Keeping a child back

[Miss H]

I wish we had the option to choose for our kids. Why should someone else be able to dictate to us what we do with them! I am waiting for the principal's response to my letter and then I will see if I work myself up more.

BJRose, my daughter is definately not socially or emotionally ready. She has always been needy even when she was a baby. My DD2 is totally different though and I'm sure she will run into school!

[~clover~]

Well I personally think you should keep her home & I think I would too. As far as the law goes a child legally has to be in school from 6 - 16 last I heard. So I'm assuming noone can force you to send her til she's 6 anyway.

[Pandora]

Bjrose - I think the law varies by state. In wa if you don't go to preprimary you miss it altogether - you can't just delay everythring by a year the way we can invic and I think nsw.

[~clover~]

Oh. Sorry. I know it all varies & is so confusing. I just figured the 6 - 16 would be Aust wide for some reason.
Sorry again

[Pandora]

Dont apologise! Its very confusing.

I just looked up Education in Australia on wiki

For WA, the minimum age to start pre-primary is 4.6 -> so turning 5 by June 30 that year

The MAXIMUM age is 6.6 -> so turning 7 by June 30

If I was you Miss H I would get a copy of the relevant legislation in your state (start with your local member but you may just be ableto google it) becuase it sounds like you are well within your rights to keep her back 1 or even 2 years.

[Miss H]

Thanks Pandora, I will do just that!

[Visitor7]

According to the WA education website:

All young people, in Western Australia, in their 16th and 17th years must be in education, training or employment.
attendance at kindergarten and pre-primary is not compulsory

So your DD will need to start Grade 1 in 2012, but Kindergarten & Pre-Primary are not compulsory.

Early Childhood Education

[Pandora]

According to the WA education website:


So your DD will need to start Grade 1 in 2012, but Kindergarten & Pre-Primary are not compulsory.

Early Childhood Education

That site has the information about the maximum age too - go down to the " Comparison of ages for entry into Programs in Australia " and for WA its the beginning of they year where the child will reach the age of 6y 6 months

Going by the ages for the rest of the states (wher the year before Year One is compulsory) this is the max are for pre-primary entry

[Miss H]

I found this on the Education dept. website in a policy document. Surely this means the principal cannot force her to attend when she is 3 and has to give her an opportunity to attend kindy from next year which will be the year she is turning 4 years and 6 months! Am I right?

Pre-compulsory and compulsory education period

The pre compulsory education period is:

1. from the beginning of the year in which the child reaches the age of 4 years and 6 months; and
2. until the end of the year in which the child reaches the age of 5 years and 6 months.

The compulsory education period is defined as:

* From 1 January 2008 until 31 December 2013:

1. from the beginning of the year in which the child reaches the age of 6 years and 6 months; and
2. until:

* the end of the year in which the child reaches the age of 17; or
* the child satisfies the minimum requirements for graduation from secondary school established under the Curriculum Council Act 1997, whichever happens first.

* From 1 January 2014:

1. from the beginning of the year in which the child reaches the age of 6 years and 6 months; and
2. until:

* the end of the year in which the child reaches the age of 17 years and 6 months;
* the child satisfies the minimum requirements for graduation from secondary school established under the Curriculum Council Act 1997; or
* the child reaches the age of 18, whichever happens first.

[Miss H]

This is the letter that I wrote to the principal yesterday. I have not received a reply yet. What do you think? Hopefully he sees it my way.

Good day Mr. ***

I live in the intake area for your school at *****. My daughter was born on 30 May 2006 and thus should be attending Kindergarten from 2010. I felt she was not ready at 3 years old for this but she did start at Success Primary at the beginning of this term until this Tuesday. (We are building a house in your area which will be ready for occupation in 4 weeks).

In the four weeks at the school, we have had numerous problems and even met with the principal and teacher to try and find a solution. My daughter would cry terribly when I was driving her to school and continue until after I had left. She would cry during the day as well. It got to the point at home that that was the only thing she would speak about over and over - "I don't want to go to school Mommy". I did reassure her and was positive and do all the things that I am supposed to. She contined to be miserable and even refused to eat before or during school coming home starving. She refuses to interact with the children. They all seem to be on a level above her socially and she sat on her own or followed the teachers around at lunch and recess. I eventually pulled her out this Tuesday as she is not ready for Kindergarten.

I am saying this not as an over-protective mother, but as a mother looking after the best interests of her child. She is a very sensitive child, reserved and scared in alot of situations. She needs time to mature enough to be able to cope with Kindy and the subsequent years. She is currently 3 years old, turning 4 at the end of May and so only just makes the cut-off according to WA Education rules. There are so many children in her class who one can see are ready for school but they are 4 turning 5.

I have contacted the Education Department who have told me that it is up to the individual school as to whether they will allow a pupil to start a year later. I am asking you to please allow my daughter to apply for Kindy 2011 at your school. I have been told by friends to rather attend a private school as they can allow this. I believe that the State has the best interests of the child at heart and will not force my daughter into something which will be to her detriment. I do not want to break her spirit or destroy her confidence by forcing her into a stiuation which she is ultimately too immature for.

I look forward to your response.

Best regards,
Heather Warren

[Jus]

Hi Miss-H. I can't help with the legal requirements for WA, but I wanted to encourage you to stick with your guns & hold your dd back. I have taught kindy for years, and have (sadly) failed to convince many parents that it's better to hold a child back than to start them early, and have seen so much evidence that it is better for the child. I have never heard of a parent who has been unhappy about this decision (at both the kindy end of things & the high school end of things), but I have (sadly) heard many parents regret later not holding their child back (but it was too late).
In Scandinavia, chn don't start formal schooling til nearly 8 and they have the absolute best literacy rates in the world. I taught in England for a while where chn generally start 6-12 mo younger than in Australia & it broke my heart. I taught kids who were real strugglers, and it just put them further behind, right from the start.
If it was my child, I'd hold them back, so I just wanted to give you my personal opinion from my experience. I hope this is encouraging for you! Good luck.

[Miss H]

I received a reply from the moron principal. I am so bleeding mad! He basically said no and that all children settle down after a while and went on and on about his huge waiting lists for his school as if he is telling me that he doesn't need my child! I have calmly answered him but if it doesn't go my way, I will need help to fight this I think.

[Lulu]

He's a fool. Keep her back xoxoxo

[Miss H]

Well, it seems I'm the fool as the Dept says that the maximum age to enter Year 1 is the beginning of the year in which they turn 6 years and 6 months. She will be 5 years and 7 months when she enters and will be 6 yrs 6 mnths in December that year so he has every right to refuse my daughter. Basically I'm screwed and she has to go now or not until Year 1 where she will be way behind everyone else. I feel so deflated!

[Pandora]

I'd ring them again. If they have given you the right information then their website is wrong. What month does she turn six in?

[Nai]

If you don't get anywhere with the principal then I would take it up with the education department.

[Miss H]

She turns six on 30 May so she makes it by a month! The websit was right, I was just not calculating correctly. Mommy brain!

[mbear]

I found a good way to judge whether a child is ready...its got nothing to do with their intellectual ability - thats why they're going to school. The School principal at my DD's school suggested to us last year, to think about how your child would react if they discovered at school they had forgotton their lunch. What would they do? Cry, go without, go tell a teacher...... I know now, today, my 4 year old would probably cry. Yet in 12 months time, when shes ready for kindergarten, i would hope she would have the initiative, to tell the teacher. I found this a good (yet simple) way to judge a childs readiness....