What's wrong with the schooling here?

[Fishenka]

I keep reding all the comments here about how bad or much worse than in the UK the schools are here and getting increasingly worried... How bad is it?

 

nurseries have been shock to the system so far and for one 1:8 staff ratio for two year olds as oppose to 1:4ratio back in the UK is ridiculous in my view but does it get worse?...

Edited September 11, 2014 by Fishenka

[ali]

Well my daughter managed to be accepted into the best Uni in WA (88th in the world rankings) after attending public school here - so it can't all be bad

[Vanduex]

Seen 3 schools. All private. At a senior level. Massively impressed. All different but all strong in their chosen focus.

[Guest]

I find the schooling to be very good where we live. Sure you get your shocking schools, same as anywhere, but overall if you research you find plenty of good and great options.

 

I think it's different and perhaps that can be a shock to many. Also as they start later here they are seen by many as 'behind' the migrant kids of the same age. That's a mistake I've tried not to make and it's worked well for us.

 

Also primary is not so full on as UK primary I feel which is not a bad thing IMHO.

 

I love our sons school. It's a really good one and offers far more than his UK Ofsted rated outstanding school ever did.

 

His class numbers a maximum of 25 per class. His old school was 22. He had 30 in a class in the UK.

Edited September 12, 2014 by Guest
typo

[Que Sera Sera]

Hundreds of thousands of kids manage just fine here. Australia produces Doctors Scientists and Brain Surgeons too! I'm sure your kids will manage just fine. Childcare centersare full to bursting so those parents clearly don't think its ridiculous.

[Maruska]

We`ve only been here 3 months but I really like the primary school that my son goes to. Class size is 18 children in 1st grade. Teacher is very involved and approachable, kids obviously love her . There is a good vibe about the school. They have lots of special activities that are either part of the curriculum or optional. When we moved to Australia we toured 3 primary schools and I would have been happy to send my son to any one of them. I do think that it depends quite a bit on where you live, if you choose an established suburb with a lot of families on the higher end of socio-economic scale ( AKA expensive) , you are almost certainly going to be zoned to a better performing school with more resources than schools in poorer areas.

[Guest]

I much preferred the schools in Australia. There was far more emphasis on learning important things like resilience and dealing with conflict and nothing like the same level of academic pressure at a young age.

[calNgary]

I dont think the schooling here is 'worse' than the UK, it is different and you do find some people who dont like to change, so they will just slate the system.

My youngest who has only had Aussie education is much brighter and pulls much higher grades than my other child who had 8 years of UK education before coming here. I find the teachers here much more approachable and the parent teacher contact is ten times better than i experienced in the UK.

 

The biggest differences ive found is the schools dont have an official 'canteen' like the UK schools, its more of buy from the tuck shop and then go to sit in your years 'eating area'. I also found they dont take a sports kit, get changed for sport, then shower and change back into uniform, they just go to school wearing the sports kit, do sport then continue the day (in summer - all sweaty,lol).

 

Cal x

[AJ]

There is nothing wrong with the schools here. Because children start school earlier in the UK, so many parents come over and think their child is "gifted and exceptionally bright. It only looks that way as they have had a years more schooling than the kids here. Once they are in a class of their own age and being taught at the same rate it all evens out. Australia must be full of over achieving UK kids!

[Guest]

FWIW, at primary level I've yet to meet an expat parent here where we live who is unhappy with their (current) choice of school. One or two moved schools to get into better ones so they are happier with where their kids have ended up now. So its not all roses from the off and can require a rethink if you realise its not the school for you. And like us, some started off in a school local to where they were living in the early months then moved schools once they had bought a house too far for a commute to school on a daily basis.

 

Our sons first school here was nice but was lacking a fair bit of extra curriculum stuff and also wasn't so great on the days/events I'd like to have seen more made of. In short, it was a great starting point as it was local, a small school, 320 or so and in lovely grounds with small classes. Son had a lovely teacher and made some great friends which I maintain goes a long way in kids settling in well. He has made friends as his new school and while its bigger, has a lot more going on its a much better school overall and we are really happy with our choice. He still sees his friends from his old school on weekends and school holidays and I became friends with a couple of the Mums so we catch up also.

 

I love that its not show and tell here but Topic Talk. So kids have to research or prepare a proper topic each week to present to class, not just take in something from home and talk about it for a few minutes or show the class. This is done from Yr R up and it really helps kids become more confident in public speaking and other aspects that is perhaps lacking in UK schools. I've seen topic talks presented here and its always well handled, a set timeframe in which to talk and then 3 questions asked and answered at the end. Even the less forthcoming kids give it a go and get involved. Son loves his Wednesday topic talk day. Next week for example he has a 'something made of out of a box' talk to give. He has to use his creative skills to make something out of a box. And to be prepared to talk about the process he used to transform it He's had Junior Masterchef where they talked about what they have made in the kitchen. And could also make something at home and take it in for the kids to eat at the end of the day. Just about every kid brought in something foodwise they had made (with help perhaps but still, you could tell 6 and 7 year olds had a hand :cute:. Son and I made cheese swirls with pizza sauce the night before and he took them into school the next day.Was very proud of himself and loved that the kids enjoyed them.

 

There are schools we heard mentioned too many times to avoid totally and so didn't even consider them as options. But then as we were not buying in those areas it was never really an issue we had to deal with. We bought a house in an area with a number of really well thought of primary schools and in the zone for a very good high school. Its not one of the very top ones (private wins there mostly if you go by Naplan stats and so on) but it is very well regarded, has a gifted and talented programme and parents speak well of it. Their kids also seem happy with things.

 

In short, I/we did our homework on schools and areas. Not just for the short term but longer term planning. We didn't rush into an area and we considered all aspects from places to play to distance to schools to the schools themselves. I took a lot of school tours. I didn't view one school where I felt I'd not be happy to have my son attend. I had a list of schools and worked through it. I loved one school I visited but it was too far away from where we bought and then I viewed the most local school and loved that so it was fine we went with that one. It was good as I also felt it was a better school overall for son so I don't feel we missed out there.

 

I am also happier by far with our primary school here in Aus than I was with our UK school. And that was considered a good school in the community. I think this one here is better and have had much more in the way of positives overall than I did with our UK school.

Edited September 12, 2014 by Guest
typo

[jasepom]

I think people do get really preoccuppied with the comparisons between UK and Australian schools. The UK schools do have a good reputations overseas of course and likewise Australian schools do compete with each other in terms of reputation. But overall if you get your child into a reasonable state school here, they should do fine. I say "should" because of course it is always a case of your child doing well in his or her subjects and that's a combination of teachers/child/parents.

 

But if I was beinging children to Australia to start a new school I wouldnt have too many issues, I would just look at what areas to avoid rather than those areas to actually put them in. Here in Melbourne, private schools have a reputatation of turning out over-priveledged kids who dont neccessarily do too well. You are better sending them to a good state school IMHO and avoid paying the school fees.

[Moobobs]

How did you get to the 1:8 nursery ratio? My 3 year old is at nursery here and it is brilliant, she loves it and the staff are fantastic and that is 1:6 but there are always additional staff around. A lot more expensive here than UK, Base rate is $430 a week for my daughters nursery but that includes all meals, sunscreen, hats, nappies if applicable which we think is great as we didn't have that in the UK - You get the CCR so not actually that bad in comparison.

 

Don't read too much into it, i think you can only truly decide once you have been to see a few schools yourself, I don't think you can make a sound judgement on what you read.

Edited September 12, 2014 by Moobobs

[shellybr]

I love my sons school he has an amazing teacher who really cares about the kids. My younger one is in kindy in the same school and he has a wonderful teacher and ea who do so many extra little things for the kids. Even in Kindy they do news in front of the class to help them with public speaking.

[lechatnoir]

It's more affordable to buy/secure a good education here. Try getting into a 'public' school system in the UK without a bankers salary, at least in Australia if your local state school is **** you can get an affordable alternative.

[LKC]

I don't have any direct experience with primary schools in the UK (other than my own experience which was back in the late 70's/early 80's!), but from what I have heard others talk about (nieces and nephews etc), I would say that UK schools are more concerned with exam results and learning by rote. That is just what I have been told or have picked up from talking about school though, and wouldn't take it as fact.

 

The primary school that our girls go to is excellent, and we have been very happy with the education that they have had so far. Youngest is in year one, and eldest is in year three. As someone else said, they teach them both academic and social stuff, for example they are teaching them how to be good learners, how to be respectful and so on. They seem to teach them more about how to work things out.

[Quoll]

It's another first world country with several appropriate education systems. The participation in private education is higher with, in some areas, close to 50% being in private for HS which probably speaks volumes about the local parent perception of gov schools. Personally, I prefer more rigor and accountability than the Aus system where we lived but each state is different with some being more focused than others. We used to reckon that Queensland kids came with better grounding than our kids had. My kids went through the private system because I saw first hand what the alternative was although most PS are alright.

 

if you're going to stay in Aus it doesn't matter. If you're planning on returning to UK then the kids are likely to have to do some catching up to do.

[Peach]

close to 50% being in private for HS which probably speaks volumes about the local parent perception of gov schools.

 

You are drawing such a long bow with this theory, IMHO the stat you quote points to parents having the availability and affordable choice to send their kids to private schools....

[AJ]

I would think that is 50% is well over estimated as well. Maybe where you lived but definately not here and I wouldnt say in Melbourne either where I was for 4 years.

Edited September 12, 2014 by AJ

[Skani]

I would think that is 50% is well over estimated as well. Maybe where you lived but definately not here and I wouldnt say in Melbourne either where I was for 4 years.

 

Quoll lived in Canberra and I believe the private/government school ratio is higher than elsewhere in Australia. Income per capita is higher in the ACT too - probably has much to do with it.

[Quoll]

Quoll lived in Canberra and I believe the private/government school ratio is higher than elsewhere in Australia. Income per capita is higher in the ACT too - probably has much to do with it.

 

Yes I think the national average is around 35% for HS.

 

The old "disposable income" "old boys club" is always trotted out by the Dept of Ed but that suits their agenda and means they don't have to change their policies to address the manifest weaknesses of the system - no surveys have backed that up as being prime motivators for forking out thousands. No one would do it if the "free" option did the job.

[Guest]

It's another first world country with several appropriate education systems. The participation in private education is higher with, in some areas, close to 50% being in private for HS which probably speaks volumes about the local parent perception of gov schools. Personally, I prefer more rigor and accountability than the Aus system where we lived but each state is different with some being more focused than others. We used to reckon that Queensland kids came with better grounding than our kids had. My kids went through the private system because I saw first hand what the alternative was although most PS are alright.

 

if you're going to stay in Aus it doesn't matter. If you're planning on returning to UK then the kids are likely to have to do some catching up to do.

 

We returned and I happened to be at a parents meeting last night, the head commented to me on how well taught my son had been in Australia (his wife was my sons class teacher last year), he also commented on how liberated he was and how when he saw him walking around the school how confident he was - this to me is a testament to the school he went to in Australia (& my great parenting skills of course LOL )

 

We did however choose to hold our son back a year - that was not a straight-forward Australian schools are behind decision. I won't go into all the reasons why but mainly it was due to my sons physical issues and small stature and not academics - but I guess the collective PIO wisdom did influence the decision and the fact he would be doing sompletely new subjects like Scottish History and French.

 

It depends on the age though - it would never be ideal to move back to the UK between 14-18 or to Australia after 15 and we got on with moving back rather than maybe enjoying another year or two in Australia so that we returned before high school.

[Peach]

no surveys have backed that up as being prime motivators for forking out thousands. No one would do it if the "free" option did the job.

 

Maybe folk choose an affordable private education because they hope to buy their children into a better peer group? After all a child who doesn't apply themselves sent to the best school will come out just as uneducated as the child who doesn't apply themselves in the public system. Being around kids with grander aspirations at the private school - and hoping they rub off - is the minimum a parent can hope for.

[Guest km75]

I think because they start later in Australia than England (but not too different to Scotland) that people perceive schools in Australia as being behind when they first arrive; however I would say Reception in England is very much free play, whereas Kindy in NSW is more like P1 in Scotland, far more structured.

One thing I love about our school here in NSW is the fact they sing the school song and national anthem every week at assembly, which builds a real sense of community between the children. I think schools in the UK could take a leaf out of their book in this regard. My children have attended school in Scotland, England and NSW, and have to say all have been lovely schools with lovely staff and that is what matters the most in the early years in my opinion. Class sizes in my boys classes here in NSW are about 22 - in England, my older son had 30 in his class.

I do agree I am a bit concerned about high schools, but no more so that I would have been in the UK to be perfectly honest.

[caramac]

My kids have been to six schools. Three in Australia and three in the UK. The ones we all like/d the best is the one they're at now in the UK (only one left there now:elvis:) and the second one they were at in Perth. It's not so much the academic standards we like/d, but the ethos and feel of the schools, although both have high expectations of the girls academically.

 

We had problems at one primary school in Aus and one in the UK where the girls were able to just coast along because 'she can do it, we don't need to worry about her.' Both schools were focused on getting all children to the minimum level, no matter what their ability.

 

The school we used in Sydney I wouldn't recommend to anyone - I wouldn't let them look after my dog, but that's not about the 'Australian system', it's about that school. There's good and bad and schools which suit, or don't suit your child wherever you live.

Two of mine are off to uni this year in the UK, taking courses their Australian peers are taking in Australia. The end result is the same. All ours are confident and articulate public speakers and have had the opportunity to practise that as much here as they did in Australia.

I think the only difference is that A levels are at a higher standard than year 12 exams, but that's why Aus unis have four year degrees instead of the usual three year ones in England.

I think, on balance I probably preferred the Australian approach to primary teaching (not that it makes any difference in the long run), but secondary really isn't much different.

I remember a lovely expat lady telling me, when we first moved to Perth, that the approach to education was a bit different, but once you get used to it, it's great. My experience has been that she was right - as long as you find the right school. Same as here.

[Alaska]

DS only had 6 months of UK education and I LOVED the school and the teacher so it was a bit of a shock coming here to a massive school after a small one in the UK.

 

It has grown on me though and the new principal is implementing a lot of good stuff. There are good extension programmes, music, sport etc. There is a lot more "freedom" which freaked me out a bit but actually turns out to be a good thing for them and learning responsibility and doing the right thing. They also have some great strategies for dealing with bad behaviour.

One thing I'm really impressed with is the emphasis on confidence and so many activities where they talk in front of the class. My son does "show and tell" every week which has done his confidence no end of good.