It would benefit children in many ways if mainstream education started at an age later than five years old- which is a relatively young age for children to be starting school, and can have negative impacts on their mental health.

In Finland, children start comprehensive school at seven, and in 88% of countries around the world, children usually start mainstream education at six or seven [1]. But in the UK and the USA, five is the age a child usually starts school, in addition to earlier years pre-school and nursery before the age of five in the UK, which can be damaging both long and short term.

There is the argument that ‘kids should be kids’- why should we have to send our children to school at an age so young that they could still be enjoying themselves and learning simultaneously? A study by the Too Much Too Soon campaign shows that ‘the longer young children can spend in holistic, playful and creatively focused environments, the more likely they are to develop happily and healthily’ [2], especially disadvantaged and summer-borns, as it allows them a longer time to develop and mature.

So, letting children learn and explore through play in a home environment, (whether in the woods, observing twigs and leaves, or in the kitchen playing with pots and pans) can benefit the child much more than the new and oftentimes mentally distressing experience of starting comprehensive school at such a young age.

As well as children starting mainstream education too early, they are also tested at a very young age- another thing which can negatively affect them psychologically. According to recent research, only ‘52% of four and five-year-olds assessed at the end of the early years foundation stage were judged to have reached a 'good' level of development’ [3].

Four or five years old is too young to be testing a child, and this pressure to do well puts both parent and child under stress, as some parents over-worry about how their child is doing compared to others in their class, when it’s not always a good idea to compare children to other children.

While it’s true that sending a child to school at the age of five may alleviate pressure on some parents (e.g. more time to themselves or to be getting on with work in their busy lives), it’s also true that putting children in mainstream education ‘as early as we do is merely providing a creche for overworked parents at best, and giving the children a poor start in education at worst’. This is because even if it is convenient, the child may simply be not ready [4].

It may seem like a couple of years wouldn’t make a long-term impact on a child’s life and development, and that it wouldn't hurt to send a child to school a couple of years earlier than other countries.

However, especially in the earlier stages of child development, every year counts, hence pushing the age of starting school to six or seven instead of five would be highly beneficial, not only to the child’s mental health, but also their long-term development.

[1] The Finnish Education System, May 11, 2020 [https://www.infofinland.fi/en/living-in-finland/education/the-finnish-education-system]
[2&3] Wendy Ellyatt in The Guardian, December 20, 2013 [https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/dec/10/school-starting-age-five-six-uk-eu]
[4] Sean Coughlan in BBC News, February 8, 2008 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7234578.stm]

5 years old is not necessarily too young, but the schooling system needs amending for all ages

• Previous arguments made against this opinion seem to have more criticism of the general mainstream schooling system and how it can be harmful to children.
• However, if this system was amended to include more learn-through-play techniques and less testing - for all ages - I do not feel 5 years old is too young to begin schooling.
• In the UK where I was educated, mainstream education begins earlier than in many countries - for me it begin less than a month after I turned 4.
• Some of the main benefits of this were exposure to social skills and developing social behaviour skills.
• From a very early age children in school are able to socialise with other children, both their own age and across other year groups, and with those of other backgrounds which many children would not have the chance to do outside of a school setting.
• This improves communication and language skills in a way that perhaps could not be developed at home, particularly with an only child.
• Another major benefit is that mainstream schooling provides what is essentially free child-care for parents, which is especially beneficial to parents who need to get back to work or are less wealthy.
• It is a safe place they can send their child where the child will be looked after as well as learning at the same time.
• In countries where mainstream education does not start until later ages, parents still choose to, or due to work commitments have to send their children to some form of crèche or pre-school which often is not easy to find or affordable.
• Even in the UK where most children enter mainstream education at the early age of 4, 89% of 3-4 year olds and 43% of 0-2 year olds make use of formal childcare such as pre-schools or crèches.
• From birth to age 5, a child's brain develops more than at any other time in life, so I feel experiences like education and socialisation in this period are vital.
• However, at this age children's abilities and needs differ greatly and parents may feel their child is not ready for mainstream education for a variety of factors.
• To say 5 years is a good age to enter mainstream education does not account for this therefore ultimately I feel children should be assessed individually - some children may be ready for school as early as 2 years old and others not until later.