BBC News - NI school starting age 'could rise to six years old'

What a great idea. It was proposed in 1918 when the Education Act permitted the supply and the aid in supply of Nursery Schools in England and Wales. It had been suggested previously in 1870 and was campaigned for in the 1920s and 1930s by the Nursery School Association. Starting at five years is purely administrative and bears no connection with how young children's educational needs are perceived. Campaigners in the past advocated nursery schools for the 2-6 year olds and sometimes 0-6 year olds. Raising the age of compulsory schooling must be accompanied by provision for children under six otherwise it is a cost cutting exercise such as was advocated at thew time of the Geddes Axe in the early 1920s. BBC News - NI school starting age 'could rise to six years old'