Request to Consider Retaining a Child for an Additional Year in Kindergarten (Age 5)
Request to Consider Retaining a Child for an Additional Year in Kindergarten (Age 5)
In January 2025, the Ministry of Education published a new Director-General’s Circular on the subject of “Transitions,” which establishes the procedure for postponing entry into first grade. As a general rule, entry into first grade should not be postponed, except in exceptional cases. Postponing entry into first grade is one option among a range of possibilities, and it is necessary to examine all possible educational–developmental responses and consider which response is most appropriate.
Parents considering keeping their child for an additional year in compulsory kindergarten (including pre-kindergarten/mechina) must both register the child for school and complete a parent questionnaire.
The Ministry of Education defines different criteria for examining the request, according to the child’s age.
In September 2025, the Ministry of Education published a new Director-General’s Circular on the subject of “Transitions.” The circular regulates the procedure for remaining an additional year in kindergarten at age five, based on the understanding that the decision to keep a child in kindergarten for an additional year has long-term pedagogical, emotional, and social implications, and means excluding the child from their age cohort.
The Ministry of Education defines different criteria for examining the request, according to the child’s age.
Parents of younger children in the cohort, born between September and December, who wish to consider postponing entry into first grade, must complete the parent questionnaire and ask the kindergarten director to complete a kindergarten teacher questionnaire. The questionnaires must be completed by March 1. The parent questionnaire is sent directly to the Educational Psychological Service of Efrat and forwarded to the relevant kindergarten psychologist, who will determine what is required to examine the request. A decision will be made by the end of May.
Parents of children born between January and August who wish to consider postponing entry into first grade must indicate which of the following conditions apply:
* Students who suffer from a serious illness; were hospitalized for an extended period; experienced an accident; experienced personal or family trauma; or are foster children, and as a result did not attend kindergarten regularly and/or did not fully benefit from the educational process.
* New immigrant students or returning residents for whom the kindergarten educational process was not fully realized; information regarding functioning prior to immigration or return must be provided.
* Students eligible for special education services who transitioned from a special education framework to a regular kindergarten at age five during the last school year.
* Children born June–August in regular education, and children born January–August who are eligible for special education services, who do not meet the above criteria and for whom an Educational Psychological Service psychologist recommended a committee discussion.
When one or more of these conditions apply, parents must submit supporting documentation. Parents must also complete the parent questionnaire and ask the kindergarten director to complete a kindergarten teacher questionnaire. The questionnaires must be completed by March 1. The parent questionnaire is sent directly to the Educational Psychological Service in Efrat and forwarded to the relevant kindergarten psychologist, who will determine what is required to examine the request. The discussion regarding older children in the cohort will take place within an interprofessional committee at the council. A decision will be made by the end of May.
In all cases, parents will have the option to appeal the decision, as detailed in the email they will receive with the decision.