# Summer babies- holding back school



## annanouska

Hi all :flower: 

We don't belong here just yet just wondered if anyone is or has held back on school? 

My lo is a mid July baby and has always been a bit slower than others to develop. I know we are far off yet but it slightly worries me he will barely be 4 when he starts school it just seems so very young. Then I wonder if I hold him back he then will be a whole year later leaving secondary school than his peers :dohh: its so hard. 

I was a mid June baby and dh a September baby. He didn't do great at school I was top of the class so can't even base on our own experiences x


----------



## Quartz

If you are in England then holding back a year means they start into Year 1 a year later not that they become the oldest in reception - so he would still graduate with his peers but with a year less of school.

I prefer the scottish way where you could make him the oldest in the class (and therefore base it on individual children).

Also they do grow up a lot they go from babies to proper school children


----------



## annanouska

:hugs: thank you I didn't realise that! 

He is undergoing some testing ATM as he has some developmental delays so I will play it by ear :flower: 

X


----------



## alicecooper

My DS1 is an August lad but I didn't hold him back. I didn't want him to go into Year 1 instead of Reception - I think he would have struggled to find his place socially if all the other kids had formed friendships before he started, and he would have felt a bit out of it.

He does struggle a lot. He's the second youngest in his year group (there's only one other girl who is 12 days younger than him has pipped him to the post there). However I'm sure with guidance he'll get there eventually.

He's in Year 2 at the moment but spends most of his time with the Year 1s and only SOME of his time with the Year 2s. His school has some overlapping classes to allow for ability.

By contrast my DD is a September kid and I really wish she had been able to start a year prior. She's technically a Year 3 kid but she is in a Year 4 class because she's too advanced to be in a Year 3 one. She would have benefited from starting early, even if she had been one of the youngest in her year.

So much depends on the individual child.

I've got the same problems again with my third and fourth. Child 3 is a September baby (he starts school in September), whereas child 4 is a July baby.

Damn these silly cut off points! I think it should all go on ability.


----------



## RachA

I considered holding back my eldest (10th Aug birthday) but didn't. There were two factors: 1-they don't then start in reception but go into year 1 with their peers and 2-you are very unlikely to get a choice of school as they won't hold a child's place open for you so your child will go where there are gaps in the classes. 
Yes my son is struggling a bit but he will pick up and the gap will reduce. Had I kept him back a year he would still be struggling. 

Iro the fact you are having a delay looked into-my daughter is very behind. She starts school in sept and will go to mainstream school and will be with her peers. You will find that if your lo does have a delay then he will still be with his peers unless the school agree with dropping children down. As Alice said-a lot of schools will keep children in their peer groups but work with the younger ones if needed.


----------



## discoclare

Have you been allocated a school for reception? One thing you can do is defer him until January or April and they would have to keep the place for you. As others said, if you chose to defer for a whole year he would have to start in year 1 and wouldn't be allowed to hold the place open for him into a different school, as such you would be doing in "in year" application for year one and may struggle to get a place.


----------



## aimee-lou

discoclare said:


> Have you been allocated a school for reception? *One thing you can do is defer him until January or April and they would have to keep the place for you. *As others said, if you chose to defer for a whole year he would have to start in year 1 and wouldn't be allowed to hold the place open for him into a different school, as such you would be doing in "in year" application for year one and may struggle to get a place.

This is what I was thinking of doing for my 2 youngest (27th May and 17th August so both in the later part of the year) if they need it. My eldest is an October baby (26th) and is so ready to go that he could have started school last year. He's looking forward to going in September - he doesn't want to go back to pre-school :dohh: However if I feel that my other 2 need the extra time I'll defer them by a term, or ask to go half-weeks/part time for the earlier terms if I think they need it. Don't be afraid to ask for help.


----------



## Missy86

I don't worry about Rhys at all, he is very ready to start school (born June 6th)

I will worry about Liam cos he is an August baby, I may ask that he could do just the mornings till the Christmas but I have a long time till he starts school and he is very determined so I may not need to


----------



## Tasha

NM (my eight year old) birthday is right at the end of July and whilst she did find it tough for a few years and found the full days really hard going for a while, now that she is in year four she is the same as her peers. Just thought it might help to have the experience of someone whose child struggled and is now older. Having said that if your LO has delays then talk to the school before applying about what support would be put in place, talk to the health care providers about their thoughts on it all x


----------



## seoj

I was just thinking how old my LO will be when she starts public kindergarten (she'll almost be 6yrs)- but, like me, she'll be on the older side. My SD, has a June Bday- so she's always been on the younger side... she'll actually graduate High School next year right before she turns 18. For me, probably because I was always on the older end, I'm glad LO will be... not that there was really an issue with her being on the younger side. Other than when she started dating... :haha: cause even boys in her grade can be about a year older- and if she liked a boy 1 grade above her the age difference was more extensive ;)

I did hear they are changing to Kindergarten full days in 2015 (in my area)- so I think with LO being older that will be Ok for her.

Just do whatever makes sense to you and your LO- either way, they won't know any different as time goes on. It all evens out :)


----------



## freckleonear

Quartz said:


> If you are in England then holding back a year means they start into Year 1 a year later not that they become the oldest in reception




RachA said:


> 1-they don't then start in reception but go into year 1 with their peers




discoclare said:


> As others said, if you chose to defer for a whole year he would have to start in year 1

This information is incorrect. Government guidance issued in 2013 has confirmed that it is unlawful for local authorities to have a blanket policy of admitting deferred children to Year 1 instead of Reception. Local authorities may still try to argue with parents but they are supposed to consider cases on an individual basis and are more likely to agree to the child entering Reception if there are developmental concerns or other reasons for deferring.


----------



## RachA

freckleonear said:


> Quartz said:
> 
> 
> If you are in England then holding back a year means they start into Year 1 a year later not that they become the oldest in reception
> 
> 
> 
> 
> RachA said:
> 
> 
> 1-they don't then start in reception but go into year 1 with their peersClick to expand...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> discoclare said:
> 
> 
> As others said, if you chose to defer for a whole year he would have to start in year 1Click to expand...
> 
> This information is incorrect. Government guidance issued in 2013 has confirmed that it is unlawful for local authorities to have a blanket policy of admitting deferred children to Year 1 instead of Reception. Local authorities may still try to argue with parents but they are supposed to consider cases on an individual basis and are more likely to agree to the child entering Reception if there are developmental concerns or other reasons for deferring.Click to expand...

That also must depend on the school too though as DD has developmental issues and we spoke to the school she is going to about if they would drop her down a year and their policy is that they wouldn't drop her down a year. She would be able to do some if her small group work with the lower year but her actual registration class would be her direct peer group. I'm pretty sure that if we'd chosen a different school then their policy was different however this was what we wanted anyway. 
Also most people I've spoken to who want to defer are just wanting it because they feel 4 is too young to start school rather than because of any developmental issues therefore the reason for deferring isn't necessarily one that the LA would recognise as a valid reason for holding back and placing them in a lower year.


----------



## Kay_Baby

It totally depends on the child. My sisters youngest turned 4 and then started school full time the next week. He was more than ready and has no issues keeping up with his peers. 

I have the opposite problem. My eldest is an early September baby and at his nursery due to his ability is mainly with children who will be going to school a full year before him. It feels like he will wait a whole year longer to start school than he needs.


----------



## Rachel_C

My oldest is a September baby but I'm glad she's had longer in nursery (5 terms) as she was very shy and the extra time there has helped her gain in confidence by being first the youngest and then the oldest child there. My youngest, however, is an August baby. If she was shy too or young for her age I would definitely consider sending her just for mornings for the first term of Reception or longer if necessary. She's totally different to her sister though - very outgoing and confident so unless she struggles to cope with the long days I don't think anything like that will be necessary. I think it depends on personality at least as much as age. 

If it did come to keeping a child back a year, I don't think it would make that much difference if they were a July/August baby. They'd only be a month or two older than the September babies in the year below them so it's not like you're 'wasting' a year of their life!


----------



## hattiehippo

freckleonear said:


> Quartz said:
> 
> 
> If you are in England then holding back a year means they start into Year 1 a year later not that they become the oldest in reception
> 
> 
> 
> 
> RachA said:
> 
> 
> 1-they don't then start in reception but go into year 1 with their peersClick to expand...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> discoclare said:
> 
> 
> As others said, if you chose to defer for a whole year he would have to start in year 1Click to expand...
> 
> This information is incorrect. Government guidance issued in 2013 has confirmed that it is unlawful for local authorities to have a blanket policy of admitting deferred children to Year 1 instead of Reception. Local authorities may still try to argue with parents but they are supposed to consider cases on an individual basis and are more likely to agree to the child entering Reception if there are developmental concerns or other reasons for deferring.Click to expand...

While this is true it's very unusual for a child to start outside their year group in England and Wales and just being considered 'too young' because they are a summer birthday is not usually enough of a reason for schools to admit a child a year late.

It would be better if, like in Scotland, there was clear guidance that parents whose children were say July & August could request their child is held back if there were specific reasons why they needed to.

And while it doesn't sound like a big deal, if they stay a year back for their whole school life, you are effectively taking a year off them because they will finish a year later and this can cause difficulties with older students wanting to leave before they've finished school but can because legally they are above the age to finish school before they start their final year.


----------



## stephx

My LO is an august birthday, I won't be holding her back a year. 

Intellectually she is so ready for school. She can count to 30, do basic addition and is starting to spell out words and I can't keep up with her!

Emotionally, she is very much still a 3 year old and I worry about her. She is reluctant to tell anyone when she is hurt/upset in preschool and I worry that when the teacher-child ratio drops that will get worse. 

I wouldn't hold her back though as I think it wastes a year (not necessarily now- but in her teens when an extra year is important) and starting in year 1 would mean that all the children have already bonded socially. 

I was a late July birthday too, and I did ok :winkwink:


----------



## lovelylaura

I'm just thinking ahead with Freya because she is the 27th august so will be one of the youngest but is it common for most schools to agree to half days for the first term? This is my only concern that it might be too long of a day for her. Thanks.


----------



## RachA

I don't know about all schools but the schools that i have spoken to have all been quite accepting. I've found that smaller schools are more open to things than bigger schools. I don't think you can be forced to send your child full time. 
The only thing that i would say is that your child may want to be there full time. Daniel's birthday is 10th Aug and i wanted him to be part time until after christmas (looking back i should of gone ahead with it). The school he's at did part time for the younger ones until 10th Nov. However when we got back after the october half term we were told that they could now go to full time from a week earlier than that - the school had had a load of complaints from the parents saying it was too much hassle for them doing the half days because of work! I made the decision that i would still keep my son on half days for the extra week because he was really struggling with the long days. The last week of me going in to pick him up was really hard - he was the only one in the school office being picked up and looked as if he was being sent home because he was naughty or something. He also questioned be as to why he was going home but all his friends were still at school.
As i said - i wish now that i had gone with my gut and requested the half days until the christmas because once he went full time it was a nightmare - he honestly couldn't cope with it.


----------



## Dragonfly

This done my head in the other day as its slightly different here. My sons an aug baby so he has to wait an extra year to get in to school. He will be one of the oldest in his class. Thats the way they do it here.


----------



## Bernie

My and my OH had a meeting with my childrens head teacher about what to do with DD2 as her speech is delayed and still very much baby babbles although is getting better since being in nursery. Shes was born 23rd August so will be the youngest in her year group. She has had a speech thearpist out to her and she been refered to the early years team. I wanted her to stay back another year in nursery but apparently suffolk county council wont allow it for one reason or another. So between us all we agreed to let her stary of straight away with full time and see how she goes. As the nursery teacher said she will keep an eye on her and the new reception teacher they will be hiring also will let me know if DD2 is struggling with full time and put her down to part time. As the girls school is only a small villiage school ive been told that the school has only got 7 children in reception class in september so i have been told DD2 will get quite a bit of 1 on 1 time which i feel better about.


----------



## leelee

I am in Ireland. I have decided to hold my DS back and he will be 5.5 starting school. I spent ages deliberating about it. Intellectually he would be ready this Sept but emotionally he wouldn't. 

Although he is extrovert he is a sensitive soul and doesn't stand up for himself at all. Someone gave me advice that I thought was brilliant. They said base your decision on how you feel they will cope in the school yard, not in the classroom. DS defo would not be able for the schoolyard right now. 

I am so so happy with my decision, but it took months of soul searching. I am so grateful I have the choice.


----------



## morri

I started school at 7 yearsold, and i was a week frm cutoff date here, so it was decided that i go the next year. our class was a mix of 6 and 7 year olds. btw by the time they are ten they have the same knowledge as kids that go to school as early as in the uk , only that they only be in year 4 at that age, but secondary school starts with y5 in mst provinces here.

kids go to kindergarten which s voluntary from age 3 and they dont do academics there.

Lo will be 6 3/4 by the time shell go.


----------



## JJKCB

I didnt but I will say from my experiance of DS school: 

there is very little difference in my DS eyes between nursery and reception as it very slowly introduces them to structure and teaches them very basic skills in a fun way and it would seem by year one they will be thrown in at the deep end if they havnt slowly learned... they may also struggle to make friends after peer groups have started to form

the developmental delays are well spread across reception, some children can barely count to 5 and others are doing simpler times tables already but the teachers are very good a dealing with that, its not a case of keep up or be left behind anymore


----------



## tommyg

I'm in Scotland DS is only 11 days before the cut off. I'm trying to decide if he'd better as the oldest or youngest in the class. 
Would it all be too much for him at 4 or would he be bored going into school at 5.

Even into high school where is he most likely to be happiest. And do best? Are younger kids more likely to be lead astray?

Re the comments on them being able to leave school with out sitting exams because they'd be above compulsory school age. If the child is of the mind set that they want to leave before getting qualifications then its unlikely that they'd study for exams even if they were forced to sit them.


----------



## JJKCB

tommyg said:


> I'm in Scotland DS is only 11 days before the cut off. I'm trying to decide if he'd better as the oldest or youngest in the class.
> Would it all be too much for him at 4 or would he be bored going into school at 5.
> 
> Even into high school where is he most likely to be happiest. And do best? Are younger kids more likely to be lead astray?
> 
> Re the comments on them being able to leave school with out sitting exams because they'd be above compulsory school age. If the child is of the mind set that they want to leave before getting qualifications then its unlikely that they'd study for exams even if they were forced to sit them.

its not a great attitude but even if they dont study but sit at least they get something, and even without studying you can pull Cs or Ds in most subjects... 

1 C, 4 Ds an E and an 2 F for example are better than 0 qualifications as colleges often look for qualifications even for most vocational courses nowadays and most jobs require at least English and maths 

plus if the kid is naturally talented/academic they could pull the standard 5 C required to class as a pass with relative ease


----------



## leelee

tommyg said:


> I'm in Scotland DS is only 11 days before the cut off. I'm trying to decide if he'd better as the oldest or youngest in the class.
> Would it all be too much for him at 4 or would he be bored going into school at 5.
> 
> Even into high school where is he most likely to be happiest. And do best? Are younger kids more likely to be lead astray?
> 
> Re the comments on them being able to leave school with out sitting exams because they'd be above compulsory school age. If the child is of the mind set that they want to leave before getting qualifications then its unlikely that they'd study for exams even if they were forced to sit them.

I think it depends on the child themselves. DS will go at 5.5 instead of 4.5 because I would prefer him to be one of the oldest. He is quite timid and his pre-school teacher said it is only now that he is starting to stand up for himself. I think another year will make a huge difference to his confidence levels.


----------



## tommyg

I was googling this afternoon and came across a report that was produced. In Norway after following kids years after they left school, the babies of the year generally did better after leaving school than the older kids. The theroy being the younger kids are pushed all the way through school where the older ones have an easy time in school and struggle when they hit the point that they need to work to get results.


----------



## JASMAK

I think its too young, but I think school in general starts too early in the uk.


----------



## tommyg

I totally agree that school starts too young in the UK. 
Unfortunately we have what we've got and no politician's going to change it, education is too mixed up with childcare, the standards aren't as good as it should be and the only way people can see to change it is to push kids into education at 3 which also comes under the disguise of "free childcare".

It would be an act of major bravery for some body to decide to scrap education (free childcare) for 3 year olds. And turn the first year of school into informal voluntary preschool.


----------



## morri

We have free and low cost childcare here but yea politics is a hassle to channge sth,... but it is still not academical, you know kindergarten voluntary from 3 to6


----------



## tommyg

morri said:


> We have free and low cost childcare here but yea politics is a hassle to channge sth,... but it is still not academical, you know kindergarten voluntary from 3 to6

What sort of stuff do your children do in kindergarten? 
Do they start learning letters, numbers and shapes? 

In the UK voluntary pre-school starts at 3, with compulsory school at 5. But many kids are only just 4 when they start because of the cut off dates. 
Scotland the youngest are 4.5, England just 4.


----------



## morri

They learn about letters and numbers in primary school. (1st year)
Kindergarten is free play and exploration with kids aged 3-6

i am going to send my lo to a forestkindergarten where they stay outdoors all year round.


----------



## tommyg

So your kids aren't even thinking about letters and numbers until the age of 6?

The uk starts letters and numbers as soon as the kids start preschool at 3. I really can't understand why the UK push kids so much with letters and numbers.


----------



## morri

If they do they do it in a play orientated matter= counting toys and most 6 yos can write their name or recognise it but that is all.
Theres no schedule apart from lunch or afternoon naps/quiet time.


----------



## hattiehippo

tommyg said:


> So your kids aren't even thinking about letters and numbers until the age of 6?
> 
> The uk starts letters and numbers as soon as the kids start preschool at 3. I really can't understand why the UK push kids so much with letters and numbers.

I know! It's completely mad tbh. Some kids are ready but lots aren't when so little and the evidence shows that children who start reading/writing at 7 in countries like Germany have completely caught up with UK kids by 10-11. There is no actual benefit to starting reading and writing so young IMO and if anything it can cause kids who aren't ready at 4 to lack confidence and struggle.

Unfortunately it's very much part of the UK culture to start school very early and a belief that academic work has to start early or we'll be left behind.

The school my son is going to does at least do a forest school morning once a week and they go out in all weathers with saws and hammers and go pond dipping but this is still quite unusual in local schools.


----------



## mandarhino

Be careful about starting kids in January / April as they'll miss out on the phonics work they do in the first couple of terms and may struggle to catch up. This may knock their confidence. Reception is still very much play based and is a gentle introduction to learning. 

Also you may well be lucky and your child will be in a young class. My daughter's class is over 1/3 summer born (June-August). Pretty sure about 70% of kids in her class were born between March-August. There were only 3 kids born between September to December. Her school is single form entry so it was just coincidence.


----------



## tommyg

Yes I've heard that before that other countries who don't push letters etc until they are older the kids have caught up and surpassed the UK kids by the age of 11. In the same week as watching a documentary about Finnish vs English system. I also heard a piano teacher on the radio mention she doesn't teach 5 year olds for the same reason "what takes a 5 year old 3 years to learn, an 8 year old will pick up in a few months" 

In Scotland deferring means deferring school for a complete year, not allowed to start them in the middle of the school year. Scotland has had a single intake for at least 35 years so had plenty of time to iron out the problems in the system, hence the flex in allowing parents to defer, as opposed to England who are only just moving to a single intake.


----------



## Tasha

Not sure that's right Tommy, nursery intakes have had multiple intakes through the year in some places (not here since I was a small girl and I am 29 now) but school (reception) has always been one in take where I am.


----------



## tommyg

Tasha said:


> Not sure that's right Tommy, nursery intakes have had multiple intakes through the year in some places (not here since I was a small girl and I am 29 now) but school (reception) has always been one in take where I am.

Sorry if I got that wrong.

The way I've been reading stuff to do with the English system I've been picking it up that they were only just moving to a single intake, more being pushed by the schools and local authorities rather than the law, ie the legal wording is something along the line of "children must start school the term before they turn 5". Hence legally they can start school mid year. But if schools and LA's have been changed for that long why the heck has the law not caught up with it? 

Scotland it is if your child turns 5 before 28/29 of February they start school be preceding August, with various amendments allowing parents to defer.


----------



## mandarhino

My understanding of the change in England is that the younger kids used to be required to start in January so they missed out on a couple of months of schooling compared to their older peers. So were disadvantaged by being youngest in their year group + had a few months less school. 

What's changed is all kids now have the option to start in September. However parents can still opt for a January or April start for the younger ones.


----------



## Bex84

Schools have changed to one in take. You can defer but there is not different intake dates now. I'm hoping baby I am pregnant with isn't early as he could be youngest in year or oldest. My daughter is July and I worry for her. Luckily as I am a trained teacher I can give her some support. I would hold back but I saw how kids struggled socially to make friends when kids been in same class a year. What's awful is mixed year groups are very common, the last class I taught was reception and yr one mix and I made sure the reception got foundation stage working through breaks, one school I supplied at had reception, yr 1 and yr 2 together


----------



## Bex84

Add to that about 20% of my class did not have english as first language and had no English when entered, then add those needing additional support as well


----------



## tommyg

What a nightmare it must be hard enough teaching P1s without being in a mixed year and throwing in non- English speakers, Surely they should be getting extra help in nursery before they get to school.

When you can have 2 years between the eldest and youngest in a class is a huge gap, massive age diffrence between a 4.5 yo and a 6.5 yo.

Do you ever find the older kids in the year get bored?


----------



## Bex84

With the class I taught I structured day so yr 1s went to assembly with teaching assistant while I did maths activity with reception, when they came back reception had playtime outside with teaching assistant while I did yr 1 maths, reception came in for snack while I did summery with yr 1, yr 1 had break time and I did session or group work for reception, yr 1 back in for English and I would set them off and then do individual activity with reception while still been available to help yr 1 along with teaching assistant or I would be doing group work with yr 1, reception go for lunch earlier while I was teaching yr 1, then yr 1 lunch. Reception finished lunch earlier for letters and sounds then they mixed with other reception so done ability. Yr 1 back in while reception started reading and writing with teaching assistant while I started teaching year 1 then I would be going between both. It was tricky, then I had days I had no teaching assistant, plus needed to do sessions with EAL. We had lots of children come to schools where family stayed for year or 2 just for child to learn english, then quite a few would go back home early in summer so missed out then. The kids I taught were quick picking English up luckily


----------



## Bex84

To be honest I think its the children who are average and well behaved who miss out. Schools set up opportunity's to stretch high achievers and support those who struggle. Those in between I have noticed with some classes are just left to get on with it. I made sure not to as is unfair. Is one of reasons I am now sahm. I was working till 10/11 each night just to make sure children got what education they deserve and I can't take away that time from lo especially since her daddy is teacher to


----------



## LeannieB

Hi my eldest was born 27th August and he is the youngest in his year. He is currently in year 1 and I wouldn't say he has really struggled. He is slightly behind with his writing but he has never enjoyed this but he is doing some year 2 work with his maths which he really enjoys. My youngest is 4 in July and he is starting in reception this September but I feel he is much more ready than my eldest ever was, he is a lot more confident. I didn't actually know you could keep them back for a year. X


----------



## mandarhino

LeannieB said:


> Hi my eldest was born 27th August and he is the youngest in his year. He is currently in year 1 and I wouldn't say he has really struggled. He is slightly behind with his writing but he has never enjoyed this but he is doing some year 2 work with his maths which he really enjoys. My youngest is 4 in July and he is starting in reception this September but I feel he is much more ready than my eldest ever was, he is a lot more confident. I didn't actually know you could keep them back for a year. X

What's changed is that schools can't issue a blanket no to requests to hold kids back a year. In practice, I would imagine most schools are still saying no to requests where there isn't a compelling developmental or medical reason. It is still likely to be rare thing for requests to be granted going forwards. 

Read a thread recently on another forum about the situation in Ireland where they've had widespread deferrals in place for years so now some school years have an age spread of 2 years within the same class. Now that is unfair for the youngest kids.


----------



## hypnorm

i would have loved to have deferred Ewan for a year but there was no option and he would have just gone in to yr1, also our local authority don't give and option for easter starts either. So Ewan has struggled a lot, he is 22nd august so literally 2 weeks after he turned 4 he started school and within a couple of weeks pupils in his class were having they 5 birthdays.
we had to change his school as he ended up getting so behind but they kept saying it was to do his poor behaviour... new school no problems at all.


----------



## ILoveShoes

My LO turns 4 on 31st August, and starts in reception on 2nd September.
I am a bit worried, but he's very bright, so I'm hoping he'll be ok. Xx


----------



## KaceysMummy

My LO starts school in August, she'll be 4 and a half. I'm in Scotland too so I could have kept her back at nursery for a year but I think she's ready for school now.


----------



## tommyg

Kacey I don't think I would defer a November baby either unless they had very obvious problems ie born premature or had significant development delay. November is over 3 mths before the cut and therefore would make your child somewhere in the middle of the school year or the oldest by far in the year below which could bring a different set of problems, feeling bored and when they hit puberty feeling they are in with a bunch of weans, their can be a big difference between a just turned 12 yo and the youngest who'd still only be 10 year olds.
I'm not sure how far back parent have the choice however the LA don't need to provide nursery funding for deferred children born before Jan / Feb.


----------



## ~RedLily~

My LO is a July baby and I have worried about this but seeing how she is at pre-school and how much we enjoys her reception class visits I can tell she is more than ready for school and holding her back would just leave her bored and frustrated. I'm not quite as ready for her to start school though :haha:


----------

