Hi,
Our Son is four at the moment and currently going to Pre-School, he turns five on April 7th.
We were due to send him to Kindergarten starting in January.
The Kindergarten we had chosen has told us that he is too young and due to his Birthday being in April would miss the cut off date for that year.
Another Kindergarten we like would accept him, however we are now having a dilema as people have mentioned things for example when his friends are able to drive, he will be too young.
He is ready for School in our opinion and is very eager to learn.
Obviously, in the UK he would have started already.
We were just wondering what peoples thoughts are?
Should we send him to Pre School for another year or to Kindergarten in January?
Thanks in advance.
Rachel.

If he turns 5 next April then I would say he should probably start Kindergarten in January.

Obviously the cut off varies from state to state but in Queensland if they turn 5 before the end of June then they can start Prep (the year before Year 1). So if you were in Queensland your son would most definitely be starting Prep. You might not want to compare between states but if you decide to move one day then you might find your child is behind.

When is the cutoff in NSW? I'm surprised that your son would miss it if his birthday is in April.

Personally I would say if your child is ready then go for it.

Cut off for NSW is end July so I dont know what they are on about with him being too young. He wouldnt even be too young for ACT - our cut off is 30 April and though people may advise you to keep him out of full time school for another year there is no reason why you should do that.

He will be one of the youngest kids in the class and, yes, when he is year 11 and 12 that may be an issue but it shouldnt be that big a deal especially if he is a mature lad.

I'd be going for K next year. If it all goes pear shaped for some reason then you will probably have the capacity to repeat somewhere down the track, especially if the school has composite classes.

Yes, I think that's the key for me. If you start them on time (as it appears to be in this case) then at least the option is there in the future to hold the child back for whatever reason and they would still fit in age wise.

If you hold the child back now and in the future they need to repeat a year then suddenly they become much, much older than everyone in the class.

I've never quite understood holding kids back just so that they are older than their peers thus giving them some sort of advantage. I have no issues though if it makes sense to hold back a child for development or possibily maturity issues.

In public schools - yes. But plenty of private schools have their own cut-off dates which tend to be around April/May.

Bet the OP is trying to get her child into kindergarten at a private school.

Our oldest was made to wait starting kindy until a year later as the WA govt changed the school year, putting him past the new cut-off and he was 4 years 3 months when he started, no problems in kindy or pre-primary, but boredom set in from Year 1 onwards. My youngest was 3 years 7 months when he started kindy in WA, where the cut-off is 30 June. He had no problems, except when we realised about 2 months later that he was reading and then he started getting bored with glue and 4 piece puzzles. The teacher did not believe that he was reading and refused to put out harder puzzles. He is the youngest in his year, but it's not an issue. There's always an oldest and a youngest. It is an issue, though, if a child is having his 9th birthday and all the other kids in his class are 7 or 8 (one boy in my son's class is 14 months older). Every child is different, but I can't see why you would want to hold a child back - it caused major problems for my eldest, held back by the WA govt decision, who's spent every year of his primary school bored because it's too easy, but then, we are in WA.

Being too young to drive compared to his mates is nonsense - there's no way my kids are learning to drive while at high school, not until they're about 30 at least . If you son is ready now, get him started.

Kindergarten or Prep?

Kindergarten is more under 3 year olds isnt it?
3 and 4 year olds are then in ELC Early learning Centres
5 and 6 year olds into Prep?

Kindergarten is the name for the first year of full-time school in NSW.

Sorry, your correct. It was a private school, should have mentioned that.

Aye! wot you on aboot??

Confused about the term used below

Here in Victoria Kindergarten would indicate years under 3. But as Nicky pointed out it must be unique to NSW

Just be aware that kindy in NSW may be the first year of formal schooling, but it's not the "play based learning" that you would get in a UK reception class. That's what pre-school is for.

The issue for boys is usually the fact that they want to run around and use up their natural energy while the teacher wants them to sit still, at least some of the time, and concentrate on the task in hand. It's a personal bugbear of mine (with two sons) that boys in the UK often have to start school before they're really ready - here you have a choice. Very few people regret giving them an extra year before formal schooling - in a decent pre-school with well trained staff your child will not be bored, no matter how bright you think he is. If you choose a pre-school attached to the school you want your child to go to (like I did) they will be getting them ready for school, but in a more gentle way. My daughter is currently in kindy; for various personal reasons I gave her an extra year in pre-school so she turned 6 shortly after starting school. It is always the younger boys in her class who are in trouble/need extra help etc. which is hardly surprising, but can't be much fun for them. Like it or not the age span in classes here is generally 18 months because of the difference in when kids can begin and when they have to. Like any system you need to work within if and decide what's best for your child.

Agree

Its a pity too many parents make decisions based on ego rather than foresight.

Young children suffer later ie years 8 and 9 when the age or should I say the maturity gap is much more apparent.

I was going to start a thread "is 7 to young for my daughter/son to do their masters"

My daughter with a May Birthday was 4 yrs 8 months old when she started Kindy in NSW. She was however, the youngest in her year. One of her Playschool friends of near enough the same age, started Kindy a year later, and is the oldest in her class.

That turned about right for our daughter, as, after moving to QLD, and staying in the same year, she is now in the middle age group of her class.