keeping child back a year... whats the latest rules?

[numnum]

my new addition is only 3 weeks old and already my partners side of the family have started the question of.... will we hold him back a year and put him in with the march babies and he'd be the oldest in the class or put him in a class and he'd be one of the youngest?

its not really an issue for me as when i went to school they didn't hold the february babies back a year and everything was normal. and he was the begining of feb.

but everyone seems to be asking. i'm just like for goodness sake we've got 4 years till we need to make that decision. obviously if he's not learning as quick as others then i'd hold him back but to me its the norm to put him in as the youngest. there has been a lot of jan/feb babies born in our area and the sister in law was even saying they go as far back as holding december babies back where we stay

my sister in law was saying its the nurseries decision and they tend to hold all feb babies back. this may be what they do now but not when i was at school

what do they do where you stay?

[daffy654]

Here in England they don't hold children back a year at the request of parents. All children start at the correct time corresponding to their birthdays. I have no idea if the rules are different in the rest of the UK though.

[daffy654]

Also, here in England the birthday cut off is August/September not February/March as you state. My son is an August 23rd child and has always been the youngest in his school year.

[annie0000]

Hi numnum, presume you are talking Scotland here. The rules are that if your child is 5 prior to the school starting in August - usually about the 20th - the your child MUST start school. If your child is 5 prior to the end of the following February, then they MAY start school, any exceptions to this should be agreed with your local Eductaion board. As you say, that decision is very far away. Nurserys are more involved now, and they will discuss with you whether they feel your child is ready or not, but ultimately it is your decision not theirs. There used to be an issue that nurserys would not supply you with another pre-school place and so your child was left in limbo if you chose not to send them to school, but that no longer seems to be a problem. Your decision will be based on what you feel about your childs readiness, your nurserys view and may also be influenced by the size and culture within the primary school. You may feel if it is a small school that he will get more support, or actually if it is a bigger school with more than one class, that he will be in a class with the younger P1s rather than having to mix with kids a year older than him. Anyway you should just put that to the back of your mind for the next 4 years and enjoy your baby and tell them to mind their own business.

[terry111]

As the parents of three children now in their 20s, and all summer birthdays - don't even worry about it. Enjoy you baby and see how (s)he develops over time. Holding back is hardly ever worth it.

[joannie10]

as mentioned I am sure there is no need to be worrying about this just now but a friend of mine whos sons birthday is 20th February started aged 4 and has now, at the age of 8 been put back a year. Late last year someone else we know was fretting a bit as to whether her little girl should start this year or wait (it was her inlaws that were pushing!) - she looked into it quite a bit and decided not to let her go just yet. My sister lectures in child care and part of that is child development and she at that time told us there are studies that prove it is harmful to send a child to school too early. I am sure there will be some people though that have felt it did no harm to their child. Have an open mind and really you as the parent should decide nearer the time to do what you feel best x ps - we are in Scotland