What Is The Right Age For My Child To Start School?

One common question every parent struggles with is when their child should start school. 

In NSW, a child could be between four and six years old while in Kindergarten, leaving gaps of up to 18 months in a single school year. Anyone can tell you that there are some considerable social and emotional differences between a four-year-old and a six-year-old. 

What is The Best Age to Start School?

That could all be about to change, with NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell announcing plans for a universal school starting age of six, which would work to put children on an equal playing field by eliminating the 18-month age gap among children in classrooms. It could be the most significant childcare reform in over 20 years if passed. 

An article published by News.com.au recently highlighted the rising cost of living and the expense of daycare on families is driving many parents to start their children in school early, as young as four years old. They simply can not afford to continue to afford childcare on top of other rising costs of living.

The article highlights some alarming figures. "Australian childcare is the second most expensive in the world, and out-of-pocket childcare costs have grown on average by more than 3 per cent a year above inflation over the past decade, according to OECD data". Yikes.

 

Okay, Okay, But What Age Is Best?

Ask any parent when they, and you will get a very passionate response. It's a milestone everyone has strong feelings about, and many feel that as every child is different, the age they start school should also be different. So asking parents is exactly what I did.  

I asked the ellaslist team when their children started school and why. 

Here's what they said

Jodi, General Manager and Mother of Four

I have four girls whose birthdays are May, June, January and April.

I chose to 'hold' my girls back. 

The May, June and April birthdays were sent once they were five so they would turn six in their first year of school (Kindy).

It was harder for my January baby. If I waited, she would have already been six before school started, and if I didn't wait, she would have just turned five.

I chose to send her when she just turned five in January.

I was inclined to hold my girls back because I thought they would have more emotional intelligence if we waited. They were all academically intelligent enough to cope but not emotionally.

I was also thinking not just about Kindy but also Year 12. I'd rather them turn 18 in Year 12, so they were more mature before leaving school.

I've ended up with a research group of four on this topic, and the child that has struggled the most is my January baby - just being that bit younger. Her emotional intelligence just wasn't there. She is also young and a little behind in all milestones that have carried on throughout the years. She will only be 17 in Year 12 when she's released into the big wide world. It feels so young.

Haylie, SEO Editor and Mother of Two

My two boys are three and a half years apart and born at opposite ends of the year. Our eldest was born in October, so it was easy for us to figure out the 'right time' to send him to school based on the July birthday cut-off rule. He started preschool when he was three, turning four, which meant that he started Kindy when he was five, turning six and has settled in perfectly. 

This will not be the case with our youngest, who's still at daycare. He's two, and his birthday is in April, which means he can technically start preschool in 2023, but hay-ho, hold the phone, he is definitely not ready! 

He's still in nappies, cannot regulate his emotions, and still derives pleasure from pulling the dog's ears. Aside from us feeling that he is not ready now, if he was to start preschool the year he turns three, that'd mean he'd start school at four, turning five, and finish high school the year he turns 17, which, again, seems too young in our opinion.

 

 

Rachel, Operations Manager and Mother of Three

I come from Western Australia, and in WA, all children start school at five, so it was a complicated situation for me. The kids would be a year behind if we ever moved back there. 

I decided to hold them back anyway as I'd done a lot of reading, and I think it's really beneficial to start school at a later age. 

I was fortunate to be at a preschool where it was affordable to send three children. I had three kids under 14 months so it wouldn't have been affordable to send them to daycare. 

In WA, a preschool/kindy is attached to every school. None of these ridiculous waiting lists Sydney has. Another conversation altogether there!

Everyone says girls are different. They could sit and listen at an earlier age, but my daughter was not like that at all. She has an incredible imagination, but when she was four years old, she had no interest in learning in the traditional sense (though she is remarkably bright!). She just wanted to keep going with her pretend play. It was an easier decision to hold her back.

On the other hand, my boys can't sit still but are very bright and love to learn. They've always thrived at school. Even so, I think holding them back was the best thing. 

I will say this, I don't think it should be left up to the parents or individual states to decide when their child starts school. It should be a nationwide decision with free Preschools attached to Primary Schools. I agree with the suggested NSW reform that the universal age of school intake should be six.

 

 

Here's what the school intake age looks like around Australia:

NSW

Children can start school in the first term if turning five by 31 July that year.

Victoria

Children can start school in the first term if turning five by 30 April that year.

Queensland

A Prep year is offered but not compulsory in most schools. Children must turn five by 30 June in the year they are enrolled to start Prep.

Children must turn six before 30 June in the year they are enrolled to start Year 1. 

Western Australia

Those turning five by 30 June that year can start pre-primary in the first term. A child must turn five years old by 30 June of the year they enter pre-primary.

South Australia

Children can start Reception on the first day of term after turning five or on their fifth birthday.

Tasmania

To start Prep, children must be five by 1 January of the school year. Kindergarten is open to Tasmanian children who turn four on or before 1 January of the year they start. 

ACT

Children can start in the first term if turning five by 30 April that year.

Northern Territory

Multiple intakes.

 

We want to know what you think.

 When is the best age to send children to school? Do you think the cost of childcare in Australia needs to be addressed? 

Tell us your story in the comments below. 

 

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