Reception (also known as ''Nursery'', ''Year R'', ''Year 0'' or ''FS2'' for ''foundation second year'') is the first year of

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. It comes after nursery and before Year One in

and

, or before Primary 2 in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

. Pupils in Reception are usually aged between four and five. Children start school either in the term or in the academic year in which they reach five, depending on the policy of the

Local Education Authority Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...

. Reception is the final part of the

Early Years Foundation Stage The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the statutory framework for early years education in England. The term was defined in Section 39 of the British government's Childcare Act 2006.Childcare Act 200online The equivalents in Wales and Sco ...

of education. Most areas admit entire year groups in September, regardless of which month they were born, meaning that some pupils will be starting primary school in the month of their fifth birthday, while others will be almost a year behind this milestone. There is no reception year in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

as children progress directly from Nursery to Primary 1 (equivalent to English Year 1) in the August nearest their fifth birthday. Generally this means that a complete intake into P1 ranges from four and a half to five and a half years old. If a child is still age 4 on the day they would usually start primary 1, their legal guardian has the right to delay (or defer) when they start primary school. This means they can start school the following year, when they are 5. Previously, children in England and Wales had started school later than children in Northern Ireland, where the starting age was generally four, dependent on the date of the child's birthday.

References

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