Delayed and deferred entry to school

Compulsory school age

Compulsory school age is the start of the first school term after your child's fifth birthday. 

For those children starting school for the first time, we will offer all children a full-time school place from the September following their fourth birthday. Children must be receiving full-time education by the start of the term following their fifth birthday.

• Autumn born children: children born between 1 September and 31 December reach compulsory school age on 31 December and must be receiving full-time education at the start of the spring term (in January after the Christmas holidays).
• Spring born children: children born between 1 January and 31 March reach compulsory school age on 31 March and must be receiving full-time education by the start of the summer term (in March or April, after the Easter holidays).
• Summer born children: children born between 1 April to 31 August reach compulsory school age on 1 September and must be receiving full-time education by the start of the autumn term (they are not required to start school until a full school year after the point at which they could first have been admitted).

The law

The School admissions code states, "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". Delayed entry is not a statutory right, but parents have the right to request delayed entry.

The application and decision making process

While most parents are happy for their child to start school in the September following their fourth birthday, you might have concerns about whether your child will be ready for school at this point. 

Delaying a child's entry to school is not always the best option to choose. Before deciding to delay your child's entry to school, we will expect that you visit the schools you are thinking of applying to and seek advice from the headteacher and from any other professionals involved in the care of your child so that you can make an informed decision. The purpose of this visit is to meet with the headteacher to discuss the potential application in more detail. If this discussion has not taken place, it is unlikely we will agree the delayed entry request.

The school will be able to explain the provision on offer to children in the reception class, how it is tailored to meet the needs of the youngest pupils and how the needs of these pupils will continue to be met as they move up through the school. They may also be able to allay any concerns you may have about your child's readiness for school.

How to apply

Following your discussions with schools, if you still want to apply you should:

• Make a school place application for your child's normal age group at the usual time (between 1 September and 15 January).
• Complete an application form for delayed entry to Reception. Contact School places and admissions for a form. This form must also be signed by the headteacher of each preferred school to confirm that a discussion has taken place before you return it to us.
• You should also provide evidence to support the request if possible. Gather evidence to support your request such as medical reports and letters.
• Once your form and supporting evidence has been completed and returned to us. we will then consider your request.

Completed applications should be submitted by 15 January which is the deadline for on-time applications for a place in Reception the following September. Applications received by the closing date take priority over late applications.

How the council makes a decision

We will liaise with the admissions authority that will make its decision about the request based on the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child. In reaching a decision, we will consider:

• your views
• information about your child's academic, social, and emotional development
• where relevant, your child's medical history and the views of a medical professional
• whether your child has previously been educated out of their normal age group
• whether your child may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born prematurely

We will also take into account the views of the headteacher, who has statutory responsibility for the internal organisation, management and control of the school.

If you apply by 15 January for a delayed entry, you will be informed of the outcome of the request before places in Reception are offered (usually this is 16 April). If you apply after 15 January, it is likely you will be informed in early May.

What happens if your application is agreed

• If the request is agreed by the admissions authority, the application for the normal age group may be withdrawn before a school place is offered.
• You must make a new application as part of the main admissions round the following year.

If your application for delayed entry is agreed but you change your mind and want child to start in Reception you will need to apply for an in-year admission. This should include information as to why you think a delayed entry is no longer appropriate. In any event, if the Reception year group is full, a place cannot be offered in-year regardless of the factors put forward as to why a delayed entry is no longer appropriate. 

What happens if your application is refused

• If your application is refused, you must decide whether to accept the offer of a place for the normal age group, or to refuse it and make an in-year application for admission to year one for the September following your child's fifth birthday. 

Other factors to consider

• Once your child has been admitted to a school, it is for the headteacher to decide how best to educate them, which includes decisions on whether to move your child to a different year group. A decision to move your child to a different year group should be based on strong educational reasons and made in consultation with you. Unless there are good educational reasons to do otherwise, your child should continue to be educated outside of their normal year group.
• If your child has not been moved back to their chronological age group, an initial application has to be made when your child is in Year 1 for admission to Junior School, or when in Year 5 for admission to secondary school but requesting a delayed entry.

Secondary education

• Secondary schools are receiving increased numbers of delayed entry requests because of those summer born children whose parents requested a delayed entry to reception now being of age to transfer to secondary school.
• You should consider that your child has been educated in a different year group to that point and, unless there are sound educational reasons to do otherwise, the assumption should be that your child remains outside of their normal year group.
• The School admissions code requires admission authorities to consider these requests in the same way as the original request and decide in the best interests of the child.
• If your child has been educated out of their normal age group in primary school, and you wish for this to continue in secondary school, you must make a request to the admission authority of their preferred secondary school(s) for their child to continue to be educated outside of their normal age group.
• The application for delayed entry has to be made in accordance with your child's age, not their current year group, you will need to make a request alongside an application for a school place in year 5, rather than year 6. This means you will know the outcome of the decision in time to submit a request for the chronological year group if your application is refused.
• Experience to date indicates there are occasions when an application for delayed entry has not been made at the appropriate time. Consequently, it is likely that a delayed admission request to secondary request would not be agreed as the child would then be 2 years behind their chronological age group.
• The Department for Education and the council believe it can rarely be in the best interests of a child to miss a year of school.

What happens when a delayed entry to secondary school is refused

If your request for admission out of the normal age group at a secondary school is refused, you will need to decide:

• whether to accept the offer of a place in year 7 in the school year following your child's 11th birthday (meaning they would progress from year 5 to year 7), or 
• refuse that offer and make an in-year application for your child to be admitted to year 8 in the September following their 12th birthday (meaning they will progress from year 6 to year 8). 

School leaving age and impact on exams and assessments

Your child will cease to be of compulsory school age on the last Friday of June in the school year they become 16.

If your child is being educated outside of their normal age group, they will reach school leaving age at the end of year 10, rather than year 11. Therefore, they will take assessments, such as GCSEs, at the same time as the children they are being taught with.

The expectation would be that your child would continue to attend school in Year 11, even though their attendance at school will no longer be required by law.

Please note that one admission authority cannot be required to honour a decision made by another admission authority on admission out of the normal age group.