THE school starting ages of seven for children in Finland and six for many European countries should be considered in the state government’s education review, according to a peak children’s organisation.
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Early Childhood Australia rejected a suggestion to lower the school starting ages of children in prep or kindergarten in Tasmania.
It also recommended that the government look at international education models where children start school later and exhibit ‘‘robust achievement’’ in all literacy, numeracy and science measures.
Compulsory schooling in Tasmania begins in prep at age 5, but a majority of Tasmanian children - 98 per cent - attend kindergarten, which is not compulsory.
Early Childhood Australia national president Ros Cornish said if the school starting age was dropped to 4 in line with national consistency, it could mean some children start kindergarten at age 3.
‘‘That raises great concerns from the early childhood sector about the appropriateness of the formal school setting for this aged cohort,’’ she said.
The submission provided examples of children soiling themselves and having to wait for 30 minutes for their parents to arrive at the school.
It also questioned the ability of schools to identify and provide extra care and guidance for children with additional needs, and whether school infrastructure could manage younger children.
‘‘One of the reasons the Finnish system has consistently performed well on educational outcomes ... is that there is a commitment to early diagnosis, intervention and remediation of learning and development difficulties in strong partnership with parents,’’ it wrote.
