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Schooling for summer born children
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LittleMrsThrifty
Posts: 463 Forumite
This article might be of interest...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-25726538
Unclear admission rules mean many summer-born children in England are missing a year of education or starting school too early, campaigners claim.
The group, Flexible School Admissions for Summer Born Children, says the school starting age for summer babies has in effect become four, not five.
Under current law, children in England must be in education from the term after their fifth birthday.
But the law also allows for pupils to start school earlier.
As a result, the vast majority of children begin their education by taking up a Reception class place at the age of four.
A Department for Education spokeswoman said that admissions rules had been changed to make it easier for parents to defer entry and that schools and councils must make this clear in their admissions arrangements.
In a report, the Flexible School Admissions for Summer Born Children group says evidence suggests that children born in the summer months are not always ready for school and are more likely to face social, emotional and academic challenges.
The report claims a lack of clarity in the school admissions code means that it has been misinterpreted by many schools and councils, which are not sticking to the legislation behind it.
Consequently, schools and councils have developed their own policies and practices, which have made it difficult for children to start school at any time other than joining Reception at age four or Year 1 the September after their fifth birthday.
"Essentially, in the process of affording parents the choice of enrolling their four-year-old children in school prior to compulsory school age, the primary education legislation that still says parents can wait until the term after their child turns five has effectively been forsaken," the report says.
The group says it is calling on ministers to make it easier for parents to choose whether to send their summer-born child to start school at age four or in the following September after they turn five.
It should also be simpler for parents sending their child to school at age five to choose whether they join a Reception class (often seen as the final year of early years education) or Year 1 (usually seen as the first year of formal schooling).
The report claims parents who wait and send their summer baby to school at age five are usually forced to enrol their child in Year 1, missing out on the Reception year, unless they can prove that there are exceptional circumstances for their child to join the Reception classes.
The group says this should not be the case and that parents should have a choice between the two school years.
The report also says that some parents currently feel pressured to apply for a school place for when their child is four, fearing they will run the risk of not getting place at all in Year 1, if all the places have been allocated to children in Reception.
Flexibility
Report author Pauline Hull said there should be less focus on a child's chronological age and more emphasis on their developmental age.
Ms Hull said: "We want flexibility for all summer-borns. The ones that are ready for school can start early and those that are not then start at compulsory school age - age five.
"It is irrefutable that summer-born children can lawfully start school at age five in reception class and experience a full primary education, but by failing in its responsibility to ensure that all primary legislation and EU law is fully communicated and adhered to by every admission authority, the government is allowing admissions discrimination and unfairness to continue."
A DfE spokeswoman said: "We have changed the School Admissions Code so that it is more flexible for parents of summer-born children, making it easier for them to defer their child's entry.
"Parents should also have the flexibility for their children to attend part time until they reach their fifth birthday or request their child enters reception class rather than Year 1, following their fifth birthday.
"Schools and councils must make this clear in their own admissions arrangements - and we have recently published guidance to re-iterate these responsibilities.
"We are working closely with school admission authorities to make sure they are acting within the rules and we will not hesitate to intervene where this is not the case."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-25726538
Unclear admission rules mean many summer-born children in England are missing a year of education or starting school too early, campaigners claim.
The group, Flexible School Admissions for Summer Born Children, says the school starting age for summer babies has in effect become four, not five.
Under current law, children in England must be in education from the term after their fifth birthday.
But the law also allows for pupils to start school earlier.
As a result, the vast majority of children begin their education by taking up a Reception class place at the age of four.
A Department for Education spokeswoman said that admissions rules had been changed to make it easier for parents to defer entry and that schools and councils must make this clear in their admissions arrangements.
In a report, the Flexible School Admissions for Summer Born Children group says evidence suggests that children born in the summer months are not always ready for school and are more likely to face social, emotional and academic challenges.
The report claims a lack of clarity in the school admissions code means that it has been misinterpreted by many schools and councils, which are not sticking to the legislation behind it.
Consequently, schools and councils have developed their own policies and practices, which have made it difficult for children to start school at any time other than joining Reception at age four or Year 1 the September after their fifth birthday.
"Essentially, in the process of affording parents the choice of enrolling their four-year-old children in school prior to compulsory school age, the primary education legislation that still says parents can wait until the term after their child turns five has effectively been forsaken," the report says.
The group says it is calling on ministers to make it easier for parents to choose whether to send their summer-born child to start school at age four or in the following September after they turn five.
It should also be simpler for parents sending their child to school at age five to choose whether they join a Reception class (often seen as the final year of early years education) or Year 1 (usually seen as the first year of formal schooling).
The report claims parents who wait and send their summer baby to school at age five are usually forced to enrol their child in Year 1, missing out on the Reception year, unless they can prove that there are exceptional circumstances for their child to join the Reception classes.
The group says this should not be the case and that parents should have a choice between the two school years.
The report also says that some parents currently feel pressured to apply for a school place for when their child is four, fearing they will run the risk of not getting place at all in Year 1, if all the places have been allocated to children in Reception.
Flexibility
Report author Pauline Hull said there should be less focus on a child's chronological age and more emphasis on their developmental age.
Ms Hull said: "We want flexibility for all summer-borns. The ones that are ready for school can start early and those that are not then start at compulsory school age - age five.
"It is irrefutable that summer-born children can lawfully start school at age five in reception class and experience a full primary education, but by failing in its responsibility to ensure that all primary legislation and EU law is fully communicated and adhered to by every admission authority, the government is allowing admissions discrimination and unfairness to continue."
A DfE spokeswoman said: "We have changed the School Admissions Code so that it is more flexible for parents of summer-born children, making it easier for them to defer their child's entry.
"Parents should also have the flexibility for their children to attend part time until they reach their fifth birthday or request their child enters reception class rather than Year 1, following their fifth birthday.
"Schools and councils must make this clear in their own admissions arrangements - and we have recently published guidance to re-iterate these responsibilities.
"We are working closely with school admission authorities to make sure they are acting within the rules and we will not hesitate to intervene where this is not the case."
MSE aim: more thanks than posts :j
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Comments
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Thank you so much for posting this!Please forgive the badly spelt alias... I am a long time contributor who needed to reclaim anonymity for health/job related posts.0
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The problem is, even if you do hold your summer baby back it puts them on the back foot for so many years.
My July 31st child didn't start until the Easter before she was 5, so she only had 1 term in reception, she then moved school at the start of yr1 to a school that only did September intakes. She was so far behind all the other children, it took two years of very hard work for her to catch up at a time when school should have been fun.
Put in that position again I would not send her to a school that had staggered admissions.Accept your past without regret, handle your present with confidence and face your future without fear0 -
This has been the rule for many years. Your child can start school the term after they are 5 but the school will not necessarily save their space and they have to go into year 1 not reception, which would obviously put the child long way behind those who have had a year in reception. My son was a July birthday and was so small when he went to school. He is now getting ready to leave school when he finishes his A levels!0
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peachyprice wrote: »The problem is, even if you do hold your summer baby back it puts them on the back foot for so many years.
My July 31st child didn't start until the Easter before she was 5, so she only had 1 term in reception, she then moved school at the start of yr1 to a school that only did September intakes. She was so far behind all the other children, it took two years of very hard work for her to catch up at a time when school should have been fun.
Put in that position again I would not send her to a school that had staggered admissions.
But she isnt expected to catch up. By the time they reach end of KS2 it will have evened out. Its more parental competition, that they feel the need to push their child beyond their age, that is where the problem lays.
Schools have had these entry requirements since before i was born, so 40+ yrs that i know of. Most children seem to have coped and not been disadvantaged, or feel they were missing out/being left behind.
Just accept children develop at different speeds. Some are ready for school at 4, some are never ready0 -
Sorry, but it's well established that summer born children do less well than their peers - see this article or a Google will bring up a range of research.:A :heartpuls June 2014 / £2014 in 2014 / £735.97 / 36.5%0
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But she isnt expected to catch up. By the time they reach end of KS2 it will have evened out. Its more parental competition, that they feel the need to push their child beyond their age, that is where the problem lays.
Schools have had these entry requirements since before i was born, so 40+ yrs that i know of. Most children seem to have coped and not been disadvantaged, or feel they were missing out/being left behind.
Just accept children develop at different speeds. Some are ready for school at 4, some are never ready
No, being a summer baby effects children for pretty much the whole of their schooling, not just the first year or two. They don't even out by the time they reach KS2. Without the effort that my daughter, me and her teachers put in she would have ended KS1 way behind everyone else.
And it's nothing to do with being a competitive parent at all.Accept your past without regret, handle your present with confidence and face your future without fear0 -
The problem was that even though your daughter started school later, she was entered into an Easter intake of reception and then moved into year 1 so she was doubly disadvantaged.
a being the youngest
b not having a full year's education
She would have been much better off joining reception in the September after her 5th birthday.
In fact that is what happened when I went to school; it was my brother who is a late spring baby and joined at Easter who was disadvantaged and never recovered.If you've have not made a mistake, you've made nothing0 -
peachyprice wrote: »The problem is, even if you do hold your summer baby back it puts them on the back foot for so many years.
My July 31st child didn't start until the Easter before she was 5, so she only had 1 term in reception, she then moved school at the start of yr1 to a school that only did September intakes. She was so far behind all the other children, it took two years of very hard work for her to catch up at a time when school should have been fun.
Put in that position again I would not send her to a school that had staggered admissions.
I think the article is saying that your daughter could have started Reception the September after she turned 5.
That's what happens in Scotland. If the child is held back for age then they start the following year with the new intake and they are simply the eldest in the class. None of this starting at Easter malarky. It's saying that it's not well known that the same can be done in England.0 -
im confused (dnt take much
) but my dds both started half day of school at 3 and went full time at four (one dd is going full time september coming aged 4 she will be , they were both born may n june
do many peoples kids start full time at four? or just in wales?0 -
GobbledyGook wrote: »I think the article is saying that your daughter could have started Reception the September after she turned 5.
This is what I would like for my summer born LO and what I understood from the article, but it is not what some of the posters on here (e.g. Lukieboy) have said. So I'm confused.0
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