Schooling for September born kid

Madmel

It is true that summer-born children can take time to catch up. I teach in a selective secondary school and in our pupil data information, we have a section on summer-born pupils as we are meant to be able to identify them for OfSted :rotfl:

However, when this list was displayed in a recent staff meeting, colleagues fell about laughing because a number of excellent students including my own older DD were listed. They had no idea she was summer-born as she is bright, articulate and on target for her GCSEs despite the fact she will be only 14 when she sits them (taken in year 10 and her birthday is late July).

As other posters have said, children mature at different rates. DD started school in the January before her 5th birthday. She was very small but already reading and numerate and ready to start. After one term, the teacher recognised that she was ready for year 1 work (even though she was still 4) and put her to work with the older children in a mixed-age class. She never looked back.

If your child is ready for school, get them interested in books, numbers and learning. Trust the teachers to do their job, be a supportive parent (like listening to them read each day) and the child will be fine.

neverdespairgirl

movilogo wrote: »

I didn't do my schooling in England (it was Jan-Dec session in my home country) so I didn't know about September start session until last year.

It may be an advantage that she would be more matured compared to August born ones. However, I guess that would be only first/second year or so.

Statistically, it persists for a long time. A much higher percentage of premier league players, for example, and born in the first third of the academic year than you'd expect from just numbers - thought to be because they are bigger and have more physical control at each stage of primary school, so get picked for teams / extra coaching, etc.

If the sessions was Jan to Dec in your home country, OP, I expect you'd find the same advantage for Jan to March born children there.

neverdespairgirl

alwaysskint96 wrote: »

But its not always the case. I was an Aug baby- born 6 weeks prem so due end of Sept. I was miles ahead of most of my school year- and it was a selective prep school i was at. My brothers with their October birthdays struggled far far more

Sounds as if your educational achievement in statistics lacked a certain something!

Janepig

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

Statistically, it persists for a long time. A much higher percentage of premier league players, for example, and born in the first third of the academic year than you'd expect from just numbers - thought to be because they are bigger and have more physical control at each stage of primary school, so get picked for teams / extra coaching, etc.

Very unscientific here, but that seems to be true for DD's year in school - there's about half a dozen boys in the older half of her year who dominate the school teams in cricket, rugby, football, athletics, cross country, etc... Although as far as the girls are concerned it's a more even split, except in the cross country when it's solely the girls from DD's class in the team.

DS is in the "older" class and he was saying today about how the boys in his class, including him, are the sporty ones in his year.

Jx

mountainofdebt

Junior was due in late September and I can remember being very concerned that he would be born in August because I didn't want him to be the youngest in his class.

claire16c

Janepig wrote: »

Very unscientific here, but that seems to be true for DD's year in school - there's about half a dozen boys in the older half of her year who dominate the school teams in cricket, rugby, football, athletics, cross country, etc... Although as far as the girls are concerned it's a more even split, except in the cross country when it's solely the girls from DD's class in the team.

DS is in the "older" class and he was saying today about how the boys in his class, including him, are the sporty ones in his year.

Jx

That's interesting it can permeate into sports too.

I do remember at secondary school this subject came up in my maths class. There were 8 sets, I was in the top one. I think there were around 25-30 of us. Nearly everyone was born Sept-Dec. The brightest girl in the class was born in July but the pattern was true for the majority.

bigmomma051204

I would love to know where my earlier post has gone...... :cool:

neverdespairgirl

bigmomma051204 wrote: »

I would love to know where my earlier post has gone...... :cool:

The great big forum in the sky......

keelykat

My 5 year old is a September baby, and I did worry and think about this a lot. To begin with I wished he could start a year earlier, but now I am glad he started the following year at school. The extra time at nursery really gave him a good start (he was allowed to start nursery a week after his 3rd birthday, but couldn't start school till he was a week away from his 5th birthday so ended up doing more then a year at nursery). He is now one of the eldest in his class, and I can see a big difference between the youngest and eldest.

I could never put money before my childrens best interests, I'd pay to do the best for my kids if needed (a years childcare). Also they grow up so fast-why rush them into growing up?

My youngest is a December baby so it will be interesting to see how things with with him.

mincepiemonster

You get 15 hours of funded childcare from the start of the term after your child's 3rd birthday in England. A child born in August 2009, for example, would've had the funding kick in in September 2012, had it for 3 terms, then started full time school in September 2013. A child born in September 2009, would have had the funding kick in in January 2013, will receive it for a total of 5 terms, and be starting full time school in September 2014.

The child born in September benefits both from being the oldest in the school year - starting full time education aged 5 (give or take a few days), but has also already had 2 extra terms of funded nursery. And we wonder why there is still a discrepancy in performance of children based on their birth dates?!