It is a legal requirement for your child to receive full-time education in Scotland.
You are allowed to home school your child but they must receive some sort of formal education until the 31st of May of the year that they turn 16.
If your child is not in full-time education until this point, you could be fined up to £2,500. You may also receive a community order or a jail sentence up to three months.
There is also a compulsory age that a child must start full-time education by, with many believing that their little ones have to be in school by age four, but this is not the case, reports the Echo
In Scotland, you can defer your child's start date if you feel that they are not ready to begin primary school.
Most children start school full-time in the August after their fourth birthday, meaning they'll turn five during their first school year.
But they don't legally have to. If you don't think your child is ready to start school at this age, they can start a year later, as long as they're in primary school by the August after their fifth birthday.
If you choose to do this, you may also be able to get an extra year of early learning and childcare funding in Scotland.
Deferring primary school in Scotland
There is a deadline to request deferral which will depend on your local council authority.
You can usually find information on your local authority's website but can also contact your local school to find out what you need to do.
If your child is deferring entry to school for a year, you can:
- automatically get an extra year of early learning and childcare funding if their 5th birthday is in January or February
- apply to your local council and request an extra year of early learning and childcare funding if their 5th birthday is after the beginning of the autumn term, in August, and before 1 January - your local council will decide if your child will get an extra year of funding
Even if your child is not granted an extra year of funding, you can still choose to defer their entry to school for a year.
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