A child born on 31 August can start Reception the very next week, aged four years and a few days, in the same class as a child who turned five the previous September. That age gap is almost a year, which at four is close to a quarter of a lifetime. Summer-born children are those born between 1 April and 31 August, and in England their families have more choice over when school starts than many realise.
This matters most in two places: the decision about when your child starts school, and how you support them once they are there.
Most children start Reception in the September after their fourth birthday, but that is not a legal requirement. Children only have to be in education from the start of the term after they turn five, which for a summer-born child is the September after their fifth birthday. That leaves families with a few routes.
Start Reception at four with the rest of the year group. This is what most summer-born children do, and many thrive.
Start Reception at four, but part-time or later in the year. Under the School Admissions Code, families can ask for a child to attend part-time, or to take up the place later in the Reception year, up to the point the child reaches compulsory school age. Ask the school how it handles this.
Start Reception at five, a year later. This is the option families mean by "deferring" or "delaying" Reception. The child would join the year group below their age group and stay with that year group as they move up. This needs the agreement of the school's admission authority.
Department for Education guidance on summer-born admissions sets out the process. In short:
Apply for a Reception place in the normal year, at the normal time, and submit a request for admission outside the normal age group alongside it.
Make the request to each school you are applying for, since each admission authority decides separately.
Explain why you believe starting a year later is in your child's interests. You do not need to show exceptional circumstances or provide professional evidence, though any you have can help.
Expect a decision with clear reasons, ideally before national offer day in April.
The admission authority has to consider your views, your child's development, any medical history, whether your child was born prematurely, and the effect of missing a year of school. The guidance describes refusals as something that should be rare. If a request is refused, there is no statutory right of appeal, but you can use the school's or council's complaints process and, for maintained schools, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
The government said in 2015 that it intended to change the law to make Reception at five an automatic right. It has since said it no longer plans to do so, because the current system is working better than it did. In Newham and Redbridge, as elsewhere, the request goes through the council's admissions team or the individual school, so check each council's own guidance before applying.
On average, yes, especially when children are young. Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, found that August-born children score noticeably lower in national tests than September-born children. At age seven, teachers were 20 to 30 percentage points more likely to rate August-born children as below average in reading, writing and maths. The same work found August-born children were more likely to report being unhappy at school at that age. The Nuffield Foundation's summary of the findings sets out the findings in more detail.
Two things are important to keep in mind. These are averages across hundreds of thousands of children, and plenty of summer-born children do very well. And much of the early gap reflects age, not ability: a child who is ten months younger has simply had less time to develop. A child who seems "behind" in Year 1 may be exactly where you would expect for their age.
There is no right answer that suits every summer-born child. Families who choose to start at four often point to friendships with children from nursery, a child who is clearly ready and eager, or childcare that ends at four. Families who choose five often describe a child who is still very young socially or emotionally, was born prematurely, has speech or language delay, or tires very quickly.
It can help to talk to your child's nursery key worker, who sees how they manage in a group every day. Visiting the school and asking how it supports the youngest children in Reception is useful too.
Check one practical point early. A child who starts Reception at five will usually stay a year behind their age group all the way through school. The same guidance covers secondary transfer and says refusals of requests to stay with the chosen year group should be rare, but it is still sensible to ask your council how it handles this.
Whatever you decide, the most helpful thing is to judge your child against where they started, not against the oldest children in the class.
At home, keep the basics relaxed and regular: stories every day, plenty of conversation, counting games, and enough sleep. The youngest children in a Reception class often tire quickly in the first terms, and a calm after-school routine can make a real difference to how they cope.
At school, ask the teacher how your child is doing for their age, not just against the class. Watch for signs that the gap is not narrowing by Year 1 or Year 2, such as reluctance to read or difficulty with number bonds. Extra support early is usually easier than catching up later. Our KS1 English tuition and KS1 maths tuition are designed for exactly that stage, and a free assessment will show where your child stands.
A child born between 1 April and 31 August. Some families and schools use the term mainly for June, July and August birthdays, but the admissions guidance uses 1 April to 31 August.
Not if the admission authority agrees to admission outside the normal age group. The child would start in Reception and stay with that younger year group.
Usually, because you apply for a place in the normal year at the same time as making the request. How this works in practice varies, so ask your council's admissions team.
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Updated 11-November-2026
