Yes there should be a set age. 5 years.

It should be 5. My little one hasn’t started yet but my nephew started at 4 and while he is very bright academically and socially, his focus and attention isn’t great. There are kids in his class that are nearly seven. Ridiculous! There should be a set starting date (not in the middle of the year) and age.

YES!
My daughter is born late August. We’re in QLD so she will not be able to go to school until she is 6. I have friends who are prep and grade 1 teachers who have told me how bright my daughter is already at 3.5yo. Bit worried about her when she finally gets to school, whether the teacher will be able to keep her attention. I wish they would have just left it how it was!

I believe there should be a national starting age. Otherwise parents can choose to send children to school too early, not always in the child’s best interests. Or they may delay starting them at school when they would benefit from starting at the “normal” age. In SA they could start the following 1/2 year after their 5th birthday. I know 2 sisters (not twins) who both started mid year. One loved it so much she wanted to go back too soon after surgery, and had to have an early checkup to do so. Using this method some children spend longer in reception / preschool than others do. I think it is next year that all pupils start at the beginning of the school year following their 5th birthday or before the cut-off date if they turn 5 in that time. It means some are nearly 6 years old before they start school. It is either going to put more pressure on kindergatens or children are going to start later than 4 years old. If necessary children will go to daycare for a longer length of time too. By being a national standard if you have to move interstate your children are going to a class that should be at the same or very similar level – not near enough to a year different and have trouble either catching up or being bored becuase they could really need to be in a higher grade. Looking to the future employers tend to employ younger ones as wages are lower.

I think children should start school when their ready. My daughter missed our stares cut off by one month so instead of starting school just before Turing 4 she starts it just before 5, thus is no big deal but what annoys me is that she is well and truely ready for school. She is the second out of the four and she had picked up so much from her older brother who just finished prep.

I have dealt with education in three different states and yes it is confusing. A standard across Australia is needed. I am glad that WA now has yr 7 as high school makes it easier to transfer if we have to transfer to another state. The names used are confusing at times and so how classes are arranged. My oldest daughter was in HS in VIC then when we came back to WA was expected to attend primary. With discussion with the HS here she was placed in yr8 as we also agreed it would not do to put her in yr7 primary. Lucky she was mature enough for this change. My children are born at different times of the year, some of the older ones needed to be held back while another one needed to go ahead our first time here in WA.

Yessss!!! We have moved interstate 4 times and the difference in education levels between states is incredible. Now in WA and my grandson is held back a year for being born 5 days after the cut off. Its very frustrating to say the least

National starting age is a fantastic idea. Not forgetting though that this is a State issue with a Federal overlay. On this type of thing agreement should be reasonably obtainable. Whatever date is chosen, some of the children in the class will be older than others, despite this, they are all ready in their own way.

Yes yes yes!!! It’s so confusing having different starting ages and cut off dates. I think there should be a national age and the cut off date should be Dec 31st as a previous poster said.

All children are different – when they start school would depend on the child and the parents.

I know people who kept their kids down and for some it helped and others not. I say start them off and if they need to be kept down later they can. You don’t want them to be 20 and still in high school.

The cut off in SA is actually turning 5 before May 1, not end of June as the article states. My son turned 5 on 21 May. He is definitely ready for school now! I would like to see a national standard.

There should be a national age and cut off date, but why can’t they make it the cut off date December 31! It’s too confusing having the cut off during the year! Much simpler if the kids in the same grade at school were born in the same year!

I think children should already be 5 when they start school. The cut off age was end of June when my youngster started and she turned 5 on 26/6. She was always behind in her maturity even though she kept up with what she was required to do in learning skills. I think she is still immature to this day and she is now in her 40’s.

I already thought we had this. I didn’t even realise parents could choose to jot send their kids if they thought they weren’t ready. I started school the year I turned 6. My kids started when the year they turned 5. I was never told I could choose to keep them them hone, nor did I stop to think they were ready, sone never are!

I think while it would be great to have standardisation across Australia, there are a lot of logistics involved. We already have the NAPLAN testing with fans and critics. And for Queensland, we saw a change to starting age with the end of preschool and the introduction of Prep in 2006 and a change to Year 7 into High School in 2015. My daughter was in the last preschool year, and my son in the first Year 7 High School intake. Our next two children will have the benefit of an education curriculum that has been in place for a few years, and have any bugs ironed out. Too many changes too often may be too much.

I just think there should be a standard age across the whole country. It’s terribly confusing at the moment. My son started school when he was 4, turning 5 in the April with a cut off date of 30 April in Victoria. I don’t understand why the standard or cut-off is not 31 December and you need to be 5. It would make things so much easier and take the pressure off parents with the decision of do I or don’t I send my child to school yet? It’s an issue that raises its head every year.

Personally I don’t think its broken now so why are we trying to fix it.

No, I don’t think we should. I kept my son back an extra year at kindergarten as socially, he wasn’t quite ready to start school. It is truly one of the best things I have ever done. By the time he started the following year, he was more than ready and happy to be starting school. He would have definitely struggled having to start a year earlier. Every child is different and should be treated as such.

yes – there should be a national school starting age (yes I understand that there would be children for certain reasons that would need to be treated a little differently) but being a defence family that moves around the differences are very frustrating – especially in regards to preschool/kinder etc (even the fact that they can have different names!) – highly support this.