So tomorrow is a pretty big day for us… It’s basically judgement day for any parent with a pre-school child…
Tomorrow, just like thousands of other people in this country we are going to find out what school our daughter will go to! Which one will it be? Is it the ‘outstanding’ school that we hoped for? Or the ‘good’ one or the one that ‘requires improvement’?
It seems almost as if this day decides my daughter’s whole future! The quality of education she will receive, the sort of friends she will make (let’s face it that’s what it’s really about…) and how early we have to get up every morning to get to school!
And it’s basically a lottery! Well not quite… as the one thing you can do is of course is to move into a place as close as possible to the desired school. Easy, right?
In our case we decided when our daughter was 15 months old which school we wanted her to go to and then looked for a house in that area. Does this sound ridiculous to you? It probably does if you’re not from the UK! It certainly does if you are from Germany for example, like I am.
Not only does it seem to be easier to get into any school – even if it’s not within a mile of where you live – but also the question doesn’t come up much later because children in Germany start school at the age of six rather than four!
And yes I understand that “Reception” is supposed to be more like “Kindergarten” with lots of free play but I can tell you that it most certainly isn’t! I know that because my daughter is in school nursery or pre-school or whatever you want to call it. It’s giving us a little snapshot of what there is to come I guess and I have to say that it worries me a little. She is three years old and is already being given targets of being able to write her name for example.
Again, if you are from this country then that will be nothing unusual for you but for me this is a very different concept to what I’m used to as children in Germany will do pretty much nothing else but play until they are six years old!
And do they fall behind in school because of that? Well according to this article Germany outperforms the UK in all subjects Reading, Maths and Science and so do the Scandinavian countries where school also starts much later.
I live in the UK and I love living here and by choosing to live here I have also signed up to the education system of course but I do sometimes ask myself if this is really the best for my child. Should we just let them be kids a little bit longer? Or do we need to make sure they can read and write as soon as possible? Is reading stories to them not maybe enough for now?
The other problem I’ve got is the long hours of 9am to 3pm that they are in school. As a parent who would like to work more I welcome that my child is being taken care of for six hours of the day of course but I also worry about how that time is spent.
I also have to add here that my daughter is only turning four in July which means that she will be one of the youngest kids in her school year.
Would I want her to start later? No, because this is the system she will be in but if there was an alternative then we would take it!
I’m happy that she will have the opportunity to make new friends, discover and learn new things but I’m also worried about the pressure that she might experience at this very young age. Is it really necessary? You might disagree but I don’t think it is…
As a yoga teacher I hear about stress related problems all the time and not only from adults! And what about sitting for long periods of time at the age of four or five! We can spend our whole adult life trying to reverse effects of sitting and bad posture. Kids should be encouraged to run around, find ways of exploring the world through play and just be children!
There is enough time to teach them to read and write! They don’t need targets, tests and pressure! They need a chance to be active, build up their confidence, make friends, and use their imagination!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject. Especially if you have older children who have gone through the system or are about to get into it! Would you have your child start school later if you had the choice? Do you think the education system needs to be improved?
You are so right! My first born is an August boy and at only 7 he is stressed about keeping up with schoolwork… Whilst my second was born in September and is blossoming in his extra year at nursery, most importantly he’s gaining the social skills he’ll need.
my daughter is only turning four in July which means that she will be one of the youngest kids in her school year.
Would I want her to start later? No, because this is the system she will be in but if there was an alternative then we would take it!
Your daughter can start next year at compulsory school age still within the system.
Not all children in the UK start at 4. In Scotland we start at 5 on average (the youngest being 4.5) and as parents are actively encouraged not to teach children to read or write until they start school, which brings about it’s own issues if your child is desperate to know how to read for example. From what I have seen so far of the education system up here, it’s not as high pressured as England. Testing and having levels to achieve is good for schools and children, it pushes them and gives an understanding of where further help may be required, this should never be done at the detriment of the child. However, I do think the pressure our children feel has as much to do with the teachers and parents and the projection of their own anxieties on the child as the child themselves. I think the English system suffers from not being able to keep summer babies back a year if required (though I understand this is changing). In Scotland the cut off for school is the end of February, if you have a child born in January or February you can choose to keep them back until the following year. In fact where your child attends a nursery attached to the school, the school themselves may recommend it. Change is needed in the English system to provide flexibility and a better balance between play and learning.
My daughter started last year and is a September birthday I thought she was more then ready for it but it has took her so long to settle in it makes me think maybe she wasn’t. My youngest starts next September and she is a June birthday so I am not sure how ready she will be, four just seems so young. xx
A fabulous piece of writing – my favourite of all your blogs! By setting kids targets so young we give them an opportunity to fail. But of course they’re not failing – they’re just not ready.
It is crazy how pressured school is for such young children. My son was born in late August so wil be the youngest in his class. Being a boy too will make it a real challenge for him I think. I believe that the most important battle is getting kids to like school. If they like being there then they will engage and achieve. Too much pressure is always going to hinder this enjoyment I believe. Pen x
Oh I am so with you on this especially as my son has global delay and can’t even recognise his name let alone right it. I have put him down for mainstream school and now I am terrified that I’ve made the wrong decision. I feel.like he’s going to be thrown in at the deep end. He’s only just learnt that answer to “what is your name?” after months of practise and repetition . I heard a mum moaning at the school gates the other day that her son has to stay at nursery for another year because he misses out starting school by one day and I thought “but what’s the problem? Isn’t that a fantastic outcome? He have a year advantage over all the other kids. I’d be re there pleased about that but maybe he’s ready. Who am I to judge. I just know that at four years old my son is not ready at all.
#coolmumclub
My eldest is a Sept baby and was soooooo ready to start school, he’s the eldest in his class and absolutely loves learning. My youngest started foundation in Sept, turned 5 last month and still seems so babyish to me. Maybe because she IS my baby but she definitely doesn’t have the natural interest in learning that my son has so already I feel for her knowing she is going to have to try that little bit harder to ‘keep up’ with the targets you mentioned. I really feel for the parents of summer babies as they just seem so diddy compared with the older children in the year, it would be great if there was some sort of compromise re age/starting dates. #brillblogposts
I think it hugely depends on the child. Both of mine were very very ready for school and have absolutely thrived on the structure, the targets etc. It fact my little girl actually says she prefers school to home because she ‘loves learning’ (obviously she does a fair amount of that at home too but just doesn’t realise it!).
I recognise that not every child is as ready as my two were though – it’s a shame there’s not a system that allows children to start when they are ready – be that 3 or 7 – but I guess that would be way too hard to administrate!!
I am originally from Slovenia and in Slovenia kids also start school at the age of 6. I read somewhere that starting at 4 is not great as it doesn’t really help them learn more, kids which start later tend to perform better in school (I looked at country comparison quite a while back). I don’t have kids yet but if/when I do I would want them to go to school in Slovenia (meaning I would leave the UK just for that). I really think 4 is way too early to start school.
#BrilliantBlogPosts
Such an interesting topic and it seems it would be wonderful to have more flexibility, individuality and play. Although it seems some are starting to approach things quite differently… I don’t know much about this school but I’m interested in learning more about new approaches after hearing about parents who adopt a similar system: http://www.smallacresschool.org/
Thanks Louise! Funny enough I’ve come across this school recently! It looks really good actually!
I am from the UK but now live in France. When I was in the UK my boys were nearing starting school and my eldest was well and truly ready to go (he is academically very bright) and he thrived. His brother is however more practical and was not ready to go at 4. Both however started French school when we got here (aged 5 and 4) and loved it. But for them it was as much about making new French friends and learning a new language as letters and numbers. I think what age a child is best to start school varies that there should be some flexibility in which parents send young them and which ones keep them home a bit longer. #BrilliantBlogPosts
My husband is French and I often wonder how different it would be if our kids grew up in France. I understand that they also start school early but maybe it’s not so structured? I agree it’s about making new friends mainly and I don’t have a problem with that of course. It’s more the pressure that I worry about. As you say flexibility would be great!
I felt the very same last year when my first born just turned four and two weeks later started full time school. He was still napping and so little I couldn’t believe it being from america where I started at six years old too four seems way to early. But having him in school for almost a full year now I see for him he was ready he has learned so much and absolutely loves it. But now my daughter is coming up to four and starting young too I am not sure she will be ready to leave home. She is so shy I fear she won’t be able to cope just yet. We will see. it’s so different here. We moved to be in a good school when I first found out I was pregnant so I get all of this. Thanks for linking up to Share With Me. #sharewithme
Thank you Jenny! It’s so difficult and I never thought I would worry about things like that before I had my children!