Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to launch the Department's consultation on the starting year for summerborn children.

We are concerned that some summer born children may be missing the reception year at school. We remain committed to amending the School Admissions Code so that summer born children can be admitted to a reception class at the age of five when their parents believe it to be in their best interests. Any changes to the Admissions Code will require a full statutory process, including consultation and parliamentary scrutiny. We will consider the appropriate time for consulting on these changes in the context of competing pressures on the parliamentary timetable.