Deferral of school starting age filling kindergartens across Czechia
Czech legislation allows a parent or guardian to request to defer their child starting primary school by one year. This measure, originally introduced to help children with serious illnesses or learning disabilities, has become so popular with parents that the Education Ministry has put its foot down and is taking measures to curb the practice.
Legislation allowing parents to delay the start of their child’s primary school education by a year is nothing exceptional in most European states. However the degree to which it is used in the Czech Republic is striking. While around five to seven percent of children in Germany start school with a one-year delay, the figure in Czechia is 25 percent on average.
The Olomouc region had the highest number of seven-year-old first graders last year- over 28 per cent. The lowest number was in Vysočina, over 21 percent. Experts say that the number of children who start first grade a year later than is the norm is simply too high, not to mention the fact that the practice is leading to a persistent lack of places in kindergartens.
When enrolling their child in primary school parents are asked to bring their offspring for a chat with a teacher and child specialist to ascertain their preparedness to start first grade. Children are given simple tasks to assess their maturity, ability to focus, ability to listen and express themselves.
If a teacher feels that the child is not ready for the challenge and would benefit from an extra year in kindergarten, they may suggest visiting a child counselling centre for a second opinion and asking for a deferral. It is up to the parents to make a final decision and at present a recommendation from a counselling centre or a paediatrician –in the event of illness or learning problems -is enough to get their request granted.
In recent years, the number of children with speech problems has been growing. Experts say this is to a great extent also due to the fact that many parents do not communicate with their children enough and read to them, but leave them to engage in passive activities such watching TV or playing computer games where they fail to develop speech skills. On the other hand, many parents delay their child’s primary school education for subjective reasons.
Luboš Zajíc, president of the Association of Primary School Principals, says parents are often afraid their child is not quite ready for school. However, he adds that they also find less substantial reasons for requesting a year-long delay.
“Quite often, their reasons for asking for a deferral are very flimsy. For example, they don’t like the look of the class teacher who would be teaching their child and want to wait for the teacher next in line who they prefer. Some parents calculate that if the child goes to a grammar school, he or she would be a year older and thus gain a certain advantage over his or her peers."
Pavla Kubíčková, head of a pedagogical-psychological counselling centre in Prague, says that deferrals can impact a child’s progress for years to come and have an impact on classroom relationships in the upper grades.
The Ministry of Education has now drafted an amendment that would resolve parents’ worries about whether their child is quite ready for school. In future first graders would not receive grades, as they do now, but only a verbal assessment, so as to reduce the stress they may feel. Under the proposal, pupils would advance to second grade regardless of their performance and grades would be introduced gradually.
On the other hand, deferrals would no longer be approved on the recommendation of a counselling centre or paediatrician and would only be allowed in the event of an illness or serious learning disability. That would require a recommendation from a specialist or clinical psychologist. The change which still needs to pass through Parliament, is expected to apply from September 2026.
