Starting school too young can be harmful to children’s mental health

The parents of April babies will be all too familiar with the 'when will we send them to school' struggle.

For the parents of children with 'in-between' birthdays, the decision about what age to send their little one to 'big' school can be a tough call to make. Now, it turns out that it might be worth waiting the extra few months. Research from the University of Exeter Medical School has shown that the youngest pupils in each school year could be at risk of worse mental health than their older classmates. The research team, supported by the National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research Programme, investigated more than 2,000 children across 80 primary schools. Their findings, published in the journal Child Care, Health and Development, could have implications on parents' decisions on whether to defer their child's school entry for an academic year. The study found that children who are younger than their peers when they start school are more likely to experience poorer mental health, as rated by their parents and teachers. Overall the effect was small, however the researchers believe the additional stress of keeping up with older peers could prove to be a 'tipping point' for vulnerable children, such as those with learning difficulties, or who were born prematurely. The study's findings could also influence how teachers interact with younger children, particularly those with additional complex needs in the class, and on assessments and teaching and support structures within classrooms. Anna Price, of the University of Exeter Medical School, was motivated to study the issue after home-schooling her own April-born son, who has pre-existing learning difficulties, and was not ready to start school aged five:

"Using such a large dataset was a chance to explore what's really happening in practice for children who start school at a young age. We found that children who started younger had slightly worse well-being- however, this effect was very small and unlikely to make a difference for most. The challenge to well-being of being young for your school year might however be one struggle too many for children who face other challenges to their mental health. Our findings can help guide parents and teachers in making decisions that best support the child."

The researchers also explored the impact of starting school early on the child's happiness levels and behaviour. In contrast to previous research, they found no significant impact on either. However, the team noted that the schools in the study had strong support in place, such as small group learning, which may have helped improve happiness and behaviour overall. Professor Tamsin Ford, a practising child psychiatrist, oversaw the research:

"Being relatively younger could be the tipping point for some, but certainly not all, children. For most it would just be something for teacher's to be aware of but for children with other needs or who were born prematurely this difference could be significant. Awareness of this issue among teachers and educators means measures can be put in place that could help to mitigate this effect and get the best outcome for children."