Deferring Primary School

We’re not deferring as we believe our son will thrive at school & will be more than ready but don’t feel bad at all for deferring! Every child & family is different, do what’s right for your son & your family ☺️

I don't think I even have the option to start my son in school next September 🤔 he started nursery this year and will be there for two years. Won't be starting primary 1 til the September after his fifth birthday :) x

We also wont be deferring. Our daughter will be in the same classes with most of her current friends which will only help her to thrive. Xx

Same as Alex - i personally won’t as we know my son will absolutely love school but it’s different for each child!

I would say though if your child has additional needs, depending on what they are sometimes it’s better to get children into school sooner rather than later so if they need support etc the school can get the ball rolling asap. I used to be a teacher and if a child started and was struggling, the school would get the Senco to work with the parents to help ease the child in (starting with half days for example) and work with their teacher so they had the extra support in the classroom. I know each school is different but mine was pretty proactive about getting help and support for the children with additional needs. I’ve also seen how well some SEN children have progressed since starting school so for me personally I would get the child in sooner rather than later.

Maybe when you’re looking round schools you can have a chat with their Senco and discuss your concerns.

Yes, 100%! My own personal opinion is that all summer-borns should be deferred because it's not fair on them to attend school with children that are a year older. Even kids who do well in the beginning will have disadvantages later on. Also, no-one ever regretted delaying! The experiences shared speak for themselves. There's a brilliant Facebook group where you can read such experiences, plus get a lot of advice and support from lawyers about the process.
https://www.facebook.com/share/g/19VK2GhvJP/

My son is a July baby and autistic. It gave us a year to gather the evidence we needed to get an ehcp and eventually get him into an sen school. Year1 was where he struggled as it became more formal learning. Academically he was fine but socially, sitting down for carpet time and doing things like putting his coat on due to struggling with his fine and gross motor skills he struggled with.
My daughter is a December child but started pre verbal but if she hadn’t on started she wouldn’t have the ehcp or the weekly speech therapy and daily speech intervention from school. Academically and socially she’s thriving.

I am as my son is a July baby and is autisic with global development delay

We're not deferring and when I spoke to pre school about my concerns, they said he will thrive at school and that we have nothing to worry about. I know it seems mad when they've just turned 3 but so much changes in a year.
However, if there are additional needs then this absolutely has to be considered. My sister has deferred her child a year but he has an autism diagnosis and is non verbal.