Is this right please, our girl just turned 4 and they say she as to start school ?

Savvy_Sue

Spendless wrote: »

Here they go into f-time school the Sept following their 4th birthday, so someone reaching 4 this Sunday - 31st August, would start reception 2 days later at my kids school on 2nd Sept (the 1st is an inset day). My LA only do 1 intake though you *might* be able to ask the school to hold the place until Jan/Easter.

I believe you have that right, and the school are not allowed to say that they can't guarantee they can hold a place open for you if you don't want your child to start in September.

You may struggle to find a suitable nursery place this late but it's worth asking around: you should be able to get some free sessions. And you may find that the choice of schools in your area is limited: if your nearest is oversubscribed and you haven't yet put in a formal application, then you probably won't get a place there. As spendless says, normally families apply almost a year in advance. But the Local Education Authority will tell you where there are places, and offer her a place somewhere - it's up to you whether you take it or keep her out of school a while longer, but you won't be in trouble yet.

Does your daughter go to any carer & toddler groups / preschool playgroups or anything like that?

Are the sleeping problems linked to any disability or medical problem? Do they mean that she needs daytime sleeps?

It might be worth talking to your Health Visitor: they may have information on nurseries / groups which would be good for your daughter.

jackieb

My daughter could have started in the August, and she would have turned 5 in December. I decided to keep her another year at the nursery that was attached to the school. She was 5 yrs and 9 months before she started school. She's now 12 and i've had no regrets. She caught up really quickly, and by the time she was 7 she had a reading age of 12.

milliebear00001

Some schools have a Jan intake as well as a Sept one. Sounds like the OP only has a Sept one. If you don't think your daughter is ready yet, don't panic! You don't have to send her to school til she is five. Send her to a nursery or pre-school until then if you so wish.

alm721

I thought that pupils must be in school (if not home educating etc) at the start of the term that follows their fifth birthday. Has this chaged recently as people seem to be saying that that its the term before? My daughter started when she was 4 (birthday beg Aug) in reception although I know she could have missed that year and gone straight into y1 when she was 5. As far as I am aware reception year is not complusory. However, I think she benefitted from going and would not have wanted her to miss YR but still can anyone clarify this?

hazelbunny

Legally it is the term after their 5th birthaday. So if your childs birthday is from mid april on, it will be NEXT sept,from january to april it will be April next year.

bestpud

She does not have to start until Next year, legally, although the idea now is to push them into school when they are barely out of nappies! (Sorry, that's my opinion coming in there!)

If she has never been to nursery and you have worries, then I would hold off for this year tbh, not least because if she may have problems, you will want to find the best school for her and not be pushed into the local 'dive' because it is the only one with spaces!

If you apply in time, you will be pretty much guaranteed a place at you local school, but this late, you may not. If that is the case and you actually want her to go there, then hold off and apply for next year.

Meanwhile, you do need to start calling round local nurseries asap as, yes, you may struggle to get her a place at this stage. But, people do move away and some children leave nursery for whatever reason, so it is worthwhile getting her name on waiting lists if it comes to that.

Also, some children already in nursery, and of this age, may be having a gradual school start. Not all schools do this but if any in your area do, it does mean they may only need their nursery place for a few weeks and then there will be vacancies iyswim.

Re pros and cons of early starts - If you ask whether you should send her now, or next year, then you will find very strong arguments in favour of both (just to warn you)! So really, the best advice is to look at it with only your child in mind, as you know her best and there is no great disadvantage to either route tbh.

If you decide to leave off for a year, then start looking around the local schools now as the applications come out later this term - the decisions are usually made, and places allocated, by March time, apart from appeals obviously.

If you decide to send her now, call you LEA and ask which schools have places, then read up on them/visit them and take it from there.

Good luck!

Gingham_Ribbon

Don't be railroaded into anything. You have a few months to apply for a place for her for next year. (The closing date here this year was in January, to start in September.)

It sounds like she might not be ready now so I would personally tell the authorities I was home educating and try to look for a preschool place for the coming year.

Good luck. She's still just a baby. I would let her be one for another year! Don't be bullied into sending her to the wrong school at the wrong time.

Education otherwise will help if you give them a ring.

bestpud

Gingham_Ribbon wrote: »

Don't be railroaded into anything. You have a few months to apply for a place for her for next year. (The closing date here this year was in January, to start in September.)

It sounds like she might not be ready now so I would personally tell the authorities I was home educating and try to look for a preschool place for the coming year.

Good luck. She's still just a baby. I would let her be one for another year! Don't be bullied into sending her to the wrong school at the wrong time.

Education otherwise will help if you give them a ring.

They don't need to say they are Home Educating as she doesn't legally have to start until next year!

All you need to say, OP, is that you are putting it off until she is five, which you are entitled to do!!.

silvercar

You know your child. The problem comes in balancing the current needs for your child with the schooling available.

If you delay her starting school by a whole year, you would be looking for a place in year 1 for next year (presuming you want her to be in the right school year for her age.) Year 1 places will be difficult to come by, particular in good schools where there is likely to be a waiting list headed by people who failed to secure a reception place this year. If by delaying her start, you end up with a rubbish school it may not have been worth the wait.

Look around, if you are near the boundary of education authorities you may find one area has two intakes a year.

bestpud

silvercar wrote: »

You know your child. The problem comes in balancing the current needs for your child with the schooling available.

If you delay her starting school by a whole year, you would be looking for a place in year 1 for next year (presuming you want her to be in the right school year for her age.) Year 1 places will be difficult to come by, particular in good schools where there is likely to be a waiting list headed by people who failed to secure a reception place this year. If by delaying her start, you end up with a rubbish school it may not have been worth the wait.

Look around, if you are near the boundary of education authorities you may find one area has two intakes a year.

Good point. I hadn't thought of that, but then wouldn't that be classed as holding it against them because they've waited a year? Or would they have had to actually applied this year for that to kick in?

Does it make a difference if it is a catchment school. Would they then have to take her next year, even if she did not apply this year, as they can't hold it against her that she is five and not four, and they had no legal obligation to apply before she is five?

If not a catchment school, the OP may not be better off by sending her now though as they have not applied this year and so won't get her into the reception of the better schools anyway. In which case they lose nothing by waiting, and may gain by being on the waiting list iyswim?