Is my child too young for primary school?

di11on

That's a tough one. There's a balance to be struck between getting them on their way, preventing boredom and the risk that if a child is towards the bottom end of the class in terms of physical size and maturity, their confidence will suffer.

Here's a study which shows that the impact of a child's age position in his class outweighs any benefit of being in school longer:

Linky

Only you can judge. But bear in mind the above. I would err on the side of starting her later. There is very little to be gained by starting her early and the potential pitfalls are many.

Creachadóir

Does she have friends that will be starting school this year? If the other children that she knows from Montessori are starting school, perhaps it would be best to send her along with them if she is academically ready for school.

Children find it easier to learn to read if they are 5 years old (according the Jolly Phonics programme). They also find it easier to understand mathematical concepts later on in life. However, if your child has learned a lot already at Montessori, she is probably ready for school.

EcoGirl

Thaedydal wrote: »

No the legal minium age has always been 4 and they must have started by the age of 6.

Just a quick correction - they have to be in education by age six, but this doesn't have to be school. They can be home-schooling for example, and that's totally legal.

Bethany

Only you can decide if your child is mature enough. If she is already well adjusted to other children at Montessori school and is happy there I feel you should let her go to school at four. School nowadays is marvellous and so differant from formerly. One thing to think about is to let her do lots of stuff with play dough etc to improve her manual dexterity if she has not already done that at Montessori.
Obviously if she is a shy little thing an extra year in Montessori is the way to go. I sent my three children to school before age five and all three were very high academic achievers and have no problems, thankfully.
I understand that you will make the decision based on what is the best for your little girl. However if you are under a lot less financial stress there will be other benefits for you and your family and don't feel guilty if you also factor this into account when making your decision.Best of luck

Nevyn

EcoGirl wrote: »

Just a quick correction - they have to be in education by age six, but this doesn't have to be school. They can be home-schooling for example, and that's totally legal.

Home schooling is school as far as I am concerned.