How can I defer my child starting school?

The law does not require a child to start school until the start of the term following their fifth birthday when the compulsory school age is reached. 

Key points from Essex Primary Education brochure:-

• Where entry is deferred, the school will hold the place for your child and not offer it to another child.
• You would not however be able to defer entry beyond the beginning of the term after your child’s fifth birthday, nor beyond the academic year for which the original application was accepted.
• You can request for you child to start part-time until they reach compulsory school age
• If you plan to defer your child’s start date until later in the school year, you must still apply at the usual time for primary or infant school places

Essex Admissions will offer you the option of deferring your child’s entry until later in the school year and the school must hold the place for them.  If you decide to do this, we would suggest you contact the school directly and discuss with them the reasons of your request and the Head Teacher will take into account your child’s individual needs and any learning difficulties, and will discuss with you alternative options.   

You will need to consider if joining an already established year group at a later time than most of the other children in their class could be difficult for your child. In some cases, social circles and friendships will have already started to take shape. 

Summer Born Children

Parents can request that their child's school starting date is delayed by a year if they were born between 1 April and 31 August.  They will begin school in year 1, as the other children in their age group will be moving from reception to year 1 at this point. 

If you don’t want your child to miss reception, it is advisable that you submit to the Admission Service any relevant information with your request for your child’s school place to be deferred and the Head Teacher’s views on your request. This could simply be a statement that you write explaining your reasoning, and your wish that your child starts reception. If you have reports from relevant professionals who are involved with your child, such as their health visitor or a speech and language therapist, you should enclose these as well.

Please read the Essex Primary Education brochure on how to request a school place to be deferred with the Essex Admissions Service.

If your request is declined, you will need to decide whether to carry on with your child's application and accept a place in their normal age group, or refuse the place offered, and make an application for them to start in Year 1 the following year.  There's no right of appeal, but you can make a complaint to Essex Admissions, which they have to process in line with their complaints procedure.

The Schools Admissions code requires an admission authority and Head Teachers to make a decision about which of reception or year 1 the child is admitted to on the basis of the circumstances of the case and in the best interests of the child concerned.   For foundation VA schools and Academies, the individual schools will make the decision. There are no guarantees that your request to delay your child’s admission will be automatically agreed – Essex Primary guidance.

School admissions code 2021

 

Admission of children outside their normal age group

2.18 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 child  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.

 

2.19 Admission authorities must make decisions on the basis of the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. This will include taking account of the parent’s views; information about the child’s academic, social, and emotional development; where relevant, their medical history and the views of a medical professional; whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age group; and whether they may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born prematurely. They must also take into account the views of the head teacher of the school concerned. When informing a parent of their decision on the year group the child should be admitted to, the admission authority must set out clearly the reasons for their decision.

Important factors to consider:-

• If you make a request to delay your child's school entry for a year, the Admissions Service or school has the right to decide whether they can start in Reception a year late, or whether they go straight into Year 1 with their normal age group, missing the whole Reception year.  Learning in the reception class, which has a more play-centred curriculum, can be very important for your child at this early stage in their development.
• When your child changes school (for example, moving up to secondary school), you may have to apply to delay again as this doesn’t necessarily move with your child. Some Head Teachers may require that your child goes straight into their chronological age group.
• At the age of 16, your child will be legally allowed to leave school. This is the school year that most children sit their GCSEs. While the school will continue to receive funding for your child in year 11, your child cannot be forced to attend.

You can read our information on  SEN support in schools  & choosing a school for your child