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

arthur_dent_2

As I said my DD was 4years exactly and she had to start in september also.

liney

In the Midlands we have 2 intakes, one in September and one in January. If you are born between September and Easter you start in the September following your fourth birthday, and if you are born between Easter and September you start in the January following your fourth birthday. My son will begin in January as his birthday was in June, but i actually think he would be fine if he was starting next week.

I would be very reluctant to delay a child starting school. I think starting as 'the new girl/boy' would be very difficult for some children, and the social aspect is very important to small children. If your child doesn't want to go to school because they have no friends at 4, you might have a constant 'I dont like school' theme throughout which will do their attitude to learning no good at all.

Why do you not send your daughter to pre-school?

elainew

I'm glad we live in Scotland. My DD was 4 in June and she will get 2 years of nursery and will start Primary 1 next year. In my opinion they are too young to go at barely 4. I think they need the socialisation of nursery before going to school.
But as i said thats only my opinion and I'm glad she isnt going this year.

nikflo

i would suggest you look into all the schools that have places left, my dd starts school in sept and we have had a nighmare trying to get her into a school. at the 11th hour we finally got our 2nd choice if this had not of come up then she would have gone to our 8th choice!!!

it might be worth waiting until after sept as some places might become available.

DaisyFlower

Although a lot of work is play based, they do cover a lot during the reception year. Jumping straight into Y1 may be even harder than attending Reception as one of the youngest.

Y1 is more formal and the teachers may not have the time to individually catch up all the missed phonics, reading etc from reception.

Spendless

I agree with that. My daughter has just finished reception and part of her class was sectioned off and filled with different toys like dolls or a farmyard with animals for them to play with at certain times. They don't have this in the yr1 classes.

Katyag

elainew wrote: »

I'm glad we live in Scotland. My DD was 4 in June and she will get 2 years of nursery and will start Primary 1 next year. In my opinion they are too young to go at barely 4. I think they need the socialisation of nursery before going to school.
But as i said thats only my opinion and I'm glad she isnt going this year.

I so agree with you!!!

My DS1 started school nursery at 3 years 1 month, we defered school entry for him by a year and he didnt start school til August last year when he was 5 years and 8 months. Best thing we did and he takes more in and is much more capable being that year older.

mrcow

DaisyFlower wrote: »

Although a lot of work is play based, they do cover a lot during the reception year. Jumping straight into Y1 may be even harder than attending Reception as one of the youngest.

Y1 is more formal and the teachers may not have the time to individually catch up all the missed phonics, reading etc from reception.

I completely agree.

I don't see the point of seeking out a nursery for a year as some have suggested. She's only going to have to repeat the whole process of making new friends again in a year (or less) when she starts school. And when she does start, she's then going to be joining an environment where friendships are already well established which is always difficult (no matter what age you reach).

There is no point going through the whole thing twice. Plus, in the first term or so of reception, children are taught to read. If she misses that, it's quite a biggie to catch up on if she's not reading well already.

Lots of children miss the whole nursery step and still go on to start school completely fine.

Do you have any schools in mind at all that you'd like her to go to?

lindseykim13

Just to correct a few points mentioned you do not need to inform the LEA of anything, from my experience they are not helpfull of home educators or even those who want a year off. So you do not need to do anything at all with that letter if you want to keep her off for longer or even permenanlty it is your choice as a parent. LEAs push school and so do schools. For clear and helpful info on your choices please look at http://www.education-otherwise.org/ they are impartial and will not be as one sided as the LEA advice.

Provided the child is not a registered pupil at a school, the parent is not required to provide any particular type of education, and is under no obligation to

• have premises equipped to any particular standard
• have any specific qualifications
• cover the same syllabus as any school
• adopt the National Curriculum
• make detailed plans in advance
• observe school hours, days or terms
• have a fixed timetable
• give formal lessons
• reproduce school type peer group socialisation
• match school, age-specific standards
• seek permission to educate 'otherwise'
• take the initiative in informing the local authority
• have regular contact with the local authority

alm721

Spendless wrote: »

Sorry I'm confused My daughter was born March 2003 she went to reception in Sept 2007 so aged 4 and 5 months. We only have a Sept intake here.

I think the poster may have been refering to a time when there was no reception year so you did go when you were 5 into what is now year 1.
Currently reception year is the acedemic year (ie 01.09 - 31.08) in which they turn 5. Year one is the acedemic year in which they turn 6.