A WORCESTERSHIRE councillor claims August-born babies suffer "devastating" unfairness by starting school so young - and is calling for an investigation into their exam results.

Councillor June Griffiths fears many small children are "pushed aside" because they have to enter the classroom alongside much older pupils.

The Conservative wants Worcestershire County Council to examine how they get on in their learning - saying the whole system needs to be probed more closely.

Headteachers have responded by rejecting her concern, with some saying moving to a widespread European-style 'staggered' entry system would prove incredibly difficult to manage.

Councillor Griffiths said: "We have youngsters who are four in August. and have got to start school in September.

"This has a devastating effect on schooling, largely because other children see them as 'babies', and they are pushed aside.

"I wonder, are we doing anything about it?

"I'm pretty sure that if we did a test and looked at the August children and compared them to much older ones, there would be a correlation of them being behind all the way through.

"Unless they had good parents or extra help from somewhere I think it would show that."

But council chiefs say they do not believe the local authority should be backing any change.

Frances Howie, head of public health at County Hall, said: "That's a parenting conversation - this whole area should be about parents saying 'let's make sure we are aware of this, and let's talk about it'.

"I'm not sure a response from Worcestershire County Council's children's services is what's needed."

Headteachers say they have some sympathy with the concern, but are reluctant to push for an alternative.

Lindsey Cooke, headteacher of Hanley Castle High School, said: "There has been research done to show that overall, in some cases, it might have some impact.

"But we mustn't generalise, we get children here born in August who are really outstanding.

"We know there are parents with young children chomping at the bit who are ready for school.

"I don't think how old they are matters, it's about the parenting, how much exposure they've had to books, the support they get in general, and so on.

"The practicalities of changing it would be staggering."

There has been some research done on the topic, including a 2011 report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies which found August babies scored substantially lower in national tests and other measures of cognitive skills.

At the age of seven, they are more than three times as likely to be regarded as 'below average' by their teachers in reading, writing and maths.

At the age of four UK children already start school earlier than most other European countries, where formal education is delayed until six or even seven.

* What do you think? Are you the parent of an August child, and do you think the system is unfair? Email te@worcesternews.co.uk or call 01905 742248.