Mom Refuses To Send 4-Year Old Son To School Because He Is Too Young For Full Time Education

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A mum has refused to send her four-year-old son to school this year because he is 'too young for full-time education.'

Stanley Hutchinson was due to start school two weeks ago but is currently spending his days at home with mum, Emma, and his younger brother.

Emma, 38, says she wants her son to enjoy days of 'fun and freedom' and 'playing in the wild'.

Stanley is a June baby and so is one of the youngest in the school year. He does not have any additional needs, but his parents believe it is in his best interests to start school next year, once he is
five and at compulsory school age (CSA).


In her blog, Dirt, Diggers and Dinosaurs, his mum explains her reasons for "holding him back" by applying to defer his admission to school for a year.

She starts by saying: "We’ve done something that many of our friends and family will view as controversial. "We have decided not to send Stanley to school this year. Instead, he will be starting next September when he is five.

"For the extra year he will be attending preschool part time, playing, bonding with his brothers, playing, exploring, enjoying days out, playing, growing and developing at his own pace."

She then answers some of the questions she says she's been asked.

    No, Stanley does not have any special educational needs.
    No, we haven’t ‘held him back’ because he was struggling at preschool.
    No, it’s not that we can’t bear to let him go, and I want to keep him a baby.
    No, we aren’t doing it for ourselves and not thinking about what’s best for him.
    No, we’ve not thrown our dummy out because he didn’t a place at our first choice of school this          year... he did.
    No, we’ve not done what’s easiest for us. (Far from it.)

"As you can probably tell from the answers above, I’ve had a bit of an ear bashing by some which I hope is mostly fuelled by misinformation and misunderstanding," she says.

Explaining her decision, she said: "The plain fact is, he’s four. We’ve simply chosen not to send him to school early, we are sending him at school age which if you go back a generation was the absolute norm.

"I personally believe that in the UK all children start school too early and that we’d be better off following our European neighbours whose children start school at aged seven when they are emotionally and physically ready.