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Starting primary school

These pages offer information on how being born premature can affect children when they start primary school. This includes all the practical things about applying for a primary school place. We also offer suggestions about how parents, teachers and schools can support children.

A group of primary school children running on grass with trees in background
Mum and young child at the doorway leaving home for school

What do I need to know?

Starting primary school is a big step for all young children and their parents, and there can be some more things to think about for children who were born premature.…
Group of primary school children sat at a round table having lunch and laughing

Options for starting primary school

This page talks about the options available for starting primary school if you feel your child would benefit from starting outside of the regular school year. This…
Mum and child happily playing with a toy, smiling and laughing

How do I make this decision?

What else should I consider? There are a lot of things to think about because every child is different, and family circumstances will vary.
Primary school class sitting on the floor while teacher reads them a book

Supporting your child when they start school

How can I support my premature child when they start primary school? Whether you delay, defer, or send your child to primary school based on their birth date, it is…
A teacher helping three primary school children with their work in a classroom

Deferring or delaying a primary school place

How do I choose to defer or delay when I start the primary school application?
A dad walking with his child and holding their hand

Checklist for applications to defer or delay

This checklist offers some guidance on how you could structure your application to your local authority for delaying or deferring your child's start to primary school.…
A group or children playing outside with a colourful parachute

Letters of support for deferring or delaying

These letters of support can be included as part of your application pack to your local authority.

Full text as a PDF

Click here to download the full text of this section as a PDF along with sources for the school codes, guidelines and studies referenced in this work.

The information in this section is due for review June 2025

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