Starting School

Slapps

Right i just thought i'd rack anybodies brains about when my son will starting full time schooling.
My ds was 3 back in feb and the school where he will be having his free nursery sessions don't take them in til sept this year. So my question is will he start full time school the following sept when he's 4 and a half or will it be the year after that and end up in nursery for 2 years? by then he will be 5 and a half.
Sorry for what may seem a silly question but he is my first child so have no idea about these things , where as with my other ds i will be clued up more lol

bestpud

You do not have to send him until he is 5, legally.

But he will have the option of starting when he is four and a half, if you want him to. Most children do in this area.

If the school you choose still has three intakes a year, he will be able to start in the January before he is five, or the Easter after he is five.

If they only have the one intake (September) then you choose whether to send him when he is 4 or when he is 5.

Hope that makes sense!

arthur_dent_2

He will start school and probably be very ready to start school, when he is 41/2.

BillScarab

Well where we live they start school in the September before their 5th Birthday. I believe this is how it is in most LEAs.

However this year is the first year of this system by us as before the older ones started in the September and the younger ones started in hte January before their 5th Birthday.

EDIT: As others have said it is technically optional and they can miss the reception year. However as far as I know this is not common as they could miss out on making friends etc.

arthur_dent_2

bestpud wrote: »

You do not have to send him until he is 5, legally.

But he will have the option of starting when he is four and a half, if you want him to. Most children do in this area.

If the school you choose still has three intakes a year, he will be able to start in the January before he is five, or the Easter after he is five.

If they only have the one intake (September) then you choose whether to send him when he is 4 or when he is 5.

Hope that makes sense!

I was told with my daughter, who was bairly 4 when she started, that if I didn't start her till she was 5, all that would happen is that she would miss out on the reception class.

Overthetop

arthur_dent wrote: »

He will start school and probably be very ready to start school, when he is 41/2.

I agree lol (oops arthur I thought you meant aged 41 or 42 not four and a half)
as an aside the French school system is that children start school when they are 7, recent research has shown that they do as well if not better than British kids (radio 4 piece a few weeks ago)

Zziggi

As I understand it, your son will start nursery in september 2008 and will have one year in nursery. In september 2009 he will start in the reception class aged 4 1/2.

You know you are allowed to take the free nursery place from easter despite the school's nursery not taking them until september. If you can find a local pre-school/nursery that takes them from being 3 years old then your son is entitled to have easter - july 2008 in a free place (but it would not be in the school's nursery) then in september he can join the school nursery.

Most schools run the same system as yours round here.

Slapps

Thank you both for your prompt reply.
I don't mind him starting @ 4 1/2 as he loves learning but i know he could have started nursery after the easter break but the school doesn't take them in til sept hence the wait. He goes to subsidized nursery 3 times a week for 2.5 hours a day @ surestart and loves it there. I also send him to playschool once a week for 2 hours as he has loads of energy of which i can't keep up with lol.
The main reason i wanted to know when he could start full time school is i don't want to get in a tis about getting him his school uniform, so was planning on buying a few bits this summer so that it doesn't dig a big hole in my pocket the summer before he starts. Just thought it would help to be able to spread the cost over 2 years rather than dashing out and buying the whole lot before he starts.

bestpud

Most children start at 4 but you do not have to start him until the following year. Some are ready, some are not, and it is up to the parent to decide.

They just miss the reception year if they wait until they are five, and there are various opinions (aren't there always :rolleyes: ) as to whether it is better or worse for them in the long-term.

bestpud

Slapps wrote: »

Thank you both for your prompt reply.
I don't mind him starting @ 4 1/2 as he loves learning but i know he could have started nursery after the easter break but the school doesn't take them in til sept hence the wait. He goes to subsidized nursery 3 times a week for 2.5 hours a day @ surestart and loves it there. I also send him to playschool once a week for 2 hours as he has loads of energy of which i can't keep up with lol.
The main reason i wanted to know when he could start full time school is i don't want to get in a tis about getting him his school uniform, so was planning on buying a few bits this summer so that it doesn't dig a big hole in my pocket the summer before he starts. Just thought it would help to be able to spread the cost over 2 years rather than dashing out and buying the whole lot before he starts.

He sounds like he will be fine!

DD2 was just a month off 5 when she started school and the last term of nursery really didn't stimulate her enough. She was lucky that there were three of them that age and the one nursery teacher did a lot with them (looking at numbers etc) - it stopped her getting bored and prepared her well for school!

Slapps

Zziggi wrote: »

As I understand it, your son will start nursery in september 2008 and will have one year in nursery. In september 2009 he will start in the reception class aged 4 1/2.

You know you are allowed to take the free nursery place from easter despite the school's nursery not taking them until september. If you can find a local pre-school/nursery that takes them from being 3 years old then your son is entitled to have easter - july 2008 in a free place (but it would not be in the school's nursery) then in september he can join the school nursery.

Most schools run the same system as yours round here.

funny enough i have just asked my local sure start if they would take him on til july as 1) it would save them money on the subsdised nursery place and 2) it would save me the money on the nursery and the playschool. it's a bit weird cos the nursery costs me £1.50 for 2.5 hours a day and the playschool is £4.5 for 2 hours.
i need to do something for him cos all i hear everyday "going to playschool today?".
it would also benefit me cos i also have a 3 month old son so i'm knackered as such lol

P.S. thanks to everyone that's replied i have hit ya buttons 4 ya