Delay school start next year?

There’s a really useful Facebook group called flexible school admissions for summer borns which have helped me understand the process as it’s not straight forward Feel free to message me if you need any help x

I have a feeling they can defer a year but then they would go straight into year 1 when they start. That could be a regional thing though x

@Penny oh thank you I will join that group 🤩

@Hannah The government website say you can request that your child still starts at reception. But I don’t know how common that is 😄

We are considering it as my daughter has a speech delay and I just can’t imagine her starting school just turning 4. Obviously a lot can change before then but it’s just something we are looking into. The group mentioned above has been really helpful, they have template letters etc 😊 x

Hi, teacher here! Usually a deferral will mean missing reception and going straight to year 1 but in certain circumstances, they will let your child start "out of year" so with the year group below and start in reception. It does happen but worth checking with your LA how it works. If you can't start reception the year after, as a teacher I'd say you really think about the pros and cons. Missing out on reception will mean missing out on a lot of the early foundations of education I.e. early phonics etc. which may put them on even bigger a back foot than by simply being the youngest. I'd also say as a teacher than within a couple of years, it's almost impossible to tell who are the summer born and who are the older pupils in the year. I've had older pupils who are the weakest academically and summer borns who are working beyond their age. Having said all of that, as a mum, I'd be thinking more about them socially at this age and if they struggle then I'd be considering deferral. Hope that helps :).

We are deferring as it stands right now . Our boy is august 20th 2021 , he spent over half of his first two years in hospital and is still an unwell child now , he attends private nursery for 3 days a week . We have waited 8 months for speech and language intervention , well socialised child but very young for his age. I think you have to do what your mum instincts tell you to do . whatever way you turn there will be pros and cons to whatever decision you make . just go with what your instincts tell you and deal with the rest at a later date . You can certainly request a start in reception , this can happen but depends on your authority and the individual circumstances of the child. We will apply for school place next month as normal and will be making our decision at Easter as to whether we are sending or deferring. For us personally I think we would be pushing him in at the deep end , also it is not legal requirement for a child to be in full time school / education until 5 x

Our LG is 30th Aug so we are delaying her We're under East Riding and the School admissions team has explained to us that deferring is where they start later (instead of Sep they start in Jan) delaying is where the parent states they want to delay the school year. We applied for a school place as normal and then emailed our school admissions to inform them we want to delay her starting reception. My understanding is we know wait till April or May. Not 100% sure what happens then. Glad you asked the question as I didn't know about the FB page. Will join the page

Yes, I’ve spent loads of time speaking to people on that Facebook group ! There is someone called “Jim” if you type his name in he provides templates of letters you can use to write to the headteachers of a schools and to the local authority. to my understanding it’s your choice to defer your child without question It is however down to the school or the local authority wether they accept your child to start in reception instead of year one. In my experience two schools in Bexley borough have said they’ll accept my son CSA out of cohort. But you just need to be mindful who the school is run by (either their own trust or the local authority ) as it is them that you need to get overall authority from. Head teachers of schools need to provide you with reasons why they think it is beneficial for your child to a whole year of reception if they don’t accept your deferral x

To miss a whole year of reception *

It really depends on the council you live in if they will go straight to year 1. They will have to prove that its in the child's best interests to miss reception if you fight it. More children are starting reception than year 1 now thankfully. I'm also thinking of delaying my boy. He is advanced academically but still behind with putting his own clothes on and communication. Most schools I went to visit said if we delay he will start reception rather than year 1.

That’s good that you’ve got the schools support , also if they school is run by an academy and you get the trust’s acceptance I don’t think the local council actually has a say in the matter. You just need to inform them