Summer born child going to school

[zigzag]

I have a summer born child (August birthday) who really could do with another year at pre-school, the difference in his development compared with the other children also going up is quite noticeable. The child's Mum came to speak to me on Friday to say that they are thinking about deferring his school place for the year. I have a few questions and would appreciate your knowledge and advice.

 

1. If he does not go up, can pre-school still claim funding for him?

2. I am guessing that we can take him under our Ofsted certificate until he is five?

3. Will he have to go into year one when he starts or will he be able to do his reception year? (The school he is going to is an academy school)

 

Socially his friendship group are predominately the year group below and not his peer group, so I cannot see this being an issue. Also the child is bi lingual as Mum is Greek and Dad is English, but his English is not quite as developed as Mum speaks to him a lot in Greek. So this needs time also to develop and improve.

 

Just want other peoples advice and ideas on this so that I can give her as much help and support to make the right decision for the child.

[narnia]

1 & 2 yes. 3...........parents will have to discuss this with the school

[GFCCCC]

Yes you can still claim funding - the funding entitlement is with the child - and whoever is providing for him can claim.

 

Yes you can care for him until 5 - he is still in the Early years foundation stage. I have a few who could have started school but for various reasons, parents have left them with us (most common two reasons are; they are late summer born like yours and because the school has no after school care and parents are working full time.

 

Whether he can still do reception is up to the academy - in Maintained schools they can now defer for a year and still go into reception but academies can set their own policy on admissions - Mum will need to check with the school.

[mundia]

Hi there. A chat with your LA might answer some of your questions, as there may be some regional variations.

you should be able to claim because the child is not 5, but just for the 15 hours...does the parent know that?

technically he would be in his 'age group' if he goes into year one, after staying with you for another year, but there's been a push recently to let these children start in reception. It's ultimately up to the school, who may follow the LAS guidance on this, although as an academy they can make the decision. If it's an oversubscribed school it will be harder to have the child out of his year group. So if he does have to start in year one he will still be out of his peer group and this could make settling hard, and potentially make it harder for him to catch up. Perhaps encourage the parents to talk to the school and get a sense of where they sit on this issue. It would be awful if by delaying the child does not get a place at the preferred school.

have they applied anyway for a school place or not?

[Cait]

I was in this position a few years back, but it was amazing how much the child progressed in this last half year. She went to school with her year group in the fund and did fine.

[lsp]

Is it possible to hold a child back for part of a year eg just Autumn Term or would there be no benefit?

[mundia]

yes its possible but you, or parents still need to consider if the child being the only one to start say in january, would find it harder to make friends in a group already established. its not always an easy decision is it?

[finleysmaid]

This is a situation we have often. To my knowledge ....

There should be no issue with this little one staying with you longer ...parents have the right to keep their child at pre-school until they are legally supposed to be in school (and can of course home school after that!)

However normally deferral is for entry into their year group....if they want to stay with you for the whole year then they must be careful as they may not get a place in the school as they effectively come off the school list and have to re-apply. As school budgets are tight they will try and fill all their reception places and then the child may not have a space. Although the government are suggesting that summer born children may defer for the whole year I do not believe this has been through parliament yet so therefore no legal standing

Funding as said is for 15 hours.....you may need to be moderated if he is to stay with you as he will need to be aiming towards End of reception goals.

 

From my point of view we have children deferring every year and have done so for some years! I have NEVER found it to be detrimental to the child. All of the children who have stayed have matured and progressed well. I have one little chap with me at the moment ...he is at a really good level of development for literacy and numeracy but as he has asd he has struggled with his PSE and social/communication skills. He would not have been ready to go to school last term...this term however we have had a different child (he is a summer born boy!) one child was crying on Friday and he went over to comfort him and to see what was wrong....on the same day I told a child off (!!) and with only hearing my voice he knew I was cross with her! He had a visit to school with his keyworker ...went off and didn't need her at all.....children he knew from pre-school came straight over to him and took him off to play....his teacher asked him to come over and do some painting which he promptly wrote his name on and did without question. His comprehension of this situation last term would have confused him

[Foreveryoung]

I have my first full year deferment with us currently, others have only ever just started later in academic year but this is a full deferment. I have my first EYFSP to submit this year now and i must say I'm not looking forward to it and I'm going in bind on it !

Funding wasn't an issue and council deferment process was extremely simple

[BroadOaks]

We had a child stay with us until just recently in fact due to parents not finding a suitable school place until now.

 

i suppose joining a school later in the year can have set backs like mentioned with regards to making friends, settling in etc. i feel this doesn't usually last long and they get into the swing of things.

 

We did have a problem with EYPP though.. although this child received it the term prior?! Might be something to check!

[Guest]

Hi, I am a childminder but also Director of a preschool and mummy to summer born twin boys who will not be starting school this September with their chronological cohort, but instead will be starting school at compulsory school age and entering into reception at that point.

 

As mentioned, funding goes until a child reaches compulsory school age (being the term after their fifth birthday) or they enter into the reception class of a school. Whichever is the sooner. So you will be able to continue claiming. As such he will remain an under five until September 2017. Please see links below about funding.

 

It is not set in stone, as you can tell from my situation, that a child will be forced to miss their entire reception year. As the school is an academy they will be their own admissions authority and as such will decide on the year group this child would go into if entering into school at compulsory school age. They could very well decide it would be in this child's best intetests to enter into reception at csa if the parents decided to exercise their legal rights for the child to start school at csa.

 

It is also untrue that the EYFSP has to be completed before entry to school at csa. Again, I have attached links to this below.

 

Please feel free to direct the parents to the Summerborn Campaign, where there is immense combined knowledge and lots of parents going through this situation right now.

 

"Admission of children below compulsory school age and deferred entry to school.

 

2.16 Admission authorities must provide for the admission of all children in the September following their fourth birthday. The authority must make it clear in their arrangements that, where they have offered a child a place at a school:

a) that child is entitled to a full-time place in the September following their fourth birthday;

b) the child’s parents can defer the date their child is admitted to the school until later in the school year but not beyond the point at which they reach compulsory school age and not beyond the beginning of the final term of the school year for which it was made; and

c) where the parents wish, children may attend part-time until later in the school year but not beyond the point at which they reach compulsory school age.

 

Admission of children outside their normal age group

 

2.17 Parents may seek a place for their child outside of their normal age group, for example, if the child is gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health. In addition, the parents of a summer born child50 may choose not to send that child to school until the September following their fifth birthday and may request that they are admitted out of their normal age group – to reception rather than year 1. Admission authorities must make clear in their admission arrangements the process for requesting admission out of the normal age group."

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/389388/School_Admissions_Code_2014_-_19_Dec.pdf

 

Advice on the admission of summer born children, For local authorities, school admission authorities and parents, December 2014 (this is non-statutory 'advice' published by the Department for Education):

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/389448/Summer_born_admissions_advice_Dec_2014.pdf

 

Press release from the Department for Education and Nick Gibb MP (Schools Minister)

Summer-born children 'to get the right to start school later' dated 8th September 2015

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/summer-born-children-to-get-the-right-to-start-school-later

 

Nick Gibb MP (Schools Minister) Open letter dated 8th September 2015:

To: parents, local authorities, schools and admission authorities, regarding The admission to school of summer born children

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/458797/Nick-Gibb-open-letter-summer-born-children-admissions.pdf

 

Latest House of Commons briefing paper on this issue can be downloaded from this page:BRIEFING PAPER Number 07272, 1 December 2015, Updated 1 February 2016 Summer-born children:starting school - http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7272#fullreport

 

Entitlement to Early Education until Compulsory School Age

 

parents “can choose to continue to take up their child’s 15 hour early education entitlement at another early education provider until their child reaches compulsory school age if they choose not to take up their right a place in a maintained school reception class in the September following their child’s fourth birthday;”

See: Early education and childcare Statutory guidance for local authorities September 2014 Part C, paragraph C.3 [page 19] -https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/351592/early_education_and_childcare_statutory_guidance_2014.pdf

 

and

https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-and-education-for-2-to-4-year-olds

 

and

 

“Entitlement to free early education for children who defer entry to school

Local authorities are currently required by legislation (the Childcare Act 2006 and associated regulations) to secure early education places offering 570 hours a year over no fewer than 38 weeks of the year for every child in their area, regardless of whether they have been born prematurely, from the start of the term following their third birthday until the child reaches compulsory school age. “

http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/Education/Nick-Gibb-letter-on-summer-born-admissions.pdf

 

EYFSP

 

Early years foundation stage profile 2016 handbook

 

4.2 Exceptions and exemptions

The EYFS profile should be completed during the summer term of the academic year in which a pupil reaches age 5 unless:

• the Secretary of State for Education has granted an exemption from the profile for the setting or an individual pupil

• the pupil is continuing in EYFS provision beyond the year in which they turn 5

• the pupil arrives from abroad within 2 weeks of the LA data submission date so a practitioner can’t complete an accurate and valid assessment

• the pupil has spent a lengthy period of time away from the setting, for example, due to illness or medical treatment

Practitioners should refer to the EYFS ARA at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/2016-earlyyears-foundation-stage-assessment-and-reporting-arrangements-ara

for information

about what is required in these circumstances.

 

and

 

2016 Early years foundation stage: assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA)

 

"2.5 Exceptions....

Pupils who remain in EYFS provision beyond the age of 5

The expectation is that pupils will move with their peers so they will only be assessed once for the EYFS profile. In exceptional circumstances, after discussion and in agreement with parents, a pupil might remain in EYFS provision beyond the end of the academic year in which he or she reaches the age of 5. Providers should take care to make sure this decision does not prejudice the pupil’s personal, social and emotional development.

 

In these exceptional cases, assessment should continue throughout the pupil’s time within EYFS provision. An EYFS profile should be completed only once at the end of the year before the pupil moves into key stage 1.The setting should discuss their intention to defer the pupil’s statutory assessment with their LA EYFS profile moderation manager. This will ensure the pupil’s data is not considered missing when the setting submits EYFS profile outcomes for the current cohort.

 

Care should be taken when entering the pupil’s EYFS profile assessment into any electronic recording system. The pupil’s date of birth may now be outside the expected range for the cohort. LAs should give settings instructions in such cases. The DfE will consider the pupil to be part of this new cohort, and will accept data submitted in this way. The DfE may check the accuracy of the dates of birth of individual pupils with the relevant LA."

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/2016-early-years-foundation-stage-assessment-and-reporting-arrangements-ara/section-2-early-years-foundation-stage-profile

[Guest]

 

 

http://summerbornchildren.org/2015/05/20/kids-of-summer-new-under-5-magazine-article/

[finleysmaid]

useful info there BUT I need to just add that although a school has academy status it may continue to use the admissions systems at their local LEA ...this might mean that they are unable (or unwilling!) to allow children to 'miss' a year (by which I mean that they would re-apply for the year group following the one they would normally enter)

 

Our LEA do not allow children to enter out of their year group.....even if late August born twins ...who were born at 28 weeks so therefore if they had been born on time they could have started a year and a term after their 5th birthday!

[Guest]

They are not allowed to have a blanket policy like that, it is unlawful. Every case must be considered on its own merit, and a decision has to be made in the best interests of a child. Yes, La's play hardball. Kent where I am is one such LA, however, I obtained headteacher support and after a sustained Twitter campaign, got LA agreement.

 

My twins were premature, due October, born August, one has an expressive language delay, that was deemed an exceptional circumstance. However, the tide is very much turning and Kentw has recently agreed a case where there was no circumstance other than being summerborn.

 

There are now a number of LA's that allow every request for a csa reception start...Liverpool being one, Hampshire another and these are not isolated cases.

 

Even those La's who refuse or deliberately answer the wrong question, are being taken to task by parents, who complain citing maladministration or who just refuse to accept a no, and in the very high majority of cases the LA will eventually concede.

[BroadOaks]

I guess the problem is if they do it for one they must do it for all.. even with individual arguments. They need to be so careful with their reasons to allow one child to do it and not many others. Then it could come down to an argument based on the likes of Gender, Race, Religion etc - and this can be dangerous decisions in this culture of lawsuits we live in or public flaming that can be just has dangerous today on Social Media!

 

Yes it should be individually merited and if it is in the best interest of the child that matters, not a set of pre-defines rules based on a number.