A parent’s dilemma: Should your four-year-old start Prep?

IT’S the dilemma plaguing the parents of mostly four-year-old children born between January and April in 2011. Do you send them to school this year or wait until next?

Weekend Mag Spread on School Readiness. Daphne Sabato, who was born in April (the cut off is April 30) so waited a year before starting school. Picture- Nicole Cleary

AS IF parents don’t already have enough to worry about. Many whose children were born between January and April are agonising over when to send them to school.

Younger children are often held back for a year so those born near the cut-off date can have classmates up to 18 months older. Even if they are school-ready, some parents fear being the youngest will disadvantage them.

It is a very modern dilemma. When today’s parents started school almost everyone went, including some who didn’t turn five until June.

Victorian preps must now turn five by April 30. Parents and teachers consider their “readiness” based on intellectual, physical and social-emotional maturity, combined with stimulation and challenges they experienced in preschool.

The number of children starting government primary schools later has remained fairly steady, with those aged six and over on April 30 in the year they start decreasing from 21 per cent in 2008 to 16.2 per cent in 2015.

Only 0.1 per cent are still four on April 30.

A breakdown of Prep enrolment ages as of April 30 each year.

Parents usually hold children back due to concerns about emotional maturity, anxiety, socialisation or attention span. Others don’t want their child to be the youngest, or hope being older will give them more confidence and a better chance to be a leader.

But some experts say these fears are usually misplaced and all children should start in their correct year.

Deakin University adjunct professor and education psychologist Helen McGrath has investigated the issue with colleague Professor Toni Noble for projects including their BounceBack! school resilience program and the Federal Government’s Safe Schools Hub.

McGrath says research shows that while older students have slightly higher achievement levels and less negative teacher feedback in the first two years, these advantages soon disappear as attention and persistence skills stabilise at age six to eight.

“Many younger children have had stimulating experiences and challenges and responded by becoming more mature,” she says.

“Schools are also expected to be ready to respond to the needs of a diverse range of young children.”

STARTING SCHOOL AT FOUR

FLYNN Crawford is part of a select group — boys who start school at four. Flynn turned five on February 22 after starting school in 2014.

Flynn’s parents, Talina and Andrew Crawford, took the advice of their kindergarten teacher, who told them he was ready for school. They were slightly concerned that he might not be socially ready and smaller when it came to sport, but went ahead.

“I was questioning whether I’d made the right decision,” Crawford says. “I would have happily kept him back if the kinder teachers said I should.”

Now in grade 2, Flynn has been fine despite being the youngest in his class. Apart from some early separation anxiety and a few shows of emotion in class, he has flourished socially and academically.

“He’s been fine,” Crawford says. “He’s a bit of a wise old owl. I think we’ve made the right decision.”

Much to Crawford’s relief, Flynn’s brothers, Oscar and Aidan, are both August babies. “I think it all comes down to the individual at the end of the day,” she says.

Talina Crawford and her son Flynn, who started school young. Picture: Norm Oorloff

McGrath says those most likely to wait are boys, children short or small for their age, girls who appear shy and children whose parents are well educated or have relatively high incomes.

She believes those who agonise over the decision could be wasting their time, as several studies have found parent and teacher school readiness predictions relatively unreliable.

“Many of your child’s behaviours are more likely to be about ‘who they are’ and may not be reliable signs of their readiness for school,” McGrath says.

The most important readiness predictor identified in research by University of Melbourne psychology professor Margot Prior was attending a kindergarten that emphasised language and literacy skills.

Play and socialisation also played a role.

“Most children with average to high academic ability but poor social skills will still achieve well,” McGrath says.

“Similarly, most children with average ability and good social skills still achieve well.”

However, others strongly believe that holding children back can have long-term benefits.

As an April baby, Somerville kindergarten teacher Amy Langley started school young. She coped well early, but ended up dropping out and returning to study later. Langley did a thesis on school readiness with Prep teachers at 10 schools and found those who started older fared better in prep.

Now a mother of three, Langley also found the academic side less important than social skills.

“What may let younger kids down is the lack of social and emotional maturity needed for the transition to school,” she says.

“Not being able to cope can make them feel very insecure, which can in turn impact on their ability to learn”.

WAITING UNTIL OLDER

AT HOME four-year-old Daphne Sabato was outgoing, confident and independent. Despite being an April baby, her parents, Stephanie Chan and Stefan Sabato, thought she would be fine to start school.

But a week into four-year-old kinder, Daphne’s teacher recommended she move to the three-year-old room. Chan resisted, but agreed Daphne wasn’t school-ready after watching her daughter’s dance and music class.

“Her participation (or lack of) … made me rethink her maturity against the older kids, especially the girls,” Chan says. “She was watching what everyone else was doing and  then following along.”

Chan researched school readiness and spoke to teachers, school principals in their inner-south area and other parents. “I spoke to everyone,” she says. “I obsessed about it.”

Initially, she didn’t like the idea of Daphne, now 7, being labelled due to her age. “I was kind of a bit annoyed,” she says. “I felt like she was at a disadvantage because of when her birthday was.”

Now entering grade 2, Daphne is thriving after repeating four-year-old kinder and Chan has no regrets. Son Owen, 4, also an April baby, will also wait a year. That decision was easier because he is more emotional and dependent.

Chan says parents who are unsure should speak to their children’s teachers and try to observe them in class, which helped her.

“I’m very happy with the decision,” she says.

Daphne Sabato waited a year before starting school. Picture: Nicole Cleary

Langley’s oldest child, Paige, 12, was born in February so started school older.

She is happy with the decision. “There really isn’t a lot … that can go wrong if they’re a bit older, but there’s lots of things that can go wrong if they’re younger,” Langley says.

Education consultant and Early Life Foundations founder Kathy Walker agrees. She tells parents there is no hurry in starting school and wants a national rule requiring all children to be five by December 31 before their prep year.

Walker says research may indicate similar long-term academic results in younger and older students, but the entire school experience should be considered as the “quality of the journey” is just as important.

When she assesses school readiness, Walker does not ask a child’s age before investigating their emotion self-regulation, self-initiation, confidence, independence, self-help skills, communication, awareness of and interest in others, concentration, adaptability and flexibility.

“We just want to assess a child and see where they’re at,” she says. “That’s why it’s ‘readiness’, not necessarily an age thing.”

SUITING THE INDIVIDUAL CHILD

THREE of Bec Palma’s four children were born near the school start cut-off. Emilio, a December baby who was deprived of oxygen during birth and had some health issues, waited an extra year. Arabella (above), who was born on January 30, started young, while Ollie (left), born on January 31, also waited.

Emilio is now in year 9, Arabella year 7 and Ollie in grade 3. Emilio attended a two-year prep program, which Palma says was great and ensured he was school-ready.

Such programs are popular with parents but can be hard to find. Ollie attended a private preschool due to its quality and affordability compared with child care. He cried for two terms, which Palma, a teacher’s aide, says showed he was not ready for school.

Arabella coped well. Palma says her decisions were not based on gender or academic ability — all do well in this area — but personality and her feelings as a parent. “It’s more about them as an individual than any set rule,” she says.

Palma, who sought opinions from kinder teachers and a preschool teacher friend, says parents should not stress too much.

“Most kids cope well either way,” she says.

Bec Palma and two of her kids: Arabella, who is in Grade 6 and started school young, and Ollie, who is in Grade 2 and waited an extra year. Picture: Norm Oorloff

Walker, whose book Ready, Set, Go? covers the issue, says most other countries start children at least a year later than we do so they are more emotionally mature.

“Every single prep teacher in the world will tell you that they can spot a child who’s not ready within two days,” she says.

It can be confusing for parents. An eastern suburbs mother with a working-class background who studied school readiness for a university thesis didn’t realise it was an issue until she heard other parents discussing it.

She believes delayed entry could be more of a middle-class phenomenon, as those in lower socio-economic areas may not be able to afford an extra year of childcare or preschool.

This mother started her second and third children young and is happy with the decision, especially for her daughter, who was “born an old soul”. She says whatever parents decide, it is important to remember all children are individuals.

The Victorian Minister for Families and Children, Jenny Mikakos, says a great deal of effort and planning goes into kindergarten programs to ensure children are emotionally and socially equipped to engage at school.

“Similarly, most schools do a great job in supporting children and families as they start school,” she says.

Mikakos says 15 hours of high-quality four-year-old kindergarten helps children to prepare for school.

“It’s only natural for parents and carers to question how their child will cope with the new challenges and opportunities of school,” she says.

“I’d encourage anyone with concerns to speak to their child’s kindergarten teacher and the prospective school.”

WHAT ARE THE RULES?

IN Victoria, children must turn five by April 30 in the year they start school. They must also start by the time they turn six, unless parents or carers submit an exemption-from-school application due to exceptional circumstances.

Councils have preschool field officers who can help assess school readiness.

CHECKLIST

Key factors to consider and skills to look out for when assessing readiness for school:

■ Self-regulation of emotions, actions, behaviour.

■ Self-initiation and confidence.

■ Independence and self-help skills.

■ Effective communication; speaking, listening and responding.

■ Awareness of and interest in others and ability to interact with a variety of people.

■ Ability to concentrate and attend, follow through and persist.

■ Adaptability, flexibility and responsiveness  to change.

■ General awareness of and interest in their environment, peers, adults and experiences.

■ Age and gender.

Source: Ready, Set, Go? by Kathy Walker (Penguin Books)

TO SEND OR NOT TO SEND …

■ It is normal for children and adults to struggle when they face a life transition.

■ Many children find the move to primary school challenging, but that isn’t necessarily a sign they aren’t ready.

■   Facing these challenges can contribute to resilience and strength.

■ Delayed-entry boys have a moderate  likelihood of more behaviour problems than younger classmates in upper primary and secondary school.

■ Delayed-entry children are more likely than younger classmates to bully or be bullied.

■ Delayed-entry children are more likely to perform poorly in high school and drop out.

■ Younger students suffer no disadvantage in year 12 results.

Source: Deakin University Prof Dr Helen McGrath and Prof Toni Noble, safeschoolshub.edu.au  Their “When your child should start school” article is in the parents’ resources section.

STATE GOVERNMENT ADVICE

If a parent and/or early childhood teacher believes a child’s learning and development is not progressing at a rate similar to their peers, strategies can be planned and implemented. In most cases, it is still appropriate for a child to transition to school after their kindergarten year.

A second kindergarten year might be considered if it is deemed the most appropriate learning program and environment for that child. If so, they undergo a full second-year assessment.

More details:

education.vic.gov.au/school/parents/primary/Pages/starting.aspx

bounceback.com.au;

safeschoolshub.edu.au;

earlylife.com.au