NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell has this week expressed her preference for all students to start school in the year they turn six.

At present new starters can be aged between four-and-a-half and six years, meaning classes can be populated with students at vastly different stages of development.

The NSW government's reform of the education sector began when it announced a pre-kindergarten year of play-based learning would be made available to children by 2030.

Forest Hill Community Preschool educator Jenny Osbourne said she believes the suggested starting age of six would be a positive.

"I think it is a really good thing for two reasons," she said.

"First, it will put all of the students on par. There's a huge difference in when they come to preschool at three to when they are five.

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"When you send a four-and-a-half-year-old to school it's hard because they're in a room with a six-year-old."

Ms Osbourne said the development between a four-and-a-half-year-old, which is the current minimum age a child can start kindergarten in NSW, and a six-year-old, the maximum age for kindergarten, can differ considerably.

"So automatically they're at a disadvantage," Ms Osbourne said.

"Starting school isn't just about knowing the alphabet or being able to count to 10. There's a lot to it."

"It's about emotional development, social skills, building resilience, independence and self-regulation. There's a lot involved," Ms Osbourne said.

"At four-and-a-half, they're just not going to be ready. I think it's a really good thing so they can go to school and they're emotionally and socially ready to thrive."

The second benefit to an age change, according to Ms Osbourne, is standardisation across states.

"We have a lot of defence children here that move around a bit," she said.

"Starting at six puts them on par with other states, which makes it less confusing when moving."

Mother Kerry-Anne Paul is also in favour of a standardised school starting age of six.

"I think four-and-a-half, even five, can be a bit too young for kids to start school," she said. "I think six is a good age to transition a child into a more independent learning environment."

In Queensland, the compulsory school starting age is six-and-a-half. In Victoria, the Northern Territory and South Australia it is six.

Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said current arrangements meant kindergarten classes across the state could have a range of students from ages four-and-a-half to six, which she says can create learning gaps.

"That gap can create significant challenges for a child's learning and development," Ms Mitchell said.

"It can be hard for the youngest to catch up.

"Our plans to introduce universal pre-kindergarten in the year before primary school will transform and build on the current preschool system, so all children in NSW get the very best possible start and provide an opportunity to look at streamlining the school starting age.

"There would still be the opportunity for four years of early childhood education and care before children went into pre-kindergarten in the year they turn five."

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