Schooling for September born kid

FBaby

duchy wrote: »

If that's the case private education is always an option. If the child is genuinely that advanced there is usually a scholarship or bursary to be had.

And that might not be a choice she is interested in. Sometimes the education system just doesn't make sense. The primary school my kids went to consisted of three classes per year, so they divided the reception class into Autumn, Spring and Summer. Autumn kids started full-time in September, Spring kids in January, Summer after Easter. Sounded great.... except that of course, to even the classes (usually over-subscribed), they had to move some kids in different classes.

My boy was one of them being born early January and ended up in the Autumn class. No problem expect that...he still had to be part-time, so after lunch, he had to go to nursery for the rest of the day, whilst the other kids continued with the rest of the class. He felt excluded and hated going back to nursery. He didn't need to adjust, he had been at nursery full-time since a baby so was used to the long days already and despite being part-time, he was one of the more able kids in the class, seating in the top tables.

I did approach the school about it but they said they didn't make the rules, the LA did and there was nothing they could do. As a result, I had an unhappy boy, a nusery who didn't know what to do with him and £100s extra to pay as not entitled to the grant any longer.

What really really frustrated me though is that they used his case as an example to reflect on the practice and the following year....whether children went part-time of full-time became up to the parent for the Spring and Summer kids, grrrrrr!

All this to say, yes, it can be very frustrating when you have a child ready for school, and yes, money does play a big part of it when you pay a lot of money (in my case I was a single mum getting no maintenance and the minimum tax credits, so did matter).

fluffnutter

GobbledyGook wrote: »

It's crazy that there's no allowances for children close to the cut off dates.

Spendless wrote: »

Sometimes there is allowances made..

Yes indeed. Although in the OP's case I'm not sure the education authority would necessarily be swayed by 'Reason for deferment/early entry: Don't fancy paying another year of childcare'.

Spendless

fluffnutter wrote: »

Yes indeed. Although in the OP's case I'm not sure the education authority would necessarily be swayed by 'Reason for deferment/early entry: Don't fancy paying another year of childcare'.

I've only ever known it happen for the youngest of the year to be de-ferred, or for kids to be kept back and do additional time in the year below due to certain reasons, as I described. The poster above me was talking about someone being the youngest of the year and inflexibility I believe.

I've never come across anything for the eldest of the year instead, though when I initially filled out a nursery application form for eldest it did say on it 'earlier places could possibly be found for those exceptionally gifted'(or words to that effect - I'm paraphasing) but you would have to have support to go down that route from your HV. No idea if it's still on the form as this is over 14 years ago.

Early-ish on in their school life, I found my kids segregated within their own class to be with the kids of similar ability regardless of where their birthday falls. They were just split up on to different tables.

notanewuser

jellyhead wrote: »

I think they go full time at 3 in Wales?

Not quite. 2 local authorities offer full time places at school nurseries to 3 year olds IF AVAILABLE. If not they can have 10 hours a week at an approved setting. I live in one of the areas. The full time places have been offered since the 2nd world war. Both LAs now want to reduce from full time to part time (15 hours) for 3 and 4 year olds and there is uproar. Predominantly - and most tellingly - it's the childcare angle people are most exercised about.

DD was due in September but was evicted in October. There is no full time nursery space available for her and I'm glad. Studies suggest no benefit in full time nursery for 3 and 4 year olds over part time. She's thriving with 14 hours of welsh playgroup a week. And we have a great time outside of those hours.

(ETA my parents were teachers. Both my sister and I should have been September babies but I was late and born mid-October and she was early and born at the very end of August. You couldn't put a fag paper between us educationally.)

dktreesea

Why is it in England that you don't get a guaranteed place at your local/nearest school when you start school, like you do in Scotland?

Sorry this may seem a bit off topic, but my niece sent her DD to school this year (already 5) but wasn't allocated a place in her local school and the nearest school that would accept her DD is 6 miles away. That wouldn't happen up here.

building_with_lego

dktreesea wrote: »

Why is it in England that you don't get a guaranteed place at your local/nearest school when you start school, like you do in Scotland?

Sorry this may seem a bit off topic, but my niece sent her DD to school this year (already 5) but wasn't allocated a place in her local school and the nearest school that would accept her DD is 6 miles away. That wouldn't happen up here.

Parental choice. Here we get up to three choices of school- we chose the nearest, second choice was the second nearest. Other people choose faith schools further away, or schools close to their workplace etc.
If everyone were allocated the nearest school there would be some huge schools and some tiny ones, depending on the area (I'm in a city and this still applies- some areas have schools and few families; others have lots of families and no school). Distance from school is usually in the top three or four criteria for admission but other factors often trump it.

balletshoes

dktreesea wrote: »

Why is it in England that you don't get a guaranteed place at your local/nearest school when you start school, like you do in Scotland?

Sorry this may seem a bit off topic, but my niece sent her DD to school this year (already 5) but wasn't allocated a place in her local school and the nearest school that would accept her DD is 6 miles away. That wouldn't happen up here.

it depends on several things - and your nearest school (in distance from your home) may not be your catchment area school.

It gets even more complicated when they get to secondary school!

dktreesea

balletshoes wrote: »

it depends on several things - and your nearest school (in distance from your home) may not be your catchment area school.

It gets even more complicated when they get to secondary school!

It seems to be something to do with her catchment area school, or at least the 2 that ought to be, being faith based. They seem to pick and choose their students. They don't have to take the children from their catchment area. One of these schools is oversubscribed, but has a lot of children going there from outwith the local area. It's the same with the local area secondary school. It's not a grammar school, not is it a selective school. But they don't take all the kids from their local "feeder" primary schools.

balletshoes

dktreesea wrote: »

It seems to be something to do with her catchment area school, or at least the 2 that ought to be, being faith based. They seem to pick and choose their students. They don't have to take the children from their catchment area. One of these schools is oversubscribed, but has a lot of children going there from outwith the local area. It's the same with the local area secondary school. It's not a grammar school, not is it a selective school. But they don't take all the kids from their local "feeder" primary schools.

"feeder" primary school isn't anywhere on the criteria list for the secondary school my daughter goes to.

Faith schools can set their own criteria too, as far as i'm aware.