At what age to send a child to school? This question becomes a real dilemma for many parents. It is good if the baby was born in autumn or winter. To the first class he "runs" almost seven years, and the issue is resolved by itself. But parents of spring and autumn children are not easy. After all, not all six-year-olds are psychologically ready for school. Psychologists recommend: if you doubt that your six-year-old will pull the school curriculum, leave him in kindergarten for another year. Moreover, according to the law, you have every right to do so.
There are a lot of indicators and tests, by which parents can determine for themselves whether the child is ready for school. This is the change of baby teeth, and the "Filipino test", and tasks for attention and perseverance. It is very good if you make the decision yourself, relying only on your observations of the child. However, external factors often influence the choice of "kindergarten or school": for example, the management of the kindergarten directly hints to you that your six-year-old no longer belongs there.
There are many tests to determine at home if your child is ready for school / istockphoto.com
This happens if the child went to the kindergarten early, and at the age of six already goes to the older group. Then they tell you that the second year in the senior group will be superfluous for the baby, he will not be interested, and he will lag behind in development. Most often, these arguments are enough for an impressionable mother to rush to record the child in first grade. Also, residents of densely populated cities face the problem of “staying in the garden for another year”: if the garden crowded, and the queue is tightly scheduled for years ahead, you are simply presented with the fact that there are no places. Sometimes they even show you the Kindergarten Admission Rules, where it may be written that at the age of six, children from kindergarten must go to school.
By law, a child can stay in the garden for up to 7 years
All these arguments are nothing more than manipulation by the leadership of the garden. To resist this manipulation, it is enough to turn to the legislation. So, in Art. 12 of the Law "On Preschool Education" says that the stay in kindergartens is guaranteed for children from one to 6 (7) years old.
If this is not enough for the direction of the kindergarten, there is a clearer wording. Find on the Internet the letter of the Ministry of Education "Concerning the length of stay of children who have reached the age of six in preschool educational institutions." This letter is dated 2011 but is still valid. There the following explanation is given in black and white: “Children who, as of September 1 of the current year turns 6, have the right, at the request of their parents, to stay in preschool educational institutions until 7 years". The key phrase here is "at the request of the parents." That is, it is you who decide whether or not your child will stay in the kindergarten for another year.
No need to re-queue for the garden
No need to wait for free space in groups to leave a six-year-old in the garden / istockphoto.com
Legislation does not provide for a separate procedure for leaving a six-year-old in the garden for another year. Your child remains in the kindergarten automatically, and they have no right to refuse you. Also, the administration of the garden cannot require you to re-register in the garden on a general basis, and even more so - to wait until free places appear in the groups. The maximum action that you will need to do is write a statement addressed to the director stating that you you leave your child in the senior group of a preschool institution on the basis that he has not yet turned 7 years.
It is impossible to expel a child from kindergarten "by age"
There is no right to drop a seven-year-old from kindergarten on the basis of age / istockphoto.com
Sometimes you are told that the child has already been applied for expulsion from the kindergarten - allegedly upon reaching school age. Such statements also have no basis whatsoever. A child who is under 7 years old can be expelled from a state or communal kindergarten only for three reasons (p. 12 Regulations on preschool educational institutions):
- at the request of the parents
- on the basis of a medical report on the child's state of health, according to which he can no longer attend this particular garden (such a conclusion should contain recommendations - what type of garden should be transferred to child)
- in case of non-payment of food for the child in the garden for at least two months
The administration must notify the parents in writing about the expulsion of the child from the kindergarten on the basis of one of these reasons, and no later than 10 days before the expulsion itself. So the garden cannot "throw" you off the lists in advance, without your knowledge and without your consent.
Sad cannot ask for a certificate from a psychiatrist
Sometimes it is easier to agree with the doctor about the certificate that the child is not ready for school / istockphoto.com
It also happens that in the kindergarten they require a certificate from a doctor. Allegedly, leaving the child in the kindergarten is possible only upon the conclusion of the psychiatrist that the child is not ready for school. You can follow the path of least resistance - explain the situation to the doctor, and take this certificate "for show." Believe me, this certificate will remain in the garden and will not appear anywhere in the future. However, from the point of view of legislation, such requirements are also unfounded. You do not have to take your child to the doctor to leave him in the garden until he is 7 years old.
The garden must refuse in writing and indicating the reasons
If the administration continues to put a spoke in the wheels, and categorically refuses to turn on the baby in the lists, write a request to the name of the director of the garden (preferably with a copy to the district office education). In the request, ask to clearly indicate the references to the regulations on the basis of which your child is denied the place assigned to him. Be sure to make sure that your request in the garden is registered in the list of incoming correspondence, otherwise it may simply be "lost". Usually, one filing of such a request is enough for the garden to back down. After all, there are no normative acts that can be referred to in the legislation.
You will also be interested in reading:
What a child should know and be able to do when entering first grade
Child after kindergarten and home: who will do better at school?
What to do if a first grader was not ready for school
