The DfEs Guidelines on Summer-Born Children’s Start Dates

There has always been considerable debate about when summer-born children should begin school. However, recently this debate has hit the headlines again and to help parents, schools and local authorities better understand where they stand the government has decided to release some official (but non-statutory) guidelines.

Below are some of the key points from the Department of Education’s publication entitled ‘Advice on the Admission of Summer-Born Children’. I have only chosen 5 out of the 10 points made by the DfE, so please refer to the website for the remainder of the recommendations.

–   When is a child required to start school?

The School Admissions Code requires school admission authorities to provide for the admission of all children in the September following their fourth birthday. However, a child is not required to start school until they have reached compulsory school age following their fifth birthday. For summer born children this is almost a full school year after the point at which they could first be admitted.

Compulsory school age is set out in section 8 of the Education Act 1996 and The Education (Start of Compulsory School Age) Order 1998. A child reaches compulsory school age on the prescribed day following his fifth birthday (or on his fifth birthday if it falls on a prescribed day). The prescribed days are 31 December, 31 March and 31 August.

All children born from the beginning of April to the end of August reach compulsory school age in the September following their fifth birthday. It is likely that most requests for children to be admitted out of their normal year group will come from parents of children born in the later summer months or those born prematurely.

–    What flexibility is there for parents who don’t feel their child is ready to start school in the September following their fourth birthday?

In recognition of the fact that some parents will feel their child is simply not ready to start school in the September following their fourth birthday, there is flexibility in the admissions code. Parents can request that their child attends part-time until they reach compulsory school age, or that the date their child is admitted to school is deferred until later in the same academic year. In addition, paragraph 2.17 of the admissions code enables a parent to request that their child is admitted outside of their normal age group.

–   Where a parent wants to send their summer born child to school in the September after their fifth birthday, and requests that they enter the reception class, who is responsible for making this decision?

Paragraph 2.17 of the admissions code requires the admission authority of the school to make the decision, and is clear that admission authorities must make decisions on the basis of the circumstances of each case. It would be unlawful for an admission authority to have a blanket policy which says that summer born children who start school in the September after their fifth birthday will be admitted to year.

–   I have been told that it is not lawful for a child to be admitted outside of their normal year group. Is this correct?

No. The law does not prescribe the year group a child should be admitted to. There is no statutory barrier to children being educated outside their normal year group.

–   If a child is educated outside of their normal age group whilst in primary school, what happens when they move to secondary school?

It will be for the admission authority of the secondary school to decide whether to admit the child out of their normal age group. Admission authorities must make decisions on the basis of the circumstances of each case, and will need to bear in mind the year group the child has been educated with up to that point.

If you have experienced problems with enrolling your summer-born child at the time you would like then please get in touch, as I would really like to hear your views on this subject and add them to this post.