How do parents know when their child is ready for school?
The age at which children can start school varies across states and territories - currently anywhere from 3-and-a-half in Western Australia to six in other parts of the country.
Marianne Knaus is Associate Dean Early Childhood Studies at the School of Education at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia.
She says adding to the confusion for parents is the different terminology across the country about what the first year of primary school is called.
There are also different rules about if parents can delay when their children can start school. Associate Professor Knaus says the lack of consistency is causing a lot of confusion for parents.
Charles Sturt University's Emeritus Professor Bob Perry has studied educational transitions for most of his career.
He says the only national rule is that all Australian children must be in school by the age of six.
But with parents in some states being able to delay enrollment by a year, it creates a situation where children aged between four and six can all be in the same classroom.
Professor Perry says there is a wide range of maturity levels between the ages of 4 and 6, but he doesn't believe age should be the sole measure of when a child should start school.
I think much more important is what actually happens at school rather than when they actually get there. Our teachers are quite capable and have been doing it for years to nurture and very carefully look after and teach children who are as young as 4 and a half. I don't think it would necessarily be a good thing for us to have a national rule that said children could not start until they are 6. I think we would need to answer the very important question about what they will do until they're 6.
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