need some advice please: son turns 5 in feb 2012 should he be in school now?

theshadow

as school said he should be in school but hes not ready anyway, is it mandatory for now or can he still start in jan ?

please advise as i cant get hold of welfare at the moment



many thanks in return

onlyroz

I believe statutory school age starts in the term in which the child turns 5. Did you not receive any information about the school enrolment procedure from the local education authority?

theshadow

no haven't received anything as of yet, guess mind will ease more once i can get through to welfare department which will be tomoz now

Kimberley82

Is this your first child?
In what way are they not ready?
Starting late can be a real disadvantage

tsstss7

you could always home school for a year if you think he's not ready. You might have a problem getting him a place now anyway as most good schools will be full.

RAS

No child has to go to school at all. Britain has an incredibly early starting age; most of Europe waits until the child is 6 or 7 years old and many out perform us in the international league tables.

With falling rolls, school started to recruit younger children to boost their numbers. The Government's desire to tackle the more disadvantaged children by getting them to school early has also pushed for an earlier start.

The practical issue may be that most school places have been allocated already and you may find there are fewer options.

Your son will however benefit from spending time with his peer group, many of whom will have started school.

Personally, I think it depends whether the delay means that you cannot get him into a school of choice rather than his academic future where being unready might make for more problems than starting a bit later.

Ravenlady_2

What country are you in?
If by welfare you mean your district council.
He can defer until Jan but you should have applied to the school when everyone else did to guarantee a place.

You have 2 older children though so i am wondering what age they started school at, forgive me if I am wording this wrong but did you move here when they were already at school age or have you just been overlooked when the application forms were going out for your youngest?

I take it he was not enrolled at a nursery or pre school either.

Kandboys

Children don't have to legally start school until they are 5 but most start the September after they are 4. Does your local school have spaces available?

katrina1981

Hi are you in England? where we are he would have started now as they only have one intake a year and would have been in reception as my youngest is the same age as him.

onlyroz

RAS wrote: »

With falling rolls, school started to recruit younger children to boost their numbers.

Sorry? Falling rolls? Not in my area. And the school starting age is the same as it's always been (at least it hasn't changed since I started school).

Sammy85_2

He would have started this week in reception class if he was in either of my local schools.
They start in the academic year that they turn 5.