Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:29 pm on 22 May 2018.
May I ask for a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Education on schools admission policy in Wales? Assembly Members will be aware that compulsory school age is the beginning of the term following a child's fifth birthday. However, this puts children born between 1 April and 31 August, known as summer-born children, at a disadvantage. Parents of four-year-old children who have not reached emotional, social or academic maturity and readiness for school are being forced to enrol their child a whole year earlier or to have the child's education entitlement reduced by one year with obligatory entrance to year 1. I have been contacted by a parent in Newport who, in spite of evidence from professionals confirming her child will suffer if forced to start school this year, or year 1 next year, is still being denied a reception start in 2019. In England, the UK Government has indicated its intention to give summer-born children the right to start in reception at the age of five. Can I ask for a statement on what action the Cabinet Secretary for Education will take to end this injustice forced upon summer-born children in Wales please?