Holding son back from school

M_A_R_I_E

I am a teacher and have a left-handed, Mid-August born Boy!

He has just finished his reception year and is one of the brightest in his class. He is writing full entences with capital letters, full stops. He is a fluent reader. he has lots of friends and is very sociable.

You know your child best BUT holding them back a year will not help if he has to eventually rejoin in Y1. Friendship groups would have been formed and he will be even further behind the his peers.

Have you met any of the other children he will be starting with? How do they 'compare' to your son? Is he really that far behind or is that what you automatically think because of his age? He may surprise you!

lisaloo1977

Thank you to every single one of you who has taken the time to respond, i appreciate it more than you know.

I think whilst i obviously have my worrys, i owe him the chance to start and show me himself what he is capable of.
I maybe have put him in a little box because of all the reading i have done on it. I always say knowledge is power, my dad says too much of it is what keeps you awake at night. I think he may actually be right on this occasion, not that i will tell him of course.

Thanks again to all posts, its good to hear the different opinions.

I will post an update after speaking with his teacher.

CG77

lisaloo1977 wrote: »

Thank you to every single one of you who has taken the time to respond, i appreciate it more than you know.

I think whilst i obviously have my worrys, i owe him the chance to start and show me himself what he is capable of.
I maybe have put him in a little box because of all the reading i have done on it. I always say knowledge is power, my dad says too much of it is what keeps you awake at night. I think he may actually be right on this occasion, not that i will tell him of course.

Thanks again to all posts, its good to hear the different opinions.

I will post an update after speaking with his teacher.

Hi again,

You sound JUST like me! I'm a worrier too and I read everything I can get my hands on about everything I do! Mum's always telling me I overanalyse things but I won't have it!

FWIW I think you're making the right decision (well I would wouldn't I, because I've made the same one for my little man! :rotfl:)

Just get the uniform sorted, prepare him as best you can (mum's a reception teacher and the things they worry about most are where the toilet is/what to do if they need the toilet and where their coat/lunch/PE kit etc is-bless them!), and keep your fingers crossed he'll be fine. I bet they both surprise us! (Doesn't make it any easier though, does it?! )

CG. x

Rainey_LB

lisaloo1977 wrote: »

Thank you to every single one of you who has taken the time to respond, i appreciate it more than you know.

I think whilst i obviously have my worrys, i owe him the chance to start and show me himself what he is capable of.
I maybe have put him in a little box because of all the reading i have done on it. I always say knowledge is power, my dad says too much of it is what keeps you awake at night. I think he may actually be right on this occasion, not that i will tell him of course.

Thanks again to all posts, its good to hear the different opinions.

I will post an update after speaking with his teacher.

Our children are our most precious things in the world, there would be something wrong if you weren't a bit worried and nervous for him, its a big step for him and also for you letting go a bit!!

I think your dad is right on this occasion, good luck, I am sure it will all work out fine!!

minimoneysaver

Have you been and had a look at Reception class and how it works? I think to make an informed decision you really should do it. Reception is great fun for the children. They get to learn through play and it is usually very informal. I would worry about keeping him back and sending him straight to year 1, because he would miss out on the foundations of his education.

minimoneysaver

I meant to say, I have a late August baby and she has done fantastic in Reception!

serena

Only just seen this...

I have three summer children, DS1 August, started school at 4 1/2 in January entry. As he had verbal dyspraxia, and recieved very little useful help for the first three years, I think he'd have been far better off staying at his Montessori nursery.

So, DD, May baby, not very confident, stayed at nursery the extra year, and started straight into Year One. No problems, she was well up on the work - in fact ahead with reading and writing, as she was one of 12 in nursery rather than one of 25 in school.

DS2, June, ditto. No problems.

I was under a lot of pressure from the school, didn't back down, and don't regret it in the slightest. I understand I'm the only parent at the school that's done it.

They are now 20, 18 and nearly 20.

Whatever your decision, best wishes.

cherryblossoms

My daughter turned 4 on the 31st august and started school around 5 days later, she is now 10 and is in the higher level in maths and english, she was an only child at home and starting school so early helped her so much. I did worry at first that she was too young, she was tiny compared to her classmates but it turned her into a right little character and worked in her favour.

I'm sure whatever you decide to do for you son will be the best choice for you in your circumstances, remember every child is different and copes differently with the situations they are in.

chocdonuty

I have an august baby and I too had this dilema when it was time to start school (never mind the fact that we had moved to the area in the april and had no idea which school was good or bad!)
If I had defered dd for a year then she would have gone straight to Y1 which is a bit of a leap from nursery and playing at home with mum.

Despite all this dd is doing well at school, the only problems she had were having to have occasional naps in the home corner as she was so tired, more than once I went to pick her up and had to carry her home as she had fell asleep in the TA's arms! She also was a little clingy and cried for me sometimes, but it never lasted very long, I think it was just the long days.

joess

I've got a little boy who'll be 4 on the 23rd August and starts school on 6th September this year.

We had the same dilema but we started thinking about this last year. We put him in the nursery which was attached to the infant school last year, he's come on leaps and bounds with the nursery and I now feel he is totally ready for school. He's settled, knows the school routine, made friends and knows all the teachers.

Good luck with whatever you choose