P-05-832 To Amend the School Admissions Code Relating to Summer-Born Children
This petition was submitted by Flexible Admissions Wales Group and was first considered in September 2019, having collected 241 signatures.
Text of Petition
We call on the National Assembly for Wales to urge the Welsh
Government to consider amending the School Admissions Code
where it relates to admission outside the normal age group, in
respect of summer-born children(1 April - 31 August).
Owing to the timing of school entry points, summer-born children
are put at a significant disadvantage compared to their peers. They
may suffer adverse emotional and educational impacts as they start
their formal education at a much younger age. As such, parents may
choose to defer their summer-born child's entry into school until
they reach compulsory school age, as is their legal right. However,
most find that their child is put straight into Year 1,missing the
crucial Reception year, which research shows to be the most
important year in education.
Most parents prefer their child to enter the Reception year at
compulsory school age rather than Year 1. Under the School
Admissions Code, this is theoretically possible. In principle,the
Code gives parents the ability to request that their summer-born be
educated outside their normal age group. In practice, the wording
of the Code has proven to be extremely problematic: case studies
have shown that the provision is inconsistently applied by Local
Education Authorities and requests have rarely been granted.
The following amendments should be considered by the Welsh
Government:
(1)As the first option, requests to defer children with birthdays in summer months should be automatically approved (as is the case in Scotland);
(2)Alternatively, the wording of the existing provision should be amended to strengthen the rights of parents to choose when their child enters Reception class, also emphasising that Local Education Authorities must fully consider requests and issuing Governmental guidance to this end;
(3)In either case, provision should be made for children educated outside their age group to remain with their adopted cohort throughout their school life.
Additional Information
A recent study conducted by the Department for Education aimed to
show that delaying entry to primary school has little impact on
attainment. This study should be consulted by the Welsh Government
with caution. This study was very limited, measuring ONLY academic
attainment and excluding all children with special or additional
needs. Academic attainment is very unlikely to be the main reason
that parents choose to decelerate their child's entry into primary
education.
School readiness is not about a child's academic ability, but about
emotional and social maturity. It is these skills that will help a
child to make friends, to deal with their emotions, to follow
instructions and concentrate and to foster good mental health. The
attainment of these skills cannot be measured with a phonics
test.
The Foundation Phase curriculum in Wales will not meet the needs of
every child in Wales; it cannot. This must not be given as a reason
for refusing such requests. A more flexible admissions policy is
needed to take children's individual needs and their best interests
into consideration. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
(UNCRC) emphasises that the education of the child shall be
directed to the development of the child's personality, talents and
physical abilities to their fullest abilities (Article 29(1)(a)).
By putting summer-born children at a disadvantage, this School
Admissions Code does not achieve that.
Other devolved countries within the UK are already ahead of Wales
in this respect. Nick Gibb, Minister of State for School Standards,
has made a commitment to amend the School Admissions Code for
England to reflect this parental choice. In Scotland, children of
equivalent age are automatically granted a deferral if their
parents request it and will not miss any school years in doing
so.
Assembly Constituency and Region
· Cardiff West
· South Wales Central