[Editor’s Note: This article is part of Khaleej Times’ Schools and Parents, a dedicated section designed to support families in the UAE as they explore educational choices. The section offers explainers, guidance from education leaders, expert advice and insights from parents to help readers make informed decisions about schools, curricula and communities.]
For years, September-born children in the UAE have lived on the margins of the school admissions calendar — technically old enough, yet often deemed too young to start alongside their peers.
For many families, that gap translated into difficult choices: holding children back, changing schools or curricula, or even uprooting families across borders.
From the 2026–27 academic year, that long-standing pressure is set to ease.
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The UAE has approved a major change to its school admissions policy, allowing children to enter pre-kindergarten at age three as long as they turn three at any point during the admission year — up to December 31.
The decision, approved by the Education, Human Development and Community Development Council, shifts the age cut-off from August 31 to December 31 for schools that begin their academic year in August or September.
In effect, the country has moved to a calendar-year-based admissions system, aligning eligibility with the admission year rather than the school start month. All children born between January and December of the same year will now be eligible, provided they reach the required age by December 31.
What the new age rules mean
Under the updated December 31 cut-off, children must reach the following ages on or before December 31 of the admission year:
Pre-KG: 3 years
KG1: 4 years
KG2: 5 years
Grade 1: 6 years
The policy also standardises age placement across international curricula commonly offered in the UAE:
Pre-KG: FS1 (British), Petite Section (French), Pre-KG (others)
KG1: FS2 (British), Moyenne Section (French)
KG2: Year 1 (British), Grande Section (French)
Grade 1: Year 2 (British), Cours Préparatoire (CP – French)
The Ministry of Education has clarified that there will be no exceptions. Children who do not meet the age requirement by December 31 — even by a few days — will need to wait until the following academic year.
‘Every year counts.’
But the change is particularly significant for children born between September and December, who previously had to wait an additional year to start school — often becoming the oldest in their class rather than moving forward with their age group.
For Dubai resident Musa Abdulkarim, the revised policy did more than just adjust a school timeline — it altered the course of his family’s life.
His son, born on September 20, 2022, would have missed the previous August 31 cut-off by weeks. That delay had pushed the family toward a painful decision: sending his wife and children back to Jordan so his son could start school on time there, while Musa stayed behind alone in the UAE.
Sharing how deeply the issue affected his family planning, Abdulkarim said, “It helped me a lot because it was creating a lot of problems for my family life. Therefore, when I saw this decision, I was very happy. My son was born on 20 September 2022. So, this year he should be in KG1 (in 2026), but if the previous decision would have prevailed, he would have joined KG1 in 2027. This wouldn’t have been good for him because he would have been one of the oldest in his class. I believe children of the same age group should study in the same grade or class.”
“In my home country in Jordan, the cut-off age is 31 December. So, I had planned that my wife and all three children would return to Jordan while I would continue alone in the UAE. We even furnished the house in Jordan so that they could go and live there at least for a few years just so that he doesn’t lose an entire year. Every year counts,” he added.
The emotional weight of that decision, he said, was overwhelming.
“Personally, it was a very difficult decision for me. Nobody likes to live alone without his/her family. Therefore, this decision brought about a big change in my life. Now they will not go and continue living here. I have been here for 12 years. When my friends read the news, I received several congratulatory messages,” Abdulkarim said.
Relief for ‘just-missed’ birthdays
For many parents, the frustration lay not in months, but days.
UAE national Alya Al Ketbi recalls how her son, born on September 3, 2023, narrowly missed eligibility under the earlier rule — by just three days. The new cut-off, she says, restores a sense of fairness.
“My child was born on September 3, 2023. Under the earlier cut-off, he would have missed eligibility by just three days and would have had to wait another year to start school. When I heard about the new law, I was very happy. It means my son can start school at the right age, which I believe is best for him.
“Children born in the same year should be in the same class. He will be five when he enters school, and when he moves on to a ‘big’ school, he will be four,” she said.
Parents like Al Ketbi say the shift recognises a simple reality: children develop alongside their birth-year peers, not arbitrary cut-off dates.
Choice still matters, parents say
While the policy opens doors earlier, educators and parents emphasise that readiness remains a personal decision.
Dubai-based parent Bhavya Rao chose not to enrol her younger daughter as soon as she became eligible, opting instead to give her more time to mature emotionally.
“I could have enrolled my daughter earlier, but I felt she needed a little more time to mature emotionally. Starting school isn’t just about knowing letters or numbers — it’s about coping with the classroom, friendships and expectations.
Holding her back by a year gave her the confidence and resilience she needed, and when she finally started, she was ready to thrive rather than struggle.”
Her experience reflects a growing awareness among parents that age eligibility does not automatically equal developmental readiness.
How schools plan to support younger starters
Educators say the revised cut-off does not mean children are simply pushed into classrooms without safeguards.
Large school groups stress that flexibility, observation and parental collaboration remain central to early years placement.
Lisa Crausby OBE, GEMS Group Chief Education Officer, said schools look beyond age alone when welcoming younger children under the new rules, focusing instead on how each child adapts socially, emotionally and physically.
“We understand that age alone does not define readiness. For younger children, we focus carefully on their social, emotional, physical, and language development, alongside learning. Our teachers are trained to recognise individual needs early and adapt classroom approaches so every child feels supported and confident,” Crausby said.
“The first 6-8 weeks are a settling and observation period. Teachers closely monitor how children adjust emotionally, socially, and academically. Placement is not a fixed decision,” she added.
What doctors say about early school entry
Meanwhile, medical experts say the new policy offers flexibility — but does not inherently disadvantage children who start slightly earlier or later.
Dr Mohammed Ziad Mansoor, Specialist Paediatrician at NMC Speciality Hospital in Al Ain, explains that long-term outcomes tend to even out, though younger children may need support early on.
“Research shows that starting school a few months earlier or later generally does not cause long-term harm, though younger children may benefit from additional support during the first few months. Boys and girls show slight differences in early development, with girls often maturing a little faster in social and emotional skills, but these differences are usually small and not a reason to delay or accelerate school entry,” Mansoor said.
Why emotional readiness matters
Psychologists caution that while academic skills often dominate admissions discussions, social and emotional development plays a far greater role in early school success.
Dr Sneha John, a licensed psychologist at Medcare Camali Clinic Jumeirah, says research consistently points to self-regulation as a key predictor of long-term outcomes.
“Research consistently shows that social-emotional and self-regulation skills at school entry are strong predictors of later success in both academic and interpersonal domains. Children who start school too early relative to their developmental readiness often show patterns including poor effortful control, elevated anxiety, higher irritability, and difficulty sustaining attention — all of which longitudinal studies link with poorer learning behaviours in kindergarten and lower levels of academic skills through elementary school,” John said.
“Children who may find early school entry challenging often display difficulties with self-regulation rather than academics. This can include poor impulse control, difficulty following group instructions, emotional overwhelm during transitions, frequent meltdowns, or reliance on adult support to cope with routine demands,” she added.
She adds that parents often overlook non-academic signs of readiness.
“Parents frequently focus on early literacy or numeracy while overlooking emotional and social readiness. Non-academic signs that are commonly missed include difficulty separating from carers, heightened anxiety in new environments, low frustration tolerance, delayed independence in self-care (toileting, feeding, managing belongings), and challenges expressing needs verbally.”
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