Responding to new Press Association  data showing a postcode lottery on requests by parents of summer-born children to defer a school year, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “While a degree of consistency across the country is clearly desirable, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that each child has a unique set of needs, and conversations between parents and all relevant professionals are vital when it comes to making decisions about when they should start school.

“In the majority of cases these conversations work well, and decisions are made relatively quickly and easily.

"Where there are local authorities or other admissions authorities that appear to be outliers, then it makes sense for the government to have conversations to explore the approach being taken - but we should not rush to knee-jerk reactions without understanding the context first.”