If it is, then you have a bit of a dilemma! Is it better to send your child to school the year they turn 5, knowing that they’ll be one of the youngest for the rest of their school years, or do you wait a year and ‘hold them back’?
The Victorian Government legislation states that ‘to attend school, a child must turn 5 years old by 30 April’.
But when does that mean you should enrol them into Kinder? And is it better for them to do two years of 3-year-old kinder or two years of 4-year-old kinder?
So what is best? Belli, from Bubbles Pre-School in Malvern East, gets asked this question almost every week.
“I really feel for parents who have a child with a January, February, March or April birthday. On the one hand they are told they can’t enrol their 2-turning 3 year-old, into 3-year-old kinder until the following year. But on the other hand, the Government school entry requirement says that a child can be 5-years-old by April 30 of their first school year,” she said.
“In nearly all cases, ‘first quarter babies’ will benefit tenfold from a second year of 4-year-old kinder.
“Imagine your almost-4 year-old in a class with children who’ve just turned 3, after already completing a year of 3-year-old kinder.
“The social and emotional gap between a newly turned 3 year-old and a 4 year-old is vast.
“Four year olds have spent a quarter of their life, learning how to interact and engage with their peers, their language is progressing and they are beginning to understand who they are and what they like. So going back and spending the following year with a class of children who have just turned 3, really isn’t socially or developmentally ideal.
“As far as we’re aware, we are the only pre-school that will accept children in to 3-year-old kinder with a January, February, March or April birthday and we’re really proud of that.
“This means they can do a year of 3-year-old kinder and then two years of 4-year-old kinder. Parents’ initial concerns about their child being ‘bored’ or ‘feeling left behind’ by doing a repeat year of 4 YO Kinder are quickly dissipated. The feedback from parents who’ve given their child a second year of 4-year-old kinder with us is always positive, and all parents tell us it was the best decision they ever made!”
