BBC News
By Robbie Meredith
Published
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Education Minister Peter Weir wants to bring in a law allowing some children to defer starting primary school for a year.
Most children in Northern Ireland start school in the September of the school year after their fourth birthday.
That is one of the youngest primary school starting ages in Europe.
However, children whose birthdays fall between 2 July and 31 August start school in the September following their fifth birthday.
That means children can start primary school from ages ranging from four years two months to over five years old.
In many other European countries, however, children do not start formal primary school education until they are aged six or even seven.