Extra "free" preschool year

Millem

It depends on the child. I have heard of kids who started later being so bored in primary that they skipped 1st class.
My niece will start school at 4 years and 3 months just like my other niece and my sister.

cyning

You see my reasoning on it is I have two friends who didn't turn 18 until March and April their first year in college.... By which stage most of the college year is practically over. They both hated being the youngest: getting into nightclubs was a nightmare! But aside from that they both now feel it was too young to move away from home. I know other people will probably say oh no they weren't like that etc.

I cannot imagine any school allowing a child to skip a class these days either. I also don't want her to be amongst the youngest in the class as a teenager. It's not that I don't think she will be ready at 4.5. It's that at 15 I don't want her friends to be 16 possibly almost 17 because at that age there is a huge huge difference.

Although I've got to say my 3 year old missing out on a full year of preschool because she was born 7 days after the cut off point sucks!

Millem

cyning wrote: »

You see my reasoning on it is I have two friends who didn't turn 18 until March and April their first year in college.... By which stage most of the college year is practically over. They both hated being the youngest: getting into nightclubs was a nightmare! But aside from that they both now feel it was too young to move away from home. I know other people will probably say oh no they weren't like that etc.

I cannot imagine any school allowing a child to skip a class these days either. I also don't want her to be amongst the youngest in the class as a teenager. It's not that I don't think she will be ready at 4.5. It's that at 15 I don't want her friends to be 16 possibly almost 17 because at that age there is a huge huge difference.

Although I've got to say my 3 year old missing out on a full year of preschool because she was born 7 days after the cut off point sucks!

Cyning an awful lot of kids to TY so they would be 18 going to college?
Yes skipping classes does exist we have 3 kids in 1st year who skipped classes in primary.

cyning

All depends on the area with regards to ty... Our local school would have a very low uptake on TY. Probably because they do nothing in it! Look I know everyone has differing views on this... My own year in ty there was was 80 that did it.... And over 150 who didn't. (Massive amalgamated school!). There's no guarantee they will do TY and I wouldn't factor it in at all.

And I think skipping entire classes in primary school is completely nuts altogether... And that's coming from someone who spent most of my primary school years bored! I actually can't believe they've allowed people to do that recently! Completely off topic though

pwurple

Being too young to get into nightclubs was actually a bonus for me.

I started school age 4 and didn't do TY. 17 starting college, and didn't get into the drinking scene like my peers, because I couldn't get in the door (also looked young for my age). Did better in college for it I think! My youngest brother was similar. Started age 3 and 11 months, Has a couple of degrees under his belt, started and running a successful business, employing people, has his own home and family by age 30. I know people who aren't even out of college by that stage.

On the other hand I see my nephews who started older, completely lost interest in education by the time they hit college at 21, mentally ready for the next stage of life (work, fun, girls, family), but not educated enough for it, and dropping out of everything they start in frustration at still living at home.

Millem

cyning wrote: »

All depends on the area with regards to ty... Our local school would have a very low uptake on TY. Probably because they do nothing in it! Look I know everyone has differing views on this... My own year in ty there was was 80 that did it.... And over 150 who didn't. (Massive amalgamated school!). There's no guarantee they will do TY and I wouldn't factor it in at all.

And I think skipping entire classes in primary school is completely nuts altogether... And that's coming from someone who spent most of my primary school years bored! I actually can't believe they've allowed people to do that recently! Completely off topic though

Cyning ty has really come on a long way since when I was in school in the late 1990s-early 2000s tbh! In the area I teach in Dublin every school in a nearby radius has made it compulsory.

Sligo1

Also factor in kids possibly needing to resit their leaving to achieve the college course they want!

There are pros and cons to both I think. It has been shown that starting school later can be good due to the extra maturity. Research suggests those that start later do better in sports and physical activity as well due to them usually being of larger frame than that of their peers.

Having said that I think 5 is a great age. I would personally prefer mine to start a couple months shy of 5 as opposed to being 5 and half or 6. However, I still haven't decided what I will do with my girl as she will only be 4y5m in the September. I will see myself how she is developmentally when the time comes. As people have said here all children differ. And although she isn't the biggest child. Mentally I do think she will be well able as she is exceed if all her milestones this far and her comprehension and verbal communication is great. Due to having an older brother I think. I think she may be very bored after 2 years in Montessori to add another year...

Millem

Sligo1 wrote: »

Also factor in kids possibly needing to resit their leaving to achieve the college course they want!

There are pros and cons to both I think. It has been shown that starting school later can be good due to the extra maturity. Research suggests those that start later do better in sports and physical activity as well due to them usually being of larger frame than that of their peers.

Having said that I think 5 is a great age. I would personally prefer mine to start a couple months shy of 5 as opposed to being 5 and half or 6. However, I still haven't decided what I will do with my girl as she will only be 4y5m in the September. I will see myself how she is developmentally when the time comes. As people have said here all children differ. And although she isn't the biggest child. Mentally I do think she will be well able as she is exceed if all her milestones this far and her comprehension and verbal communication is great. Due to having an older brother I think. I think she may be very bored after 2 years in Montessori to add another year...

Sligo I thought the sports thing related to the month you were born? Because the lots of teams don't go by school year but jan-dec. MY dad was obsessed with it when I was preggers!! He read some book called "outliers" and apparently he tells me all the best hockey players are born from jan-March? Not that anyone in my family plays hockey lol

Anyway I saw something in paper today saying creche fees will increase because of minimum way increase

Sligo1

Millem wrote: »

Sligo I thought the sports thing related to the month you were born? Because the lots of teams don't go by school year but jan-dec. MY dad was obsessed with it when I was preggers!! He read some book called "outliers" and apparently he tells me all the best hockey players are born from jan-March? Not that anyone in my family plays hockey lol

Anyway I saw something in paper today saying creche fees will increase because of minimum way increase

Yea I think children who r 6 months older do better in the physical activities and sports.

Millem

Sligo1 wrote: »

Yea I think children who r 6 months older do better in the physics activities and sports.

But if team is jan-dec then child born earlier in the year is better? (This was dad's theory) But that doesn't relate to school starting age it relates to the month the child was born?

Sligo1

Millem wrote: »

But if team is jan-dec then child born earlier in the year is better? (This was dad's theory) But that doesn't relate to school starting age it relates to the month the child was born?

Uve lost me there hun. Basically the older the child is the better they do in sports in comparison to others in the same year. The older children are usually on the higher grade teams etc... For that year.

Millem

Sligo1 wrote: »

Uve lost me there hun. Basically the older the child is the better they do in sports in comparison to others in the same year. The older children are usually on the higher grade teams etc... For that year.

Yes that's exactly what I sm saying. But sports teams Go by age not school year!

Eg n was born Jan 2014 and his friend was born nov 2014. N will be a year ahead of him in school but they could play on same sports team as the team goes jan-dec.


N is down for French school in where they go by jan-dec birthdays. They start in the sept the year they turn 3. So n can't go till 3 years and almost 8 months. whereas his friend who was a sept baby starts the previous school year at 2 years and 11 months.

Sligo1

Millem wrote: »

Yes that's exactly what I sm saying. But sports teams Go by age not school year!

Eg n was born Jan 2014 and his friend was born nov 2014. N will be a year ahead of him in school but they could play on same sports team as the team goes jan-dec.


N is down for French school in where they go by jan-dec birthdays. They start in the sept the year they turn 3. So n can't go till 3 years and almost 8 months. whereas his friend who was a sept baby starts the previous school year at 2 years and 11 months.

Not all teams go by that age tho. For example, Southern Hemisphere year is different. And I'm not just talking about extra curricular sports teams, but teams in school where they do go by year not age. And PE class etc. things like swimming and athletics are examples.

dori_dormer

Damn I have a feb 2014 baby also. Now I'm worried about places! Surely there will have to be some sort of criteria to allow children to start in jan/ April or there's no point to those starting dates?

They really don't want kids starting til they are 5 in school. No matter how advanced you think your kid is, I feel 4 is way too young.

Thankfully wasn't thinking of sending my boy til he's 5.7. Don't think its too old, and there's a lot of schools dropping 4 th year, so I think 18 doing the leaving cert will be perfect for him, as well as college etc.

Might have to enrol him in the creche from the sept, and pay until the April when ecce kicks in!

Ms2011

Sligo1 wrote: »

I think she may be very bored after 2 years in Montessori to add another year...

This is my only concern with my son doing an extra year as we sent him to Montessori part time last year now full time this year, I don't know if doing another full year next year will be boring for him.
I'd like him to do another year as we are renovating a house at the minute in another county & it would give us an extra year to get that ready without my son having to switch schools. I'd like to cause him as little disruption as possible from the move.

RentDayBlues

dori_dormer wrote: »

Damn I have a feb 2014 baby also. Now I'm worried about places! Surely there will have to be some sort of criteria to allow children to start in jan/ April or there's no point to those starting dates?

This is the big issue, what school will take on extra staff to cover extra students for a shorter time? If they have to maintain ratios what happens in September when the last batch have left, it sounds like a logistical nightmare. My daughter is February and we're going to enrol her in September to secure the place and then switch to ecce in April, but it's not what we had planned, it's the result of this extra free year!!!

cyning

I guess it will all depend on the area too... Like I know our local creche (creche as in one!) has a panel of relief staff for the year. Will they not just hire them in for a few months and then put them back as relief staff? Stand alone Montessoris and play schools will have more of an issue Id imagine. It may be easier to get an April place in a creche / preschool than the stand alone preschools I think...

RentDayBlues

cyning wrote: »

I guess it will all depend on the area too... Like I know our local creche (creche as in one!) has a panel of relief staff for the year. Will they not just hire them in for a few months and then put them back as relief staff? Stand alone Montessoris and play schools will have more of an issue Id imagine. It may be easier to get an April place in a creche / preschool than the stand alone preschools I think...

I think so too, mine is a really lovely standalone one

Sligo1

Ms2011 wrote: »

This is my only concern with my son doing an extra year as we sent him to Montessori part time last year now full time this year, I don't know if doing another full year next year will be boring for him.
I'd like him to do another year as we are renovating a house at the minute in another county & it would give us an extra year to get that ready without my son having to switch schools. I'd like to cause him as little disruption as possible from the move.

If he's was only part time last year perhaps an extra year would be ok? And if he likes it and likes going in every day then surely another year would be ok? You have to look at your circumstances aswell. And if he's not bored and enjoying it then what harm.

Makapakka

Still confused after readying all the comments..

My child will be 3 next July so she will be 3 and 1 month in sept 2016.. Will she be eligible for the two full years? Or will she have to wait until a later date to start in the preschool? She's already in a crèche that costs more than half my wages so any saving would be spectacular.

RentDayBlues

Makapakka wrote: »

Still confused after readying all the comments..

My child will be 3 next July so she will be 3 and 1 month in sept 2016.. Will she be eligible for the two full years? Or will she have to wait until a later date to start in the preschool? She's already in a crèche that costs more than half my wages so any saving would be spectacular.

She's at the perfect age! She'll be entitled to 2 full years and then can start school at 5

pwurple

Makapakka wrote: »

Still confused after readying all the comments..

My child will be 3 next July so she will be 3 and 1 month in sept 2016.. Will she be eligible for the two full years? Or will she have to wait until a later date to start in the preschool? She's already in a crèche that costs more than half my wages so any saving would be spectacular.

She won the preschool lotto. You will get two full years.

Suucee

So what ive done is enrolled my daughter (was 3yrs 4mnths in sept) who i was paying for 2 days will now get 3 days under ecce (preschool doesnt have 5 days and i dont want to send her 5)
I will get a refund for sept and oct. Then she will do 5 days next yr under the ecce.

My son was born march 2014. He will start preschool sept 2017 for 2 years as i wont send him to school until he is 5.5. So im getting 2 yrs free for both. I can still decide to send my son to 3 days for first year and 5 days second year if i like . But will wait until the time comes to decide. . Ive confirmed all this with the preschool.

Millem

So I was always adament my son would start ECCE 1st April 2017 then do sept-June 2018 and start school in sept 2018. (Hope I haven't gotten mixed up). Even though he would be entitled to another year of ECCE.


There is a lot of talk of new educate together secondary schools in my staff room (secondary school teacher) there are a few opening up in sept 2016. Apparently your child needs to be 12 by 1st jan. So basically we would have to do the extra year if we wanted to go to those schools. I know enrolment policies change the whole time but I am guessing the demand is and always will be out the door for educate together schools. I presume it's only a matter of time before primary schools are told to include something similar?

dori_dormer

Has there been any decision on how places are going to be free on the new start dates? We are hopefully moving town this summer and I've heard talk that all the preschools are full from sept onwards, so how would my guy (or yours) get a place in the April?

My guy was born feb 14,
Ecce start april 17, if he finds a place
Could start school technically sept 18 at 4.5
So sept 26 he would start secondary at 12.5

Same as your child?

Edit: am I miss counting lol?

Vorsprung

Anyone know how many hours per week they're funding? I've heard some people say that's its 20 hrs per week but can't find the figure in the Dept of Children site.

Millem

dori_dormer wrote: »

Has there been any decision on how places are going to be free on the new start dates? We are hopefully moving town this summer and I've heard talk that all the preschools are full from sept onwards, so how would my guy (or yours) get a place in the April?

My guy was born feb 14,
Ecce start april 17, if he finds a place
Could start school technically sept 18 at 4.5
So sept 26 he would start secondary at 12.5

Same as your child?

Edit: am I miss counting lol?

Dori I am enrolling him from sept 2016 and paying the full whack until 1st April 2017 when the ECCE funding comes through. I should get around €300 off my childcare Bill. The place I want him to go to is a stand alone Montessori that is offering places in feb for sept intake.

Am I being stupid now with my counting? New schools say you need to be 12 by 1st January. Is that extra year?

Edit
Just realised Is it 12 by 1st January in 6th class? Or 12 by 1st jan 1st year? In my school it's 12 by 1st June 6th class but it is has been waived in past on religious grounds but too much demand now. In our primary school March children have to delay as places filled with oldest local children first.

dori_dormer

Millem wrote: »

Dori I am enrolling him from sept 2016 and paying the full whack until 1st April 2017 when the ECCE funding comes through. I should get around €300 off my childcare Bill. The place I want him to go to is a stand alone Montessori that is offering places in feb for sept intake.

Am I being stupid now with my counting? New schools say you need to be 12 by 1st January in 6th class!! So would that not be extra year?

I think i am off by a year. Mine would be 11.5 starting secondary by my above calcs. But even if i used 2 yrs ecce, he still wouldn't be 12 till the feb?

Millem

dori_dormer wrote: »

I think i am off by a year. Mine would be 11.5 starting secondary by my above calcs. But even if i used 2 yrs ecce, he still wouldn't be 12 till the feb?

Dori it is so confusing!! So if you use 2 and a bit ECCE years what age starting school? Is it 12 and 7 months or 13 and 7 months?

dori_dormer

Millem wrote: »

Dori it is so confusing!! So if you use 2 and a bit ECCE years what age starting school? Is it 12 and 7 months or 13 and 7 months?

Im getting a pen and paper. ...