Criteria for enrollment - When is a child a could be-child?

When should one's own child be enrolled, which school should it go to and is it - even at the best school age - already ripe for the first grade? These questions concern all parents who have to release a child to school.

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In Germany, compulsory school attendance is mandatory for all children; the time of enrollment takes place according to certain regulations. Since not every child develops in the same way, there are various ways to move the statutory time of enrollment backwards, but also forward. These procedures are initiated by the parents, but sometimes also by the educators or preschool teachers.

The year of enrollment - determined by the cut-off date regulation

The so-called deadline regulates when a child falls under compulsory education. Until 1997, the general rule was June 30 of a year. Children who turned six before this date were enrolled in the current school year after the summer vacation. Children who only celebrated their sixth birthday needed a special permit and passed the exam. In the course of a more flexible design of the enrollment, the rules for the key date look somewhat different today: The key date was shifted to the country's case and generally backwards. In Berlin, for example, the 31st of December is the deadline, in Lower Saxony the 31st of August (from 2012 the 30th of September).

Must-child and can-child

Depending on the deadline, a distinction is made between must-have and can-children. Children who turn six years old before the deadline must be enrolled in the current school year, and children who turn six can start school. While the must-have children can be postponed for a year on special request, can-children need an application for a prescheduled enrollment, the school ability is checked.

Educators or the headmaster usually recommend that a child be deferred. The application itself - which must be well justified - then put the parents. Clues for the decision give the check-up U9, kindergarten and possibly a psychological report. If you have decided to have your child enrolled a year later, for example, because he or she is unable to concentrate or speak very little, then you should talk to your child. Because the world around it will change, at least in the kindergarten: the friends leave the institution and it must look for new play partners. Explain the reasons in a child-friendly and honest manner; But do not give your child the feeling that it is stupid or inadequate.

When is a child ready for school?

Most federal states check with a school enrollment exam whether a child is ready for schooling. Cognitive and motor skills are tested. For example, the child has to complete logical series, paint a human or jump on one leg. However, the test results should not be overstated. We all know how different the daily form of a child can be. If our five-year-old is still acting like a little genius on Monday, we can already get the impression on Tuesday that the offspring would not be more than three. During the enrollment examinations, which can be carried out differently, the following areas of the child are examined:

Physical requirements, especially fine and gross motor skills

Mental abilities, such as the ability to pick out single letters from words or the ability to pick them up, that is the ability to copy or copy something.
Speaking and understanding are indispensable if a child wants to go to school. It has to communicate and to be able to record and understand what has been said.
In the emotional and social area, a child must be able to make contacts. It has to focus, work hard and be able to become part of a group.

Retention alone is not enough

If the school enrollment test has shown that the child, although of the right age, is not capable of schooling, the parents are encouraged to take action. Because a provision alone is not always sufficient. Certainly some development deficits grow out and often just children are actually not that far enough that they can go to school. Very often, however, there are also real developmental dysfunctions: If these have already been identified in the U9, appropriate measures should be taken to promote them. Problems with speech and language can be treated with speech therapy; Motor or social deficits can be remedied by ergotherapeutic therapy. Let yourself be advised and remember: You do not have to be embarrassed if your child is a bit late in some areas or needs help. All too easily children are then disabled in the drawer or put mentally underdeveloped.