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DS too young to start at FS1

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247

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 04 November 2013 - 12:07

I agree with all the lovely ladies below. OP, my son is in the same boat, born on 19th Sept (2011), and I will NOT be putting him in FS1 till he's over 3 (or rather nearly 4). It is best for them as they need to be physically and emotionally ready to start school....

1848

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EW EXPERT

Latest post on 03 November 2013 - 17:58

I submitted application for my DS at Gems Silicon Oasis for FS1 2014 session. The other day I received a call from a representative of the school informing that the child should be 3 years by or before 15th of September 2014 and my child was TOO YOUNG as per his birth date so they could not consider him for 2014 but may be I could take chance for 2015 session. Now I don't have any issues with their policies but wondering if a difference of just 9 DAYS could really make him TOO YOUNG Any idea if all the schools follow the same rule? His DOB is 24th Sep btw Consider it lucky. Your child will be one of the oldest in his class and emotionally and mentally more mature therefor able to grasp things must faster. In my childs class the older ones are the ones who excell....for now.

30

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 30 October 2013 - 04:15

What I meant by Proper Schooling was starting with Grade 1. And by UAE law from what someone mentioned, kids need to be in school during the scholastic year they are 5 rising 6 so hopefully he should be ok if starts FS1 in 2015… He just turned 2 last month but understands and recognizes all alphabets and phonics, numbers up to 10, completes all basic puzzles and loves to be in the company of other kids and that made me thought if he could start FS1 next year but as you say, may be it's better to give him some more time so he's more confident when he is on his own and away for half of the day.

1913

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EW EXPERT

Latest post on 26 October 2013 - 20:28

I'm not sure what you mean by 'proper schooling'. FS1 is very much a play-based curriculum but FS 2 generally covers the introduction of phonics and children learning to read and write. What is expected of them in British Curriculum Schools is a lot. I think you are definitely best to let your son start FS 1 when he is almost 4. He will be in a much stronger position then. My son is the same with a mid September birthday. He was bright enough to have gone ahead a year but socially he would have struggled as he approached his teenage years. He was much better off being one of the oldest in his year. It also means they are more mature when they finally leave home and head off to Uni or wherever - I know that may seem light years away now but it comes round so fast!

30

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 26 October 2013 - 17:18

Thank you ladies for your input. So basically if he starts FS1 at age 4 and FS2 at age 5 and proper schooling at the age of 6, that should be fine?

391

Posts

EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 26 October 2013 - 09:04

I agree with the school and Irooni below. Please do not start your child at school that young - especially in a british system school. He won't even be 3 years old and you want him to go to school for 5 hours a day. Schools expect full toilet independence without exception. And whilst your child might not struggle for the first year FS1 which is still very play based they will be still 3 years old when they start FS2 - where it all gets very serious very quickly. Research shows (do a quick google yourself) that there is no benefit to starting children on formal reading and teaching at such a young age. The children who are at the bottom age group do statistically worse than those that are older. European countries with fantastic educational outcomes do not start school until much later. I can see the difference between my children (who are both in the oldest groups in their class) and the really young ones who are still struggling in year 3. Not because they are stupid but they are pushed too early and end up being labelled as poor performing. My older child changed countries and curriculums at age 6.5. At this stage he could read almost nothing. Now - only 1.5 years later he has a reading and comprehension level at almost adult level. It was painless. There are still kids who are doing formal learn to read programs - which they have been struggling with for 3 years - many of these are the young ones.

2392

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EW EXPERT

Latest post on 26 October 2013 - 01:53

Generally all English Curriculum schools, take children who turn 4 years between september 1 and august 31st of that academic year in for FS1. So if your child is september 24, techinically he has missed he cut off date by 24 days. He will be one of the eldest children in the class, which will be to his benefit later on. HTH ETD: and to answer your original question :) yes, he will be too young, as all the other children in the class will be turning 4 from september 1st 2014 to august 31st 2015, where as your son will turn four spetember 2015. He will be anywhere from a a month to a year younger than his peers. <em>edited by Irooni on 26/10/2013</em>

30

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 26 October 2013 - 00:17

I submitted application for my DS at Gems Silicon Oasis for FS1 2014 session. The other day I received a call from a representative of the school informing that the child should be 3 years by or before 15th of September 2014 and my child was TOO YOUNG as per his birth date so they could not consider him for 2014 but may be I could take chance for 2015 session. Now I don't have any issues with their policies but wondering if a difference of just 9 DAYS could really make him TOO YOUNG Any idea if all the schools follow the same rule? His DOB is 24th Sep btw

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