England: Late-starting summer-born pupils don’t get better phonics scores
Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 6:24 pm
Concern is often expressed in England about children who are 'summer born' and whether this places them at a disadvantage compared to their older peers. He is a piece in Schools Week with reference to results in the national, statutory Year One Phonics Screening Check:
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/late-starting ... cs-scores/
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/late-starting ... cs-scores/
Do read the whole piece - it isn't long and includes links.Late-starting summer-born pupils don’t get better phonics scores
Summer-born pupils who start reception after turning five do not significantly outperform those pupils who start aged four.
According to new research from the Department for Education, summer-born pupils granted permission to start school a year later only score on average 0.87 points more on their first formal test than summer-borns who start school aged four.
Some councils allow summer-born pupils – those born between April and August – to start school a year later than they normally would. Parents claim that being in a younger cohort is fairer on summer-born pupils and boosts their performance.
But today’s research found the improvement in phonics score made by those allowed to delay starting school was “not statistically significant”.