From preschool to group 3.

When does your child go to group 3?

Every pupil starts in group 1 and usually moves to group 2 and then group 3 after the school year. When the school thinks a pupil is not ready for the next group, the school can decide to let the pupil stay in preschool one more year. Or the other way; if the school thinks the pupil is ready earlier, the school can let the pupil move up.

Continuous development

Your child’s development decides if your child stays shorter or longer in preschool. The law on primary education says a pupil goes through an uninterrupted development process in eight school years. So, a pupil who stays longer than two years in preschool does not have to repeat everything. And a pupil who stays shorter than two years in preschool does not miss development steps. Usually, pupils who start school after the Christmas holiday stay longer in preschool. Especially pupils who have a birthday in autumn cause some debate about moving up.

School decides

The school decides if your child is ready for group 3. Teachers look at your child’s development. Schools can track this development in many ways. Many schools use tests to map pupils’ progress. There is also attention for social, emotional, and motor development. Young children develop in steps. What the child cannot do one day, may be possible the next day. So it can happen that a child is not ready for group 3 in January but is ready in May or June. It is important to wait and see how your child develops in the last period. The school keeps track of each child’s development in a student dossier.

School policy

The school decides how it tracks the development of pupils and writes this down in school policy. Every school has specific policy for starting, moving up, and staying back in preschool. The school’s policy must match the pupils’ development. Good to know: staying longer in preschool does not officially count as repeating a year.

The role of parents

During preschool, the teacher will keep talking with you about your child’s development. This way you stay informed about your child’s progress. Moving to group 3 is in most cases a logical step. In some cases, the school doubts if a pupil is ready for group 3. Many schools ask the parents’ opinion then. Most parents find this a hard choice. Our advice? Talk with the teacher. He or she can tell you where the doubt comes from. You can ask yourself these questions:

• Can your child concentrate on a task?
• Is your child independent?
• Does your child play with older or younger children in class?
• Does your child show interest in writing, reading, and math?
• Is your child ready for a new challenge?
• Is your child still very playful?
• What does your child say about it?

Good to know: research shows that in the long term it does not matter much if your child stays shorter or longer in preschool. At the end of primary school there are no differences in results and social-emotional development. In 2016 a guide for preschool transition was published. It contains information about research, tips, and practice examples.

The 1 October boundary

For moving from group 2 to group 3, some primary schools look at a pupil’s age. This relates to the old 1 October boundary. Until 1985, a child could only move from preschool to primary school if he turned 6 before 1 October. In 1985 this rule was removed and since then schools look at the development of a pupil. Some schools still use this rule, for example by placing pupils in group 0. There are also schools that set the boundary on 1 January. A decision to move up or stay back may not be only based on date of birth but must also be supported by educational or social-emotional reasons.