I'm not trying to undermine the kindr teachers at all, they are great... But in all the different schools I work across we get advice from kinder teachers about kids who should have repeated and some that did, and it's often not necessary or required. Very rarely have the kinder teachers spoken with the school the child is going to to check what is expected and the level that child imneeds to be at. They do know the individual child well, but they rarely know the school and what is expected in prep. that's just my experience of working in schools across two networks in melbournes east for the past 8 years.

Prep cut off is the end of April and the seems to be a big push for those kids whose birthday is between January and April to be held back, without any research being done. I've looked for peer reviewed research articles on the issue, and have not see anything conclusive yet - apart from kidskin general ate better if starting school later - however thats considering when ALL kids start later. And I see some concerns with applying that research to the situation that's becoming a trend in Victorian schools.

If you guys have found some journal articles about research on this topic I would be very interested in reading it, because all my research has been very mixed - some suggesting it's beneficial, and others suggesting it doesn't change any outcomes. I haven't yet found anything conclusive to suggest it helps the child's development. But if you have I'd be really keen to read it.