Reception (school)

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Reception (also known as Nursery, Year R, Year 0 or FS2 for foundation second year) is the first year of primary school in England and Wales. It comes after nursery and before Year One in England [1] and Wales, or before Primary 2 in Northern Ireland.

Pupils in Reception are usually aged between four and five. [2] Children start school either in the term or in the academic year in which they reach five, [3] depending on the policy of the Local Education Authority. Reception is the final part of the Early Years Foundation Stage of education. [1]

Most areas admit entire year groups in September, regardless of which month they were born, meaning that some pupils will be starting primary school in the month of their fifth birthday, while others will be almost a year behind this milestone.

There is no reception year in Scotland as children progress directly from Nursery to Primary 1 (equivalent to English Year 1) in the August nearest their fifth birthday. Generally this means that a complete intake into P1 ranges from four and a half to five and a half years old. [4] If a child is still age 4 on the day they would usually start primary 1, their legal guardian has the right to delay (or defer) when they start primary school. This means they can start school the following year, when they are 5. [5]

Early year groups in the UK
England & WalesScotlandNorthern IrelandAge
ReceptionPrimary 1P14–5
Year OnePrimary 2P25–6
Year TwoPrimary 3P36–7

Previously, children in England and Wales had started school later than children in Northern Ireland, where the starting age was generally four, dependent on the date of the child's birthday.

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Year 4 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand. It is usually the fourth year of compulsory education and incorporates students aged between eight and nine however some kids who are in Year 4 can be considered as grade 2 in some countries but if the kid who was born after September 2nd and grade 2, they will be replaced as Year 3.

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Year 5 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand. It is usually the fifth year of compulsory education and incorporates students aged between nine and eleven however some children who are in Year 5 can be considered as grade 3 in some countries, but if the chid was born after September 2nd and grade 3, they will be replaced as Year 4.

In March 2020, schools, nurseries and colleges in the United Kingdom were shut down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. By 20 March, all schools in the UK had closed for all in-person teaching, except for children of key workers and children considered vulnerable. With children at home, teaching took place online. The emergence of a new variant of COVID-19 in December 2020 led to cancellation of face-to-face teaching across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales the following month.

References

  1. 1 2 "The national curriculum - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  2. "School reception class - From pregnancy to children aged 5". www.foundationyears.org.uk. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  3. "School age". www.kent.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  4. "Starting school - Transitions -". www.educationscotland.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  5. "Can my child defer starting school? | Parent Club". www.parentclub.scot. Retrieved 17 July 2021.