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Nick Gibb signals move to change school start for summer-borns

Schools should allow summer-born children to start Reception at the age of five, the schools minister has said.

Nick Gibb said that rules requiring children to start school the September after their fourth birthday are flawed and must be changed.

The minister has called for local authorities and schools to take immediate action ahead of the change to allow summer-born children to start Reception at the age of five in line with parents’ wishes.

The move comes in response to complaints from parents of summer-borns who continue to feel that the system is still ‘not working’ despite Government attempts to clarify the issue.

Children born between 1 April and 31 August are not required to start school until the September following their fifth birthday, the term when Reception children move into Year 1.

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