School Admissions Advice (Reception/Deferring/Summer Born Babies etc)

[aggytha]

Hi everyone! Surprised to see there isn’t a thread for this- maybe I’m the only one panicking over it

Just a thread for general advice on school admissions.

I have a 3yo and already in a state of panic over not having much longer to apply for schools. My little one is summer born and also had quite a significant speech delay up until very recently (she is speaking in sentences now)

Does anyone have any experience or advice on summer born kids and deferring or alternatively sending their child part time (as is legally allowed if agreed with the school) to give their child opportunity to have a more gentle transition into full time education?

any thoughts welcome!!

 

[squatternutbosh]

Hi everyone! Surprised to see there isn’t a thread for this- maybe I’m the only one panicking over it

Just a thread for general advice on school admissions.

I have a 3yo and already in a state of panic over not having much longer to apply for schools. My little one is summer born and also had quite a significant speech delay up until very recently (she is speaking in sentences now)

Does anyone have any experience or advice on summer born kids and deferring or alternatively sending their child part time (as is legally allowed if agreed with the school) to give their child opportunity to have a more gentle transition into full time education?

any thoughts welcome!!

You don’t have to send your child to school for a while yet, or until 31 December, 31 March or 31 August following their fifth birthday - whichever comes first.
at age 3 u can look at nursery/playgroup- which is quite flexible depending on the amount of hours free childcare you can claim from government. (Usually 30hours if both parents are working)
Once ur child goes playgroup/nursery she will start picking things up with speed & staff are very helpful in getting you ready to start applying for reception when the time comes.

Edit:you can find any nursery which suits you. I placed mine right next to my work place in the city. Picked her up/dropped off whenever I started left work. Have a google & read reviews of places you might consider.

 

[aggytha]

You don’t have to send your child to school for a while yet, or until 31 December, 31 March or 31 August following their fifth birthday - whichever comes first.
at age 3 u can look at nursery/playgroup- which is quite flexible depending on the amount of hours free childcare you can claim from government. (Usually 30hours if both parents are working)
Once ur child goes playgroup/nursery she will start picking things up with speed & staff are very helpful in getting you ready to start applying for reception when the time comes.

Edit:you can find any nursery which suits you. I placed mine right next to my work place in the city. Picked her up/dropped off whenever I started left work. Have a google & read reviews of places you might consider.

Thank you for this, my daughter will be four in July and children “typically” start school the September following their fourth birthday so I will be needed to apply for a school by the January 2024 deadline.

I am open to the option of deferring and would prefer her to start on a part time basis from Sept ‘24 until at least Dec ‘24 but I know some schools can make this difficult (even though it is perfectly legal)

I know children don’t reach compulsory school age until Dec/March/August following their 5th birthday however I believe you still have to apply as normal in Jan for Sept? I’m really unsure how deferring works but I know most schools try and push children into year 1 and skip reception if you choose to defer and I personally feel my daughter would struggle hugely going straight into year 1 if I deferred (age 5 and 2 months).

any info or resources you have on the above would be hugely appreciated!

 

[SophSpinsSillyStories]

Only you know your child, but what I will say is that reception is really only about making sure the kids can sit down in one place when told (or at least that’s what our school say). Our April born boy had been to nursery full time since 9 months but still struggled with settling into school in the first term (to the point where we considered pulling him out). But thankfully he’s starting to enjoy it now - apparently it’s quite normal for kids to find the transition hard until even Christmas.
There are 30 kids in my son’s class whereas my friend’s daughter has just 6 classmates - maybe see if you can find a school with small class sizes so she gets the 121 time she may need. I’m a late August child and thrived in the structure of school.
Maybe give it a go, you can always delay if your daughter is finding it really hard - she may find school really beneficial.

 

[mummyofmonkeys]

As above really. Reception/foundation is really a year to get them used to the whole vibe of school with a little work thrown in (eg phonics, basic numbers) but mostly it is play based and a very good introductory environment. Our son is end of June born and other than socially/emotionally potentially being slightly behind some of his friends (ie. Struggling at parties to leave my side or taking a little longer to warm up or being slightly shy - which I think is just his personality anyway) he is actually top of his class in everything and excelling beyond what we ever imagined. I was the same and looked into deferring but decided to give it a try under the guise I would be pulling him out if he was struggling. He also absolutely LOVES it and I couldn’t have ever imagined deferring him now.

A good friend of mine sent her summer born child in 2 days a week to begin with and kept to her routine they’d had with clubs etc on the other days. She found that he loved school and asked if he was able to go every day only a few weeks into the school year. He was also delayed speech wise so she was concerned like you.

My middle is about to start in September too (feb born tho) and it is a big scary jump but so many exciting things to look forward to. My advice would be to try not to overthink it, pick a school that you love and see what your gut says then xxx

 

[Hotel_breakfast]

My July 2019 baby has just started school in September and is thriving. Her best friend in the class is actually the eldest girl which makes me giggle cos my daughter is one of the shortest too.

Most local authorities will have a policy on deferrals, every area varies on whether it means your child would start in year 1 with their peers or in reception with kids slightly younger than them. To me starting in yr1 makes no sense, they've missed out on a really important year and friendships will have been formed. But starting in reception after another year of preschool can be beneficial for some children.

Have you been to see any schools? Ask them how they support summer children. They do take it into account. Is your daughter currently in a nursery or preschool? If she is they may have an idea of she will manage school socially and emotionally too.

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

There’s a very active Facebook community called “Flexible School Admissions for Summer Borns” that’ll probably be more useful for you than tattle, I’ve seen people from the same LA support with applications before. Good luck

 

[Eye_roll_central]

Only you can decide. My youngest started reception when she was 4 years 6 weeks old. She was born in 2017 so missed out on a lot of nursery time due to covid. She was the shyest clingiest little girl! I was worried but sent her anyway, she took a few weeks/maybe the first term to settle in but thrived. She became more confident, made friends and enjoyed school! She is the youngest in her class but is now in Class 2 and is so settled and has made lots of friends. I found our reception class was just like nursery with a few hidden subjects like phonics and reading but they don’t notice they are learning as 95% of the time they are just playing! My daughter would go back to reception in a heartbeat and regularly asks if she can only you know your child though to make the decision