WHY MUM REFUSED TO SEND HER SON TO SCHOOL
BLOGGER EXPLAINS ‘GAMBLE’ OVER CHILD’S EDUCATION AND HAPPINESS HOPES. WORDS JOANNA LOVELL
Alongside his friends, four-year-old Stanley Hutchinson was due to start school two weeks ago. But instead of being in the classroom, he is currently spending his days at home with his mum, Emma, and younger brother – enjoying days of “fun and freedom“, and “playing in the wild”.
His mum, Emma, 38, has told how she refused to send him to school when he was due to go, because she says he is too young for full-time education.
Stanley is a June baby and, so, is one of the youngest in the school year. He does not have any additional needs, but his parents believe it is in his best interests to start school next year, once he is five and at compulsory school age (CSA).
In her blog, Dirt, Diggers and Dinosaurs, his mum explains her reasons for “holding him back” by applying to defer his admission to school for a year.
She said: “We’ve done something that many of our friends and family will view as controversial. We have decided not to send Stanley to school this year. Instead, he will be starting next September when he is five.
“For the extra year he will be attending preschool part-time, playing, bonding with his brothers, playing, exploring, enjoying days out, playing, growing and developing at his own pace.”
She has also answered some of the questions she says she’s been asked:
■ No, Stanley does not have any special educational needs.
■ No, we haven’t “held him back” because he was struggling at preschool.
■ No, it’s not that we can’t bear to let him go, and I want to keep him a baby.
■ No, we aren’t doing it for ourselves and not thinking about what’s best for him.
■ No, we’ve not thrown our dummy out because he didn’t get a place at our first choice of school this year... he did.
■ No, we’ve not done what’s easiest for us. (Far from it.)
“As you can probably tell from the answers above, I’ve had a bit of an ear-bashing by some, which I hope is mostly fuelled by misinformation and misunderstanding,” she said.
Explaining her decision, she said: “The plain fact is, he’s four. We’ve simply chosen not to send him to school early, we are sending him at school age, which if you go back a generation was the absolute norm.
“I personally believe that in the UK all children start school too early and that we’d be better off following our European neighbours whose children start school at aged seven when they are emotionally and physically ready.
“We were recently informed at a preschool parents evening that Stanley, despite being one of the youngest in his class, would soon cope with starting
school, as he’s really bright.
“This really hit home for me, a four year old shouldn’t have to ‘cope’ with anything.”
Emma, who is expecting another baby, says she decided to write the blog to let other parents know it is possible to prevent your child from starting school at the age of four, as she believes it’s not “widely known.”
This year three sets of parents have successfully applied to Hull City Council to defer their child’s entry to school.
Emma said: “I’ve had two relative strangers, who I only know through various kids clubs, tell me that they think it’s amazing, and one who asked me to email her the info so she could then look into it for her daughter. She had no idea that the option was available, which I think is a massive issue.
“Thanks to a change in Department for Education legislation, we not only have the choice whether to start his school journey prior to CSA or at CSA, but also have the right to request admission into Reception class at CSA rather than Year One, ensuring that he will not lose a vital whole year of early education.
“I think an extra year of being a child with no responsibility or pressure can only be a good thing. When I read articles about phonics tests in Year One, at ages five and six and SATS at ages six and seven it makes me so sad.
“When did being a child become so target driven? Aren’t we told by midwives and health visitors that ‘they all learn at their own pace?’
“Why does this suddenly change when they enter the school system? The extra year at home will be an extra year of developing emotionally and at his own pace. An extra year of learning through play, exploration and love.”
Emma said she 100 per cent believes she has made the right decision for Stanley, but admits there is a “big gamble” involved.
She said: “The big gamble in all of this and the only thing that regularly niggles at me, is whether we will get offered our first choice school again in the next round of admissions.
“If we don’t, then will our offered school be happy to support a CSA Reception start, or will they be championing Year 1?
“The LEA and school would have to provide evidence that missing a whole year of education would be in his best interests. I guess we’ll just have to face any obstacles, and fight the battles as we get to them.”
However, Emma ended her blog post by saying as she sat there writing the post, and watching Stanley performing a puppet show for his brother using three toy dinosaurs, she knows with “all certainty” that this is the best thing for her child.
While the School Admissions Code requires school admission authorities to provide for the admission of all children in the September following their fourth birthday, a child does not reach CSA until the “prescribed day” following their fifth birthday.
Parents of children born between April 1 and August 31, also known as “summer-born” children, can ask to delay entry to reception for a year.
Some schools will accept a deferral and allow a child to start in Reception the following year, while some schools will only allow children a deferred entry if they start in Year One in the following year.
A spokesman for Hull City Council (HCC) said: “HCC does consider delayed applications, however the views of the parent and or the head teacher are taken into account in determining whether delaying entry to the following year is in the best interest of the child.
“In Hull there have been a number cases of pupils who have been accepted as summer-born pupils and their applications have been deferred to the following academic year.
“This year there were three applications that were made and approved. Last year there were also three that deferred and have started school this September.”