Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Summer-born and Premature Children

Monday 21 June 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government published guidance in 2020 on delayed admission for summer-born children.
  • Secretary of State issued a statement in May to ensure admissions authorities consider the best interests of the child.
  • Department will meet with Treasury to discuss costs related to childcare for deferred entry of summer-born children.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Stephen Hammond Con
Children & Families
Context

The Government have issued guidance on the delayed admission of summer-born children to a reception class. Parents are seeking further legislation to support this practice.

Question

What recent progress has been made by the Government in enabling parents of summer-born and premature children to defer their child's school start date?

Answer from Nick Gibb

We published guidance in 2020 on the delayed admission of summer-born children to a reception class where that is what parents want. In May, the Secretary of State issued a statement to ensure admissions authorities take these decisions in the best interests of the child, and we will legislate when parliamentary time permits.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask for detailed progress on legislation was not addressed; only general statements about guidance and future legislative intent were provided.

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Q2 Stephen Hammond Con
Economy Parliamentary Procedure Children & Families
Context

The Government have issued guidance on the delayed admission of summer-born children to a reception class. The questioner seeks further legislative measures and discusses potential benefits with the Treasury.

Question

I thank my right hon. Friend and the Department for their continuing support for my campaign to recognise the need for summer-born children to have that flexibility. He rightly says that the Department will legislate as and when is appropriate, but can I urge him to speak again to the Treasury to point out that it would be one of the most effective ways of levelling up and creating levelling-up opportunities? Will he meet me to discuss what the Treasury's response might be and what more can be done to ensure that legislation is brought forward?

Answer from Nick Gibb

Yes, of course, I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend. Summer-born children who defer entry to school by a year continue of course to be entitled to a childcare place before they start school, so the costs will depend on the number of parents who choose to delay entry and the need for childcare. However, I should say to my hon. Friend that, in the surveys we have been carrying out with local authorities, the vast majority of requests to delay entry and to return to school in reception rather than year 1 are granted by local authorities.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask for legislative measures was not directly addressed; only a willingness to meet and some current statistics were provided.

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