WHEN to start your child at school can be a difficult decision.
With this in mind, Sutherland Shire Council is holding free seminars next month designed to help parents make the right decision.
The council joined forces with three public schools in the area to host the sessions, which include a talk by a school principal and information on early years learning framework, the kindergarten national curriculum and school preparation.
Mayor Kent Johns said the free two-hour Preparing Your Child for School and Beyond seminars would help parents decide whether their preschooler was ready for school.
"Many parents wonder about when to send their child to school and it can be quite a source of worry for them," Cr Johns said.
"[They] don't know what is academically expected of their child when starting school and also want to know what they should be doing at home to ensure their child is school ready.
"Parents will come away from the session with plenty of practical tips about things they can do at home to prepare their child for the classroom."
Carly Simpson, of Menai, will attend one of the seminars and is especially keen to learn about the kindergarten curriculum and hear from a school principal. Her daughter Chloe turns five in October and will start school next year.
"The seminars are really important because I know socially there are some things she is ready for and educationally there are some things she is ready for and some things she is not," she said.
NSW Education Department guidelines state a child can start kindergarten at the beginning of the school year if they turn five on or before July 31 of that year.
All children must be enrolled to start school by their sixth birthday.
This means public school kindergarten classrooms can have children ranging in age from four years and six months to six years.
Many teachers believe classrooms would be easier to manage if there was a minimum starting age of five years, although some experts believe there is nothing wrong with children starting school younger.
Other states have different minimum starting ages, causing headaches for families who move interstate during their child's school years, prompting calls for the introduction of a national school starting age.
A parent who held back two of her three children said a national school starting age would take the pressure off parents and would stop them sending their children to school early to escape an extra year of childcare fees.
But parents in NSW appear to be holding back their children more often.
Fairfax Media quoted official figures that showed almost 20 per cent of children who started school in 2012 had already turned six.
A third of children who started school in 2005 had delayed their entry a year.
However, some studies show there is no benefit in holding a child back. A report by the Australian Institute of Family Studies found there was little evidence that those who started school later outperformed their younger classmates.
The report also found no evidence of an association "between the social or emotional measures and on-time entry".
TIME FOR KINDY
The department says children starting school may need the following skills:
Talking to others about familiar objects and events; answering and asking simple questions; making their needs known; following simple instructions; using books and identifying pictures; being able to draw, scribble or write; recognising that numbers are used to count, and using words such as ‘many’, ‘more’ or ‘less’; identifying things that are different, including shapes; understanding opposites; using the toilet independently; saying their name and address; adapting to unfamiliar settings and experiences; finishing a task and tidying up; taking turns while playing; sitting and listening to a story for a few minutes; showing curiosity; sharing an adult’s attention; participating in imaginative play; using scissors to cut a straight line; enjoying indoor and outdoor play; putting on and taking off jumpers, shoes and socks; and making things out of different materials.
SEMINARS
August 5, Jannali Public School, 107-121 Sutherland Road, Jannali. August 11, Caringbah North Public School, 125 Cawarra Road, Caringbah.
August 19, Menai Public School, 4R Hall Drive, Menai.
All sessions, 6.30pm-8.30pm. Bookings essential, 97100827, www.sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au/parentworkshops
Did you delay starting your child at school?