Concerns Southampton children pushed into school before they're ready
New stats have been released revealing how many families with children born in the summer have managed to delay their start date.
Families who want to delay their summer-born child from starting primary school are facing an "unfair" postcode lottery, with some councils refusing more than half of parents' requests, it has been suggested.
Parents who ask for a delayed start in Reception for a child born between April and August have varying success depending on where they live, an analysis has found.
Figures - obtained by the PA news agency using freedom of information (FoI) requests - show Southampton City Council refused more than half of requests from parents to delay the start of the school year.
Councillor Amanda Barnes-Andrews, Cabinet Member for Children and Learning for Southampton City Council, said: "The Department for Education sets out the national process for education outside of the normal age group, which is followed in Southampton.
"This requires reviewing every request individually to consider the impact to the child.
"Where education outside of the normal age group is agreed, a child may have to 'skip' a year if they move area or between schools, as admission authorities are not bound to uphold another admission authority's decision."
Many councils approved 100% of requests for delayed entry over a three-year period.
Campaigners and parents are calling for greater consistency across England for families who do not want their child to start primary school almost a year younger than some of their classmates - as some families worry their child is not ready emotionally or physically.
It comes amid concerns about a decline in school readiness among children starting Reception, with some arguing Covid-19 lockdowns have exacerbated developmental delays.
Children in England usually start primary school in the September after they turn four, but parents of children born between April 1 and August 31 can request to delay entry to Reception by a year.
A child does not reach "compulsory school age" until the term following their fifth birthday.
Department for Education (DfE) guidance, which was updated in 2023, says admissions authorities are expected to decide whether a summer-born child can be admitted out of their normal age group - to Reception rather than Year 1 - based on "the child's best interests".
It should be "rare" for a council to refuse a parent's request, and the Government believes it is "rarely in a child's best interests" to miss a year of education by starting in Year 1 instead of Reception, it adds.
Nearly three in five councils in England - 91 out of 153 - provided full data to PA on the total number of requests from parents of summer-born children to delay Reception over three years: from September 2022 to September 2023, September 2023 to September 2024, and September 2024 to September 2025.
Of these, 86 councils provided a full breakdown of the requests which were refused over the three years.