Primary Education: Admissions

(asked on 28th March 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to introduce legislative proposals to clarify the guidance to local authorities on when parents apply to defer their child’s entry to school.


Answered by
Robin Walker Portrait
Robin Walker
This question was answered on 31st March 2022

Most children start school in the September following their 4th birthday. The department has not made an assessment of the effect of deferring school entry on children who were born in August.

In September 2020 the department published guidance for local authorities and advice for parents on delaying entry to school for summer born children. This includes guidance on transition to secondary school for children who delayed their start at school. The guidance helps admission authorities to understand the framework within which they must operate when responding to parental requests for summer born children to be admitted out of their normal age group. Admission authorities must make decisions based on the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. Survey data shows that almost 9 in 10 requests were approved in 2020.

Any change allowing the parents of summer born children the automatic right to delay their child’s entry to reception, and for the child to remain with that cohort throughout their education, would require primary legislation.

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