Summary: there is no fault in the school’s decision to refuse Mr and Mrs P’s request for deferred entry to reception for their children when they start school in September 2024.

The complaint

1. Mr and Mrs P complain the school refused their request for deferred entry to reception for their children. They complain the school did not consider their request properly.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered information provided by Mr and Mrs P and information provided by the school.

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What I found

5. The school is a voluntary aided school. The governors are the admission authority.
6. Mr and Mrs P's children are summer born children.
7. Mr and Mrs P decided they will not start school until they reach compulsory school age in September 2024, the September following their fifth birthday.
8. Mr and Mrs P asked the school to agree to admit the children to reception rather than year 1 should they be offered a place next year.
9. The school declined.
10. Unhappy with the school’s decision, Mr and Mrs P complained to the Ombudsman.

The admission of summer born children

11. All children are entitled to a full-time school place from the September following their fourth birthday.
12. ‘Summer born children’ are children born between 1 April and 31 August. These children are not required to start school until the September following their fifth birthday. Ordinarily they would then start school in year 1.
13. Parents can request their summer born children are admitted to a reception class in the September following their fifth birthday rather than year 1. This means they are educated outside their normal age group.
14. Parents decide when their children start school. The admission authority (in this case, the School) decides whether they start in reception or year 1.
15. The Government and the Ombudsman have issued guidance to admission authorities when deciding which year group a child should be admitted to. (Advice on the admission of summer born children for local authorities and school admission authorities issued by the Department for Education in September 2020 and Summer born admissions: Guidance for practitioners issued by the Ombudsman in December 2018)
16. The admission authority must take account of the child’s individual needs and abilities and consider whether these can best be met in reception or year one. The admission authority must also take account of the potential impact on the child of being admitted to year one without first having completed the reception year.

Consideration

17. Mr and Mrs P have decided the children will not start school until September 2024. This is entirely their decision to make.
18. Mr and Mrs P requested deferred entry to reception because the children were born prematurely and would have been in a different year group if they had been born at full term. They said the pandemic had also had an impact on their development. They explained the children were attending pre-school and had their own specific needs, including separation, and speech and language. They referred to research, government guidance, and their preferences for the children’s education.
19. The school declined Mr and Mrs P’s request to admit the children to reception when they start school in September 2024. Instead, the school offered a tailored phased start in 2023 – 2024 and explained the support that would be available to meet the children’s needs.
20. Unhappy with the school’s decision, Mr and Mrs P complained to the Ombudsman. They complain the school has not properly considered their request as it has not considered whether it would be in the children’s interests to miss reception and start in year 1 when they start school in September 2024.
21. The Ombudsman does not decide whether the children should be admitted to reception or year 1 when they start school in September 2024. This is the admission authority’s job. The Ombudsman checks the school made the decision properly.
22. The school provided information about how it considered Mr and Mrs P’s request. It contacted the children’s pre-school to discuss Mr and Mrs P’s concerns with staff working with the children. The school explained how it could meet the children’s needs if they were to start school in year 1 in September 2024 without first having completed the reception year. Finally, the school gave reasons why it considered it would not be in the children’s interests to start in reception when they start school in September 2024.
23. The information provided by the school satisfies me it properly considered Mr and Mrs P’s request. There is no fault in the school’s decision. The Ombudsman cannot question decisions taken without fault.

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Final decision

24. I have ended my investigation. There is no fault in the school’s decision to refuse Mr and Mrs P’s request for deferred entry to reception for their children when they start school in September 2024.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman