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

melly_g

Kids don't legally have to start school until the term after their 5th birthday but most kids start the september after they are 4.
You don't also automatically get sent school info anymore. You should contact your local council who sort out school places, not the school itself. Thats how it works where i live anyway.

thunderbird

onlyroz wrote: »

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).

When I started school it was in the term that you turned 5 - so you didn't have everyone starting in September as they do now. That was 1974 though.

pattycake

My granddaughter was only 4 in August and she started primary school last Tuesday! She is actually the youngest child in the school.

RAS

onlyroz wrote: »

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).

The original reason for reducing the starting age was falling rolls. They have increased since then

And none of my contempories started before age 5.

I do think for most children the current starting age is way too young.

ALI1973

In our area he would have started this week.

I know that I had to get forms from the Council in order to request a Reception place for my children in about January time, and was advised of whether they had a place at my chosen school in the May, and they started in the September (only one intake per year in this area). We were prompted by the nursery to get the forms filled in, did your son attend the school nursery?, have you filled in the forms to request a place?

As others have said, I believe there is no legal requirement in England for your child to be in school until they have reached the age of 5, personally I felt mine gained socially from being able to mix with their peers, so was happy for them to start earlier.

Good luck with getting to sorted.

theshadow

thanks for all the info to those that gave advice,

i live in Manchester, i will try to get him started in jan, as i dont want him to settle in his first school and then we move house and as to settle again. As we are in the way of looking for new house to live in another town. Just didnt want to get in to any trouble with the "government"

home school for first year! not sure about that, but i am self employed and we work from home, but don't want him to miss any social life

..ps he was late toilet trainer as he was scared of the big bad Loo

RAS

Read to him, get him to doing counting games, play on the computer, use colour, all the basic stuff. Sing songs, measure ingredients for meals etc.

puppypants

pattycake wrote: »

My granddaughter was only 4 in August and she started primary school last Tuesday! She is actually the youngest child in the school.

I was born at 11pm on the 31st of August. I was definitely the youngest when I started school:o!!

skintchick

thunderbird wrote: »

When I started school it was in the term that you turned 5 - so you didn't have everyone starting in September as they do now. That was 1974 though.

I was born January 1975 and I started school aged 4. I think it might have varied depending on where you lived, as we moved from Warwickshire to Worcestershire, and my new school had to make a special decision to allow me to go there aged 4 (I'd already started school in my old home) as everyone there started age 5.

RAS wrote: »

Read to him, get him to doing counting games, play on the computer, use colour, all the basic stuff. Sing songs, measure ingredients for meals etc.

Don't all decent parents do this with their children earlier than this? My DD is just 2 but she knows her colours, can count to 20, and up to 100 in tens, and sing songs. I'm currently teaching her left and right. If they can;t do all that at 4 surely they are disadvantaged or have special needs?

shellsuit

skintchick wrote: »

I was born January 1975 and I started school aged 4. I think it might have varied depending on where you lived, as we moved from Warwickshire to Worcestershire, and my new school had to make a special decision to allow me to go there aged 4 (I'd already started school in my old home) as everyone there started age 5.



Don't all decent parents do this with their children earlier than this? My DD is just 2 but she knows her colours, can count to 20, and up to 100 in tens, and sing songs. I'm currently teaching her left and right. If they can;t do all that at 4 surely they are disadvantaged or have special needs?

All kids are different.

Some are slower than others at one thing, but are quicker than that same child at something else.

It doesn't mean they have special needs at all.