What does “deferred entry” mean and is my child eligible?

If your child’s 5^th birthday falls between the date that the school term begins in August and the last day of the following February you can choose either to enrol your child for the August before he/she reaches the age of 5 or to delay his/her enrolment in school until the following August.  Taking the choice to delay enrolment for a year is known as “deferring entry”.

There should always be sound educational reasons for deferring entry.

The Moray Council considers that provision made for 3 and 4yr olds in Moray should ensure that only in exceptional circumstances should a child’s entry to school be deferred.

Given that your child will have been in pre-school education for at least a year any concern regarding readiness for school will have already been drawn to your attention.  Any decision therefore should be a shared one between parents and Educational Services.

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Do I have to make a definite decision about deferring entry when I register my child in January?

No.  In January you can simply register your child for both school and pre-school, indicating that you are considering deferring entry.  This will keep both options open to you whilst you decide whether or not to defer entry.  However, it would not be advisable to leave the decision later than April as your child would miss out on the induction to Primary 1 programmes run by schools should you then decide not to defer.

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Can I register for both primary education and pre-school education to keep my options open?

It is always better to register for Primary education if you want to secure a place in the school of your choice.

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Why can I not decide when my child’s pre-school year will be?

If your child’s 4^th birthday falls between the first day of March and the last day of February the following year their pre-school year would begin in the August during that year.

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If I decide to defer entry do I have to send my child to pre-school education?

No.  It is entirely your decision whether on not you send your child to pre-school education.  Unlike primary and secondary education, pre-school education is not statutory.

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