when a parent asks you if they should hold their child back
Parents often rely on early childhood education and care providers to offer expert advice and guidance on issues around physically raising children, developmental milestones and social issues. The assumption being that ECECs are around children so much that they have probably 'seen it all'.
One question that parents regularly raise with providers is whether they should hold their eligible school aged child back for another year of care or preschool. In Australia there is no consistency in terms of when kids start school and each state has its own minimum age and date cut-offs.
The lack of centralised guidance (consider for example NZ where all kids start school at age five, no matter when that falls in the academic year) means that parents with a child born in the few months leading up to the cut-off have to decide whether or not to send their child off or hold them back for another year.
Many parents think the additional year will give their child an advantage: more time to develop physically and to learn the skills required for success at school, such as sitting for sustained periods, self care as well as a head start in early literacy and numeracy.
This belief continues despite plenty of evidence to the contrary. Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald University of Sydney education professor Andrew Martin says that as a general rule most kids entering school at the right time have no disadvantage but that it might be necessary to hold some kids back.
"For nine out of 10 kids on-time entry is appropriate. They might be a little bit young, there will be a bit of catch-up in the early days, but have a long view of your child's education. Before you know it they will be catching up," said Professor Martin.
Parents who contact their primary school for guidance are often told to speak to the early childhood education and care provider, which puts enormous pressure on ECTs to provide guidance on what is essentially a personal/family decision.
We are interested to learn how you handle this perennially prickly issue. Please provide your thought below.
Commment:
Tell us what do you think is the most important factor in determining school readiness?
