Should Children Start School At A Later Age?

Upstart Scotland is to issue a call for a radical overhaul of early primary education.

10:07 28 January 2016

Upstart Scotland is about to start a new campaign in a bid to restructure early primary school education in Scotland. The group, which is composed of teachers and education experts, believes that the school starting age should be seven years old and that young children should not be taught literacy skills; instead they should be given the opportunity to develop through play.

 

Currently, children in Scotland start school aged four or five. The proposal aims to bring the Scottish education system in line with those of Finland, Poland and Estonia, three of Europe’s most academically successful countries.

 

Professor Donald Christie, emeritus professor of education at the University of Strathclyde, said: "If you're going to design an education system from scratch, would you have the starting age as young as four and a half? My answer to that would be 'no you wouldn't'.

 

"Of course at the age of four or four and a half, there are many children who can cope very well with the demands of formal education but equally there are children who are developmentally not ready for that kind of change."

 

Meanwhile, the Scottish government say they have “no plans” to change the school starting age.

 

A spokesman said: "The Curriculum for Excellence is in place to provide a better and more flexible curriculum for pupils between the ages of three to 18 and it is important they are given every opportunity to flourish within that framework.

 

"Scottish ministers are confident that the legislation setting out the school starting age in Scotland is appropriate and there are no plans to change it."