a half. He is mid August born. I wish that I had known about deferring a year as him being Summer born is now causing real problems. He is a figit, finds sitt8ng still a struggle and is highly distractable. He is not as mature as his peers and has had other kids calling him a baby (he tries so hard to fit in). His teachers are, I feel, pushing for me to consider his behaviour as an attention problem. I work in SEN and know ADHD when I see it and my boy does not have ADHD. His self-esteem is suffering and he frequently says things like ‘I’m not as fast as everybody else’ ‘ I dont like school’ etc. I really find this unacceptable. I have made suggestions regarding giving him highly- structured, short or chunked tasks, movement breaks -even going so far as printing out resources and taking them to school. I got the impression from the teacher (and she almost said as much) that she cannot accomodate my suggestions in a class of 30. Well, to me, it is the structure of our schools that is the problem, the admissions for summer-born and the pressure on results – not my child! I am actually furious and frustrated as it is affecting him and his confidence and enjoyment. He spends most if his waking day doing things he finds hard and dislikes due to his stage of development and maturity. I am a teacher, I know the pressure and looking back at when I first started teaching I see my own mistakes reflected back at me. I am not a pushy parent nor do I have a laissez-faire in my attitude toward my child’s learning. I want my child to be happy and confident, that is all, and that is what will help him be a successful person in life. This is a real issue with life-long consequences – we have a duty to get it right for our kids -not ‘fix’ our kids with drugs or labels, stigmatise them as ‘the slow learners’ when it is not the root of the issue.
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Hi Helen
My daughter is 6 (born 25/08) in year 2. We have been called in for a meeting to discuss her progress as they considering holding her back and repeating the year.
We are absolutely devastated it has come to this for our daughter, she is a sprightly happy spirit and while we can see the developmental differences with her and her pears I am convinced she will be totally demoralised that she is not going into year 3 with her friends.
I agree we have a duty to get it right but what do we do?
My husband and I are in the mind set that repeating the year is not the right route for her, additional support by us and the school needs to be put into place.
I am boggled by it all
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My daughter has been held back a year. We did this when she was in year 2. She is currently doing year 2 a second time. For us it has been an absolute success. My daughter has made a new and large group of friends. She’s also loving the fact she is no longer stuck at the bottom of the class, who was constantly pulled out for extra help. She is now loving the fact that she is not struggling and loving being a average school kid again. The curriculum is so full on now, it was just not possible to ever bridge the gap.
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Hello,
My son is 10 in yr 6 a summer born Aug child.
I am in the process of writing a formal letter to head teacher to request my son to repeat yr 6 again as he has struggled all the way and I am afraid he is not ready for secondary school.
Any pointers or help or lesiglations I can quote will help make case stronger.
Please help me with success you have achieved if u have been through it.
Thank you suruchi
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Hi Suruchi, please contact me as I feel our situation is similar and we may be able to provide mutual support to each other. My email address is surwats@diversesolutions-uk.com.
I have support from my son’s consultant and current school but I have been told by our local authority that he will be required to join senior school in accordance with his date of birth not his due date. He is a prem baby who jumped an academic year as he was born three months early.
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HI Im a Dutch teacher and my cousin is a summer born child. They denied delay while he needs it. Im building a chase and together we can make it work. The more people complain the bether. Altough my english is not good my sister in law (master degree in uk) is gonna help us out. PLease email me. ARE you a parent who is denied delay in 2017, 2018 or 2019? And did your child needed the delay? Are you from Birmingham? Email me dj_handule@hotmail.com Maybe we can go together to the lawer. ALONE YOU WILL NOT WIN! P.s. if writing me a email put in the subject ‘delay’
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My son born 21st August has sever delays physically, academically and mentally. He had hearing problems and had to have surgery and as a result didn’t really start to talk until he was 3. I’m in West Sussex and applied to delay him and was refused. Incidentally he started school September 2019 as I didn’t see the point in deferring him as thought this would just see him fall even more behind, his teacher very early on has recognised how behind he is and has actually recommended he is now re referred to the child development team. I knew this would happen and honestly believe he just needed a little more time to be able to catch up before he started school. Now we have hit a global pandemic. Does anyone know how I can go about trying to get the school to let him resit reception?
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Hi,
Are summer born boy was required to start reception at 4 years old against our request for a deferment. We would like to request the school at he repeat reception this September rather than go to year 1. Does have any experience of how we can succeed with our request to the school? Thanks Joginder
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Hi there
We did this for our preemie 4 year old, now 11 and best decision ever made.
We got the school to agree, which the LA then signed off by default. You’ll need to state clear medical/ social development reasons for this and be supported by paediatric/ preschool professional. Unfortunately parent understanding of their children (which is probably the most accurate source of information) is ignored.
Good luck. As you’ve probably guessed it’s always a fight, but a fight worth having. 👍
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Thanks 👍🏾
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Hi,
My daughter’s birthday is 22nd August and I want to delay her school start until after the Easter holidays so she wouldn’t attend the first 2 terms. We are currently living in France and she’ll be starting school here in September and attending school here until then. I understand I have to get the approval of the head teacher to do this, I haven’t talked to him yet. Does anyone know if they would usually approve a request like this or am I in for a fight? If they don’t approve it what can they actually do? They can’t fine us as I understand it.
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My little boy was born on the 25th of September and has just gone into class one. I feared he would struggle with the transition from class R to 1 and this sadly is now the case. I went to parents evening and was told by the teacher “ he just isn’t ready for year 1 at all” . He is now having sessions with the SENCO and likely to be labelled with some learning difficulty, but in fact is just due to him not being developmentally ready. He is such a happy little boy with a zest for life but this is disappearing.
Does anyone know if it could be possible to be put back a year, but remain in that class throughout his schooling.
Any advice would be greatly received.
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My experience is of nursery. Summer born children miss out on the first year of 15 hours free funding. But achild born in September will get TWO full years of 15 hours funded. Yet a child born June-August will have just ONE full year of funding. This isn’t fair.
My suggestion is for the government to offer TWO years of 15 hours to all children. The parents should then be at liberty to use these two years anytime between the ages of 0-5. So for instance you could send your child between ages of 1-3 for the free 15 hours or opt for ages of 2-3. Whichever you chose your child you won’t lose out. No child should be denied two funded years just because they were born in summer.
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Thank you for your comment. You may also find this article from 2013 an interesting read on this topic: https://summerbornchildren.org/2013/04/15/is-it-all-about-the-eye-money-money-money/
We agree it is important for all children to have fair access to the pre-school funding made available. From our perspective, the issue of funding in the context of summer born children is related to the pre-school period (rather than earlier), since this is what it is intended for. We are also mindful of parents who may not be able to afford to enrol their summer born child in school at compulsory school age, and choose to enrol their child early, at 4 years old, because this provides more childcare hours than 15. We believe more information and support for pre-school options are needed to ensure a child’s best interests is the primary consideration when making decisions about their education.
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Hello.
I have summer born son, born in July. He suppose to go to school next September. I really do not want to send him to school as a 4 years old, I want to ask for delay into Reception. I spoke with his nursery teacher, but she is against his delay into reception, because he has no special needs.
I do not know what kind of reason I have to write to be successful, because he is normal. Reason is just I believe is much better to send more mature child to school than less mature.
Could you please help me what kind of reason I can write???
Thank you very much for your help.
Eva
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(unable to sleep this morning I’ve been idly scrolling the Internet and came across this forum)
As a parent of a year 6 (just left primary😢) summer born girl (24th August) I can completely understand the worries you are going through as this was me 7 years ago.
But I want to reassure you that things can turn out fine even if you aren’t able to keep your child back.
Our daughter was tiny and seemed to be a bit academically and emotionally behind. She had an operation in the first month of primary so missed 2 weeks of school, hearing problems and a hearing aid from year 1 to year 4, visual stress and had to wear special tinted glasses from year 4 to the start of year 6. She was also diagnosed with moderate dyslexia by an Ed Psych last month.
Yet despite all of this she is now the tallest girl in the year by a head, did extremely well in her mock sats, and is towards the top of her class academically. (she was behind until about year 2). The only area thing I’d say is that she still seems emotionally behind a lot of the girls, but it’s far less apparent in year 6 and when she moves on from her tiny village school there will be plenty of other girls who are also summer born (only 2 I think in her current class).
I think a village school helps with a lot of the issues as the class sizes are small and therefore staff/teacher ratio high. But it can be very cliquey (a reason we didn’t ask to keep her back was the parents in the year below were all best buddies and not exactly the most welcoming to outsiders!)
We are now looking forward to our daughter starting secondary and she’s really looking forward to going.
It’s a really tricky decision to make and I guess if you were going down the grammar school route it might be wise to keep them back if you are able to do so. We also spent a lot of extra time outside school reading with her and helping her which I think made a difference.
It’s just to say that things can turn out OK…
(We have another summer born child and again, he seemed to catch up academically and emotionally by year 3).
A big piece of advice is try not compare your child’s development with the others as both of ours were ‘behind’ academically and emotionally until about year 2 and are now the same or ahead of others.
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We’re holding our youngest back a year (August 26th birthday). We applied for school for him in the normal way, then once he had a place at the school his older brother already attends, I asked the school to defer the place.
As I’d already had an unofficial chat with the headmistress, this was essentially a forgone decision and it all went through fine. She said to me that with an August boy, she’d do the same thing herself.
Family and friends we’ve mentioned it to have all thought it was a good idea and the whole thing has been easy.
He’ll be starting reception next year a few days after his fifth birthday, but still only a few days older than his September born classmates.
This is in South Oxfordshire.
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Hi James,
This is wonderful to hear of the successful outcome you had with your Son. We also live in South Oxfordshire and my son is born 29th August. He is due to start school next September. We’re keen to request deferral and for him to start in Reception the following year but I’m worried this won’t be easy to achieve. Can I ask whether your son is at an Academy school or a school that has it’s admissions managed via Oxfordshire County Council?
Thank you so much,
Ceri
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Hi Ceri, he’s at Willowcroft in Didcot which is an academy. I think the policy largely depends on the headteacher.
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is there anything I can do now that my son has started reception and it turns out he is struggling as he is not ready?
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My twin boys were born two months prem in July 2007. (So born prematurely into the wrong school year). Our situation was slightly unique as we were living overseas as ex-pats ; I was able to see them as both the youngest in their school year and then the eldest. (They were at a British curriculum school).
Before they repeated year 2, they were the youngest. They were struggle academically in all areas which was preposterous as they were bright boys. Their self esteem and self confidence took a big knock. Socially they were struggling too as they simply weren’t as mature as their peers. ‘I’m stupid’ one called out at one point. I spent hours putting extra academic work in to little avail; they just weren’t ready.
They were upset when we decided to repeat year 2. Some tears for a few weeks on and off. Within three weeks of repeating, they were happy as pigs in poo. Their confidence grew in every area. Academically and from a sporting perspective they quickly became near the top of the year. Socially they were popular and confident. They have remained this way since they repeated year 2. Had we not repeated the year, and put them in the ‘correct birth date ‘ school year , they would have had worse and harder lives and worse prospects there is absolutely no doubt about that in my mind as their mother.
Fight for what is right.
I do worry that some parents don’t do this either for financial reasons or simply being unaware of the options/facts etc. I believe teachers should also be trained to make the suggestion in this instance at certain points during key stage 1, eg end of reception /year 1 for the sake of what is best for EVERY child.
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My first Daughter was born 27th August, 3 days from the cut off. She started nursery at 3yrs old so had only been in nursery less than a year when I asked for her to stay at the nursery an extra year.
A lot had changed for her during this time at home and she was very young and only just settled into a routine which I did not want to change.
She continued at nursery that next year but I got a call from them after a couple of weeks telling me that the early years team had contacted them and wanted to know why she was not in school.
They had told the nursery that they would have to put in extra work with her, basically providing a school level education and environment and she would have to stay in at playtime to do work, having spent the last year trying to get her to go out and play instead of work!
I was asked to come into the nursery where I was quite literally shouted at while holding a baby, told they were not able to provide extra work for her and I was told my child was not special and basically forcefully kicked out. She never returned after that day and has been home ed ever since.
2 years later my second daughter went to a different nursery, again hadn’t been there that long, I requested an extra year and was simply told no. At least she was allowed a leavers party and left with the others. She is now also HomeEducated.
I don’t think that was right for either child but thankfully I was in a position to HomeEducate.
I had read that there was a legal option for children to remain in nursery, but my experience was that in reality, it didn’t exist.
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