Summer-born children who defer starting school suffer ‘negative effect’
Back to Topic
Click to Print
Useful Websites
Glossary Term Selection
Children born in the summer months, who defer starting school by one or two terms, suffer a ‘negative effect’ from missing out on the extra time at school that their peers are getting.
By Sue Learner
The research by York University and UCL looked at over 400,000 children born in 2000–2001 on the National Pupil Database who attend state schools in England as well as over 7,000 children in the same year from the Millennium Cohort Study.
Researchers compared early versus later entry into reception class and looked at the impact on their cognitive and non-cognitive skills up until age 11. They found that all children benefit from early schooling; however, the average effects are stronger for disadvantaged boys.
Children in England and Wales start school in the September after their fourth birthday, although some parents feel that if their child is born in the summer months, they are not ready for school and apply to defer them so they start in the spring or summer term of reception.
Co-...
Want to see the rest of this article?
Would you like to see the rest of this article and all the other benefits that Issues Online can provide with?
- Useful related articles
- Video and multimedia references
- Statistical information and reference material
- Glossary of terms
- Key Facts and figures
- Related assignments
- Resource material and websites
