Before considering to delay your child’s start to school make sure you have read all of the information on our compulsory school age page. In most cases it is in the child’s best interest to be taught with their peers in their chronological year group. ‘Deferred entry for children to start school’ provides you with other options available for you to consider.
If your child’s birthday is between 1 April and 31 August, they will become of compulsory school age the September following their fifth birthday. This is defined as the start of the autumn term. This will be the start of Year 1.
The normal age for a child to start school is in the September following their fourth birthday, this will be the start of Reception.
Parents of summer-born children can request for their child to have a delayed entry into Reception. Delaying your child's entry means your child will be admitted to Reception outside their chronological year group. They will start Reception when they are 5.
Before submitting your request
Before you submit your request to delay your child’s entry to school, it is important to consider the following.
Your delayed entry request only relates to the schools listed as a preference on your original request. The headteacher of each school will tell the council of their decision.
If your request is agreed and you apply for different schools or amend your application to those listed on your original request, these schools may not agree with the delayed entry. This could result in your child missing the Reception year of education and being admitted into their chronological year group.
A school agreeing to your request does not guarantee you a school place at your preferred schools. This is simply the school agreeing to admit your child outside of their chronological year group, should an offer be made.
If you request is agreed by your preferred schools but none of these schools have available places for your child, then it is the duty of the council to offer an alternative school place to our residents.
If you do not consent to your information being shared with other schools, then the alternative school place offered will be for your child’s chronological year group.
Admitting your child outside of their chronological year group does not carry through with every school move or transition. If your child moves schools at any time, this could be an in-year admission or transfer to Junior or Secondary School you must again request that they are admitted outside of their chronological year group. There is no guarantee that these schools will agree to admit your child outside of their chronological year group which could result in your child missing a year of education. Such as transferring from Year 6 to Year 8.
Agreement to delay your child’s entry also does not transfer across local authorities. If another council has agreed to your request to delay your child’s entry to school this does not mean it will be agreed within Bracknell Forest or by Bracknell Forest Schools.
By admitting your child outside their chronological year group, they will be able to leave school before completing examination courses. Although the participation age is now 18, the statutory school age ends on the last Friday in June in the school year when a child becomes 16.
Applications for delayed entry may not be agreed if it is seen that the request is being made solely for the intention of gaining a school place at a preferred school. Admitting your child outside of their chronological year group can have a future implications on your child and submitting such a request is not a decision that should be taken lightly.
All decisions by admission authorities will be on the basis of the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned.
How your request is processed
Once you have completed the delayed entry request form, your request and all supporting documents submitted will be sent to the headteachers of the schools you have listed as a preference to consider your request.
All the information provided may also be exchanged with other departments within the council, as well as other councils, admission authorities, schools, and government agencies where relevant.
Once a response has been received from all relevant parties, you will be contacted with the outcome to your request. We will also confirm which application process you will be required to follow.
Submitting a request is not an application for school.
The relevant parties will take into account:
- the views of the parents
- information about the child’s academic, social and emotional development
- information about the child’s medical history and the views of a medical professional, where relevant
- the views of the relevant headteachers
- whether the child has previously been educated out of their normal age group
- whether they may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born prematurely
How to request a delayed entry
Your request to delay your child’s entry to school must be made by the national closing date for primary school admissions. See our primary school key dates page.
If you wish to request a delayed entry to school for your child, follow the steps below.
- Make sure you have read and understood all of the information provided on this page, and on the compulsory school age page.
- Complete the delayed entry request form below.
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All requests and supporting evidence must be submitted before the national closing date.
Requests for schools outside Bracknell Forest
You will need to name the school on your request form, and when you officially apply for a school place, the school will also need to be named on your application.
We will notify the council of the school that we have received a request for. However, different processes apply within different areas and Bracknell Forest cannot process your request for schools outside Bracknell Forest. You will need to contact the admission authority directly regarding your request, follow their relevant procedures and then inform us of the outcome that has been provided to you.
Follow these steps:
- Complete the delayed entry request form with Bracknell Forest.
- Approach the relevant Admission Authority for any school outside Bracknell Forest that you have named.
- Provide the outcome to your request to Bracknell Forest.
- Follow the instructions provided within your outcome letter on how to make an application.
Late requests to delay entry
As requests must be considered by the school headteacher, we are unable to process late requests over the course of term breaks. You will be required to wait until the school returns for your request to be processed. This includes the 6-week summer break. This will delay the outcome to your application.
To make a late request to delay your child’s entry to school you should follow the instructions provided above under ‘how to request delayed entry’.
If your request is refused
If your request is refused, your child will be admitted to their chronological year group.