The move follows a Government consultation with parents, teachers and local authorities over plans for all four-year-olds to start reception the September after their fourth birthday (News, 22 October).
Under changes to the Schools Admissions Code, local authorities will have a legal duty to give parents flexibility and choice over school starting dates.
Parents who do not want their four-year-old to start school will be entitled to free, full-time childcare.
Local authorities will have to allow parents of children who are offered a place at a school before the child is of compulsory school age to defer their child's entry until later in the school year.
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