Mother to battle on over school start delay

A YORKSHIRE mother who has fought to start her summer-born twins’ education one year later than usual fears the battle is not over amid fears her daughters might be forced to miss a year of secondary school.

Laura Riach, 39, from Gomersal, near Cleckheaton, decided to exercise her right to delay her four-year-olds’ start to school life, as she believed her August-born identical daughters would struggle as the youngest in the class.

But Kirklees Council told Mrs Riach in February that her little girls – who turned four just weeks before being due to start school in September – would instead have to go straight into Year 1, effectively missing one year of their education.

Now, the twins are set to be given a place in reception at Mrs Riach’s top choice of school after the council accepted her appeal.

But the concerned mother says she has still been given no clarity on what the situation will be when the girls go to secondary school.

Before giving up her daughters’ school places for this September, Mrs Riach wrote to Kirklees Council seeking assurances that they would stay with their adopted year group throughout their education.

However, the authority said, based on Department for Education advice, it was not able to do this, stating in an email: “It appears it is not possible to offer you the categorical assurance you seek that your daughters would stay with their adopted cohort when they move to secondary school. This is because it is for the admission authority of the particular new school to decide whether to admit the children outside of their normal age group.”

Mrs Riach said: “The council won’t state that my daughters should stay with their adopted cohort throughout education so I can envisage another battle in eight years if the code is not amended.”

On Saturday The Yorkshire Post revealed parents across the region hoping to delay their children being sent to school are subject to a postcode lottery. Education Minister Nick Gibb announced in September 2015 that the Government intended to change admissions rules to prevent summer-born children from being forced to go straight into Year 1, providing greater flexibility for parents and teachers.

But data released under the Freedom of Information Act indicates that ongoing delays to the proposed reform has meant that councils have no clear guidance when it comes to making a decision. Mrs Riach is now hoping to raise awareness about the huge disparities among councils when it comes to the rights of parents with summer-born children.

MP for Batley and Spen Tracy Brabin, who is helping Mrs Riach, said: “My concern is it seems they still might have to take their GCSEs in their chronological age group. If that is the case it seems counter-intuitive holding children back because their parents believe they are not ready and then they are having to take their GCSEs a year early.”