Delayed admission of summer born children to reception

Children will normally be admitted to the reception year in the September following their fourth birthday, and most are educated within their normal chronological age group.

However, you can request that your child is admitted outside their age group if you feel there are exceptional reasons. This usually applies to children who:

• Are summer born (born between 1 April and 31 August)
• Will benefit significantly by starting reception a year later - for example, for academic, social and emotional development

You can read further government guidance for parents.

Request delayed admission to reception for the following September

If you are considering delaying your child's entry to reception, we recommend that you discuss this with your preferred schools before making a formal request. The school may wish to discuss how your child's needs could be met within their actual age group, and the impact of being educated with children of a different age group.

To make a request following this discussion:

• You should apply for a school place in your child's actual age group by the closing date, 15 January 2024.
• You should also complete a delayed admission request form outlining the reasons why you think it would be in your child's best interests to start school a year later.
• We will contact the admission authority/ies of your preferred schools* and will then write to you with the decision from each admission authority. 
• If you then wish to proceed, your current application will be cancelled and you will need to reapply for a reception place in the following year. There are no guarantees there will be a place available at the school, because this will depend upon the number of applications and pattern of admissions in that year. If your preferred school(s) are oversubscribed, your application will be considered in accordance with the schools' admission criteria. It is not possible to reserve a place for the following year.

* Following the government’s announcement in September 2015, the Council has recommended to all state schools in its area that requests are approved without the need for parents to provide supporting evidence. The Council is the admission authority for community schools in Wandsworth. For academies, foundation schools, free schools or voluntary aided schools, the decision as to whether to accept an application for delayed admission rests with the school itself in line with current School Admission Code. Please contact these schools directly for further advice.

If you wish your child to continue at his/her current nursery, you should also let the nursery know by 15 January 2024. Failure to do so may mean that the nursery place is offered to another child for September.

Schools will not normally admit children to reception prior to the September following their fourth birthday.