Deferred school entry - anyone else defering to 2024

I was planning to send my son this September but the school we applied for have said they can’t support him. I am considering delaying school until next year as he is non verbal, has autism and only turns 4 at the end of July. I don’t know what’s best? I am in Barnsley so not far from you.

I’m a couple of years behind (august 2021) but this is something I’ve thought about since I discovered I was having an August baby. I’d love to have a chat about the process you went through if you have the time? 😊

Anyone thinking about it, I'd recommend joining The 'Flexible School Admissions for summer-borns' Facebook group and read the information there. It's a great support and advice group. My son is 'normal', intelligent and ahead in many areas especially his speech but for me the statistics speak for themselves and I'd rather give my son the advantage of being the oldest than him having to 'catch up' in a system staked against him.

Agree with Debbie, that group is great! It seems preemptive, but it is worth checking with your local secondary schools what their policy is (assuming you're planning on staying in the same area that is) as some will randomly refuse to honour the deferral and try and force skipping a year when kiddos reach that age. I'm a primary school teacher and my little boy is August 31st, typical 🫣

@Chelsea hey sorry to bother you, I was just about to put a status up about my child bein non verbal too & his turning 4 start of July too, I'm not sure to put him school or 4 or 5 as I was told he wouldn't go to a normal school? Do you know anything about this, can you msg me please xx

@Eve national policy means they automatically stay in their adopted cohort unless there's a really good reason. In Sheffield all the high-schools have already said they'll keep kids in their adopted cohort so no issues here than goodness.