Starting school: What is the best age for children?

As an early childhood educator, I am often asked by parents and carers of young children, when is the best age for children to start school. I know there can be anxiety about this decision as parents and carers want starting school to be a positive and rewarding experience for their child. There’s lots of advice out there, some quite useful, but it often misses the key elements of what makes for a great school start.

In Australia, it is a government requirement in every state for a child to be enrolled and attend school in the year they are turning six. While the cut-off dates and names of the first year of school differ accordingly across each state, the general rule is that an enrolling child will be already 5 and turning 6 usually by mid-year.

 

While somewhat useful, these cut-off dates are age-related and do not consider the school-readiness of your child. The school-readiness material is plentiful—When should your child start school? ; School Ready Toolkits (at a cost); and Smooth Transition from pre-school to school—and definitely worth a read if you have the time.

 

Delayed entry is more common in Australia

Although the research findings are mixed, some studies show that parents who delay school entry believe that their child will be better off by starting school later. Although the long term impact is less clear, some research indicates that older children, in the first few years of school, experience better socio-behavioural and academic outcomes. Due to flexible entry policies in Australia, delayed entry tends to be more common in Australia than other countries like the USA.

 

While these materials are a good rule of thumb, they can be overwhelming, confusing and often contradictory. The advice they give doesn’t really consider the fact that all children progress and develop at different rates. Further, age-related guidelines do not account for how children approach the challenges of more formalised education. Children need a range of social, physical and cognitive attributes to be ready to start school.

 

Many parents decide to delay their child from starting school. However, there is mixed evidence that holding a child back has a lasting effect on academic achievement.

 

Starting school: Three important questions

Here are three important questions that I think would be most helpful to guide you in making this very important decision for you and your child.

 

1. Have you talked with your early childhood educators?

I think this is the most important advice I could give you. Educators in the year prior to school are guided nationally by the Early Years Learning Framework  which aims to develop our young learners as active, engaged, informed and creative. After spending a good part of the year with your child, teachers and teacher assistants have in-depth knowledge about your child and how they will embrace a new and different learning environment.

 

Your child’s educators know how important a smooth and quality transition to school is and will always advocate a collaborative approach. Your voice is an important part of this approach: educators appreciate that you know your child in so many other ways. If your child does not attend kindergarten, then perhaps there are other education professionals with whom you could talk.

 

2. Does your child show an interest in the world around them?

Thinking back to my time as an early childhood educator working in kindergarten, I wanted my young learners to leave me knowing who they were, knowing how to communicate effectively, having positive relationships with others, being confident with their bodies, and having a thirst for learning and knowledge. I wanted to distil in them an enquiring disposition where they were curious and eager to find out about things, willing to try new things, and to problem solve about the big and little things in their immediate lives.

 

So, ask yourself these questions: how ready is my child to learn new things and how ready are they to talk with others about their learnings?  Often these skills are evident when sharing a book or multimedia item, or being out in the environment on a bush walk or in the local park. Take note here, as in these sharing sessions children show their best in terms of being inquisitive about their world.

 

3. How ready is my child to navigate a new learning environment?

What makes a prior-to-school setting? Having taught extensively in both environments, I know that prior-to-school settings tend to be characterised by less structure and more play-based activities. Children have more choice about where to be involved, and often with whom they work, and learning can often be transdisciplinary. In most prior-to-school settings children spend the whole day with the same group of people where support is available for all activities including visiting the toilet and eating.

 

How is school different?

While the first year of school can mirror the above characteristics, it is generally the case that school tends to be more structured and discipline-based. There can be fewer opportunities to choose activities and working buddies, and participate in play.

 

It’s also good to consider how the physical environment can differ. Desks may be prioritised over more informal learning areas. Learning expectations and the introduction of different rules and regulations can sometimes cause distress. The highly personalised relationships of prior-to-school settings are often replaced by slightly less personalised ones where children may spend their play time and some learning activities away from the classroom teacher.

 

It is important to note that most children cope well with starting school and today schools put in an enormous effort to make children feel comfortable and supported in their transition to school.

 

You don't have to make this decision on your own

Remember that you don’t have to make this decision on your own and that collaborative decision making is the best way forward. Talk with your early childhood educators and consider their advice. And think about the other two ideas above. These ideas will help you to develop an informed understanding about your child and this important education transition. Good luck!

 

It is timely that those with an interest in this very important area carry out more research to examine trends and young children’s educational and socio-behavioural outcomes given the decision to delay or not to delay starting school. This would then arm parents and the wider educational community with more informed and helpful understandings to reflect the current situation in Australia.

 

This article was originally published on EduResearch Matters. Read the original article.