School starting age bill passed by MLAs

A bill which will allow parents more flexibility in deciding when their child starts school has been passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

At present, pupils who turn four on or before 1 July each year are expected to begin primary school the following September.

The change allows children born between April and July to defer entry until after their fifth birthday.

The legislation was fast-tracked after the collapse of the NI Executive.

It will now go forward for royal assent.

In January, there was overwhelming support for the School Age Bill proposals in the results of a consultation.

More than two-thirds of the 750 responses came from parents.

The final stage of the bill reached the assembly floor through accelerated passage which allows a new bill to be passed quickly if it commands cross-community support.

In the end, the bill passed on Monday with an oral vote without any amendments.

The change in the law will still mean that Northern Ireland has among the youngest primary school starting ages in Europe.

Many other countries offer pre-school services with children not entering formal primary sector schooling until the ages of six or seven.

The bill also amends regulations to allow for parents of children born between 1 April and 1 July to continue to send their children to pre-school services in the school year immediately following their fourth birthday.

It also changes the definition of the upper limit of compulsory school age for pupils who defer their starting year to ensure they can receive 12 years of compulsory schooling.

Stormont's Education Minister Michelle McIlveen said the passing of the bill by assembly members (MLAs) represented a "good day" for many parents and children.

"Northern Ireland has been in the unusual situation of not offering any degree of flexibility in regard to the age at which children start school," she outlined.

"My bill gives real choice to the parents of many thousands of children born in April, May and June each year and now also to premature children who would have been 'Young for Year' if born at term."

The minister added that no child would be "required to start school a year earlier due to their premature birth".

She said a child's early years could "lay the foundations for future development" and she hoped the legislation would help many children be "supported to fulfil their potential".

Alliance Party assembly member (MLA) Chris Lyttle, who chairs the assembly's education committee, said the campaign for a more flexible school starting age had been "long-running".

He welcomed the urgency with which the work had been brought forward by Ms McIlveen's department.

Sinn Féin MLA Nicola Brogan said it was a "very positive piece of legislation", while Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) MLA Daniel McCrossan reflected that it had received 93 percent support among consultation responses.

"The proof is in the pudding," Ulster Unionist MLA Robbie Butler told the chamber, while Ms McIlveen's Democratic and Unionist Party (DUP) colleague Diane Dodds congratulated the minister and stakeholders for their work on the bill.