I have already told the story of my campaign to delay the school starting date for my premature twins

We live in Kent and the LEA here does not seem to have any clear policy

For the flexible admission of summer born children

And in particular those summer born whose birth was also premature

Esther and William were born in July and so they started school in September 2014

Had they been born on their due date of 20th October, they would not start until 2015

I exchanged letters, emails and phone calls with Kent LEA

Fighting for our right to delay

Fighting for Esther and William’s right to start school according to their due date

Allowing them to start reception year at the age of 5

Instead of 4

I was eventually successful in getting the education authority to agree

That it would be best for Esther and William to start school

In Year R

In 2015

Just as I was feeling happy with the outcome and confident in our decision

I was told that it would mean that they could not go to grammar school

Or if they wanted to go to grammar they would have to miss a year of primary education

How is it in the best interest of any child to miss a year of their education?

I wrote emails to local secondary schools

I checked admissions policies for the grammars

The comprehensives will take children out of year

Kent grammar schools will not!

So by sending my children to school at the right time

At the start of the term after their 5th birthday

By starting their education at the compulsory age

I would be putting them at a disadvantage later in their school career

How is that fair?

How is it allowed for children to be put in such a position?

Esther and William were born at 27 weeks gestation

They were born 3 months too soon

Their prematurity has placed them in the wrong school year group

Which will have a lasting effect on them

One way or another for the rest of their lives

Because of the uncertainty about the Kent Test

And grammar school system

With the support of our village primary school

We decided to allow Esther and William to start Reception in 2014

David and I have always thought and still think that this is very much an experimental year

For us as well as them

We have thought about homeschooling, private education and supporting our village school

We have not yet ruled out Esther and William repeating their reception year next year

Either at the same school or moving to a new one

We have not ruled anything in or out

Esther and William are still only 4 and a half

And I am not yet sure if this year at school has been good for them or not

We are half way through the school year

So how is school for Esther and William?

To be honest it is really hard to know

If they are to be believed they do lots of ‘nothing’ ‘can’t remember’ and ‘not sure’ at school

It is hard to know what any child is doing beyond the classroom door

I can only judge on what is happening at home

And what I spy from my front room window that happens to overlook the school yard!

Esther and William are bright and sociable children

They have always been so

They knew their letter sounds and had number skills before they started school

They could both read before starting school

William with much more confidence than Esther

But she could do it and wanted to try

School seems to have made William much louder than before

And Esther much more quiet

William seems more immature than ever

He talks at home in a baby voice

Not using his language properly

Yet he is one of the most eloquent four year olds I know

Esther is quieter than ever

More unsure and sensitive than ever

She has always been the quieter one

Esther has learned to draw and to colour beautifully

Staying inside the lines

The only award or certificate she has had from school

Was from the Headteacher for good colouring

I think both children seem to know less now than before they started school

School does not offer the activities they need

Messy play, sensory activities, open ended invitations to play

I think their behaviour has been affected

I believe that this is because they are missing the adult contact that four year olds definitely need

They are left to their own devices for much of the day

And at their age and developmental stage they are just not ready for that level of independence

If they were at preschool there would be one adult for every six children

In their class at school they have one adult to thirteen children

In a mixed reception and year one class

The teacher and teaching assistant cannot be with them at all times

At playtime there are only one or two members of staff on duty

And over 60 children in the school

They are having to do things independently that they are not really ready to do

I worry about William because we are half way through the school year

And he cannot write

But why should he be able to write?

He is the size of the average three year old

And taking into consideration his prematurity

He is only really just 4!

He needs too focus on developing his fine and gross motor skills

Instead of being forced to try and write

Something he physically finds so tough

He can read

He can double numbers

He knows his number bonds to 10

He knows the order of the planets

He can spell and can type brilliantly

He is a skilled wooden train track engineer

He has a wonderful sense of humour

He is kind and generous and polite

But he is not ready for formal education

He does not fit the mould for school assessment systems

He is just not ready

And writing this post is making me realise how much I know this to be true

He is a very young four year old boy

He is built to run and play

He needs attention and adult support

He needs help with life skills such as getting dressed and going to the toilet

He needs help with organising himself and his belongings

Help he would be getting in a nursery setting

School really do try to meet all of Esther and William’s needs

But they should not have to

There should be no reason for them to

If there had been a clear cut policy in Kent for school admissions

For summer born children and premature babes

If someone had said to us

Absolutely send them to preschool in 2014

Start school in 2015

They can sit the Kent Test with the rest of their classmates

And start their secondary education after 7 full years in primary

Why can it not be as simple as that?

They are children who are trusting us to do our best to meet their needs

And give them the best chance of a happy and successful life ahead

I worry that our real troubles with Esther and William are still to come

I do not think that they are going to be ready for more formalised learning in September

When really they should be moving up to Year One

I think only then they will be about ready to fully access life in reception year

I think only then will they be ready for their school career to begin

Then they will be ready to really enjoy school life and start to thrive

Instead of struggling to get through a full school day

And being left finding life difficult beyond the lollipop lady

I wrote Esther and William a letter last year

I still stand by every word I said

Perhaps this campaign is not over yet

There are definitely decisions still to be made