Admissions out of normal age
Does my child have to start reception in the September?
Your child has the right to start school from the September after their fourth birthday and most children do start school at this stage. However, children do not have to start school until the beginning of the term after their 5th birthday. Whichever of the options you choose, you MUST still apply for your child’s school place at the usual time (from the September after their 3rd birthday, with the closing date being 15 January of that academic year).
What options do I have if I don’t want my child to start school immediately in September?
There are two options to delay your child’s start in school:
1. The child can attend part time until they reach statutory school age (beginning of the term after their fifth birthday). Once they reach statutory age, they must attend school full-time.
2. The child can remain out of school entirely until they reach statutory school age (beginning of the term after their fifth birthday).
Who do I need to tell if I want to delay my child’s start in school?
You will need to tell the school your child has been offered that you wish to start either part time or not until the child reaches statutory school age. The school MUST hold the place for your child. If you are delaying your child’s admission until a later point in the year, it is your responsibility to contact the school with appropriate notice to ensure the child is able to start at the beginning of the term after their 5th birthday.
My child would reach statutory school age in the autumn term as they have a summer birthday. When would my child need to start school?
In order to retain the place offered to your child, your child must start at the latest by the beginning of the summer term (April). However, they do not reach statutory school age until the September. You can choose to delay your child’s entry until September, but they would enter straight into year 1 and you would lose the reception place offered to you. You would need to apply for a year 1 place using the in-year admissions route during the summer term before they are due to start in year 1.
Can I ask for my child to start school a year late, i.e. to go into reception a year late, rather than straight into year 1?
If your child is summer born (1 April – 31 August), you may request that they start school a year late, being admitted into reception rather than year 1. This is a request and the decision whether to allow this will be made by the admission authority for the school. You still need to apply at the usual time (from the September after their 3rd birthday, and no later than 15 January) and make this request as part of your application. If it is agreed, then your application will be closed and you will be enabled to reapply the following year.
Do I need to provide any additional information with my request for my child to start school late?
You will need to provide your reasons for requesting admission a year late. It would be helpful if you are able to provide information from your child’s nursery or childminder on their current progress towards Early Learning goals. If your child has involvement from any support services (consultants, paediatrician, speech and language etc) it would be useful to provide information in relation to this. It is also useful to know if your child was born prematurely and when their due date would have been had they reached full term. If your child has any special educational needs it would be useful to submit information on these as part of your request. Please note, if your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and you want your child to atttend special school, they will need to attend special school in their correct chornological year group. Your request to start your child a year late and any of the above additional information should be emailed to admissions@bolton.gov.uk by 15 January in the application year.
How will I know if my request has been agreed?
Your request and the information you submitted will be considered by the admission authority for the school(s) you listed on your application.They are required by law to consider all the information and make the decision in the best interests of the child. Their decision will be communicated to you in writing giving reasons for their decision.
How long will this decision take?
If you submit your request before 15 January of the application year, you will receive the decision within 6 weeks of 15 January.
If my request is not agreed, can I appeal?
There is no right of appeal against the admission authority’s decision to allow your child to start school a year late.
If your request is agreed, but your child is not offered a place at the school under the oversubscription criteria for the school you have the usual right of appeal.
If your request is not agreed, and you are instead offered a place in year 1 at the school there is no right of appeal.
If my request is agreed, will my child be able to stay in that year group until they finish school?
The decision to admit out of the normal age is that of the admission authority for the school. Therefore, if you child moves school for any reason, then the decision will be reconsidered by the new school. There is no guarantee they will agree to keep your child out of year group.
This includes at the move to secondary school, when you will need to apply for your child’s secondary school place in year 5 (rather than year 6) and you will need to make the request to the secondary school to keep your child down a year. You will be asked to provide information in support of your request as detailed above, and the school may collect information from your child’s current school. The decision will be communicated to you in writing giving reasons for the decision.
Please note, that schools (such as Grammar Schools or some private schools) that use testing for part of their admission usually require the test to be sat at the correct chronological age and therefore it is likely they would require your child to return to their correct year group based on their date of birth.