Which school years if we move to the UK?

We haven't actually made the decision as to whether we are going to be moving back to the UK or not, but I am trying to get my head around as much information as possible so that we can make an informed (as much as we can be, anyway) decision.

One thing I am struggling with is which school years the kids would go into, if say we moved back by June/July 2017. Eldest daughter has an April 2006 birthday (she is 10) and is currently in year 5 in NSW. She would be due to start high school here in NSW in Jan 2018. Youngest has a February 2008 birthday (she is 8) and is currently in year 3 in NSW. Neither were held back, although I could have done, and went to school as soon as they were able (in NSW you can hold them back if their birthdays are after Jan but before June).

If we were to move to the English system, if I understand it correctly, eldest would start secondary school year 7 in September 2017, and youngest would enter primary school year 5 in September 2017. This is because they are right in the middle of the cohort, rather than near to the 31st of August cut-off.

However, if we were to move to Scotland where the cut off point for birth dates is 28th February, eldest would go into Primary 7 (being an April baby) and be among the eldest in the class and not start high school until August 2018, where youngest would go into P6 and be amongst the youngest in her class (being a Feb birthday).

I know it's all a different system etc, and I'm not trying to push them into a different cohort, it's just that there may be advantages or disadvantages to moving to one system versus the other if this is the case, particularly with eldest who is autistic.

Have I got the right end of the stick?

I realise that I've posted this in Education, where it is more of a MBTUK question. Please could one of the lovely Mods move it over to MBTUK for me? Cheers!

My son is a May 2008 baby and if we were in the UK now he would be in Y4. New school year having started a couple of months back. School year will be ending July 2017 and new school year in Sept 2017 would see him in Y5.

From the rest I think you've worked it out ok re year groups.

Hi LKC, Yes I think that you are right with the dates and school years. We are considering this also. Our son is about to finish Y8 and our daughter Y6. So if we moved to the UK say around Feb or March next year they should go into Y9 and Y7, however this then means that they have missed a full 6 months of that year and they may find it hard to catch up, particularly with Y9 as I believe subject choices are made in Y10 (?) so we propose for them to go into their current years and then start years 7 and 9 in September. They are both June birthdays so both very young in their school years here anyway. As they have never been to school in the UK this will not be a problem with friends etc as they don't have any.....yet!!. Lots to think about!

Hi LKC,

We moved back to Scotland when our son was 10 - his birthday is June and was the youngest in his class by about 3 months in Australia, we often felt that we had made a mistake not holding him back - he was the youngest, smallest and has Ehlers Danlos Syndrome so really struggled to keep up with his peers physically. His friends tended to be in the year below or the younger siblings of his class mates.

Actually part of how we ended up moving back is we were talking of taking him out of school for a year and effectively holding him back a year that way - he is a very bright kid so holding him back to repeat a year wasn't going to work, anyhow I digress!

So we moved back in the July just after his 10th birthday, he was in P5 in Perth so had another year before high school. He had the summer off and then started school in Scotland in P5 - he should have been in P6 but we felt he would be better off being held back and give him an opportunity to adjust to a different system, different subjects (French, Scottish History, etc.) and to be the oldest in his class.

Actually with hindsight he would have been one of the oldest in P6 anyway and probably would have done just fine but I have to say he has absolutely thrived and having 3 years in primary after we moved back has meant he is totally settled with good friendships before the onslaught of high school.

So yes, if your oldest daughter would be 11 when you move back she would go into P7 in Scotland in August 2017.

It did sometimes seem odd that my son was in primary school when friends with children exactly the same age in England were in the second year of high school! The only thing that has proved a slight problem in holding him back a year is sport - it was okay up until this year but now he can't play in his years school teams as he is too old - he gets to play in the under 14s but with the physical problems he has, he has now lost the advantage of being the oldest - his school are very good though and thus far he still gets picked for the team on rotation with the other 'non-star' players. Luckily his very best friend is a star player so tends to be in the under 14s as well as the under 13s too

One thing else for you to consider, whereas I have extolled the virtues of the extra year in primary the Scottish system provides, it would probably mean a school move after a year for your eldest and that may be more unsettling than going straight into high school. It depends on the area, how many high schools there are etc. and how likely the friends made in primary would be at the same high school.

We knew we were moving back to an area we wouldn't stay in so didn't want our son to go to the primary there, only to make friends and then go to a completely different high school so we opted for a private 3-18 school - obviously lucky to be able to afford it (although the other side is we could afford a much nicer house than we could have living in the catchment area of a 'good' school) but unless that's an option, in your shoes I would consider whether one school move is better than two.

Of course naturally I think you should move back to Scotland - best little country in the world as the advert says

Thank you so much for confirming that for me. I thought I was on the right track, but the differences in cut off date were confusing me.

One of the things I had thought of was that if we move to Scotland rather than England then eldest would have an extra school change to deal with, as Lady Rainicorn points out. She has always loved school, and we had no problems with her when she started kindy. She is autistic (Asperger's) and does find it hard to make friends though, so I'm wondering whether it would be better to support her into a primary school where friendship groups are already formed but where there would maybe be more of a 'gentle' integration ready for secondary school the following year. On the other hand, going straight into secondary school where all of the other kids are in the same situation might be better because those friendship groups are mixed up a bit. Hmmm, lots to think about.

Here in Sydney she is one of the youngest in her year, so some of the kids in her year group are 15 months or more older than she is. Add to that the fact that she is year 5 but in a composite 5/6 class, and some of the kids in her class are considerably older than she is. She's handled it well though, and has absolutely blossomed this year. The social stuff is still hard for her, but academically she is on fire! She's never been good at sport (she has congenitally absent anterior cruciate ligaments and also some gross motor troubles, so swimming and bushwalking/hiking are her thing) so I'm not too worried about that. She gives team sports at school a go, but isn't bothered if she isn't picked or comes last etc.

I'm not particularly worried about youngest. She is clever, confident and generally easygoing. Not much bothers her. So although I can see that a move will be a bit unsettling for her, it will be met with her usual stoic attitude!

I hadn't really considered private schools, but I will have a look at those. We are in the fortunate position that we could probably afford private school fees for the two of them.

If we were to move to Scotland it would depend on OH's work situation, but we'd ideally be looking at west of Edinburgh, up to Falkirk and Stirling areas. We'd prefer something rural-ish but within easy drive of a larger town. I don't really know how we would ensure that we chose an area straight off that we were happy with, but I guess everything will fall into place. I keep reminding myself that OH moved areas/schools a couple of times in his childhood and he was fine! As for areas in England, I have no idea. We'd not want to move back to East Anglia, the South West, the Midlands, or Wales (we've lived in those places before and they didn't suit), and we couldn't afford to move to the South East I wouldn't have thought (where OH's family are), so I've really no clue as far as England is concerned.

There sure is lots to think about!

Thank you so much for confirming that for me. I thought I was on the right track, but the differences in cut off date were confusing me.

 

One of the things I had thought of was that if we move to Scotland rather than England then eldest would have an extra school change to deal with, as Lady Rainicorn points out. She has always loved school, and we had no problems with her when she started kindy. She is autistic (Asperger's) and does find it hard to make friends though, so I'm wondering whether it would be better to support her into a primary school where friendship groups are already formed but where there would maybe be more of a 'gentle' integration ready for secondary school the following year. On the other hand, going straight into secondary school where all of the other kids are in the same situation might be better because those friendship groups are mixed up a bit. Hmmm, lots to think about.

 

Here in Sydney she is one of the youngest in her year, so some of the kids in her year group are 15 months or more older than she is. Add to that the fact that she is year 5 but in a composite 5/6 class, and some of the kids in her class are considerably older than she is. She's handled it well though, and has absolutely blossomed this year. The social stuff is still hard for her, but academically she is on fire! She's never been good at sport (she has congenitally absent anterior cruciate ligaments and also some gross motor troubles, so swimming and bushwalking/hiking are her thing) so I'm not too worried about that. She gives team sports at school a go, but isn't bothered if she isn't picked or comes last etc.

 

I'm not particularly worried about youngest. She is clever, confident and generally easygoing. Not much bothers her. So although I can see that a move will be a bit unsettling for her, it will be met with her usual stoic attitude!

 

I hadn't really considered private schools, but I will have a look at those. We are in the fortunate position that we could probably afford private school fees for the two of them.

 

If we were to move to Scotland it would depend on OH's work situation, but we'd ideally be looking at west of Edinburgh, up to Falkirk and Stirling areas. We'd prefer something rural-ish but within easy drive of a larger town. I don't really know how we would ensure that we chose an area straight off that we were happy with, but I guess everything will fall into place. I keep reminding myself that OH moved areas/schools a couple of times in his childhood and he was fine! As for areas in England, I have no idea. We'd not want to move back to East Anglia, the South West, the Midlands, or Wales (we've lived in those places before and they didn't suit), and we couldn't afford to move to the South East I wouldn't have thought (where OH's family are), so I've really no clue as far as England is concerned.

 

There sure is lots to think about!

We live near Falkirk and our son goes to school West of Edinburgh! I could not recommend his school more, very happy to have a private chat with you about it so just message me if you would like to.

Happy to discuss different areas around here too - it's only my opinion of course but we spent a lot of time researching when we came back & like you preferred something rural-ish but within an easy commute of Edinburgh, we ended up on a modern estate in a small village after losing out on our 'dream house' - it was meant to be temporary as 'dream houses' don't come along that often but actually love where I am and we have no plans to move until we can retire to the Highlands or France or....wherever the mood takes us! It is semi-rural & the view isn't too shabby so I kid myself I live in the country

Thank you so much for confirming that for me. I thought I was on the right track, but the differences in cut off date were confusing me.

 

One of the things I had thought of was that if we move to Scotland rather than England then eldest would have an extra school change to deal with, as Lady Rainicorn points out. She has always loved school, and we had no problems with her when she started kindy. She is autistic (Asperger's) and does find it hard to make friends though, so I'm wondering whether it would be better to support her into a primary school where friendship groups are already formed but where there would maybe be more of a 'gentle' integration ready for secondary school the following year. On the other hand, going straight into secondary school where all of the other kids are in the same situation might be better because those friendship groups are mixed up a bit. Hmmm, lots to think about.

 

Here in Sydney she is one of the youngest in her year, so some of the kids in her year group are 15 months or more older than she is. Add to that the fact that she is year 5 but in a composite 5/6 class, and some of the kids in her class are considerably older than she is. She's handled it well though, and has absolutely blossomed this year. The social stuff is still hard for her, but academically she is on fire! She's never been good at sport (she has congenitally absent anterior cruciate ligaments and also some gross motor troubles, so swimming and bushwalking/hiking are her thing) so I'm not too worried about that. She gives team sports at school a go, but isn't bothered if she isn't picked or comes last etc.

 

I'm not particularly worried about youngest. She is clever, confident and generally easygoing. Not much bothers her. So although I can see that a move will be a bit unsettling for her, it will be met with her usual stoic attitude!

 

I hadn't really considered private schools, but I will have a look at those. We are in the fortunate position that we could probably afford private school fees for the two of them.

 

If we were to move to Scotland it would depend on OH's work situation, but we'd ideally be looking at west of Edinburgh, up to Falkirk and Stirling areas. We'd prefer something rural-ish but within easy drive of a larger town. I don't really know how we would ensure that we chose an area straight off that we were happy with, but I guess everything will fall into place. I keep reminding myself that OH moved areas/schools a couple of times in his childhood and he was fine! As for areas in England, I have no idea. We'd not want to move back to East Anglia, the South West, the Midlands, or Wales (we've lived in those places before and they didn't suit), and we couldn't afford to move to the South East I wouldn't have thought (where OH's family are), so I've really no clue as far as England is concerned.

 

There sure is lots to think about!

3 kids, moved from South Australia to east sussex last year , two oldest kids skipped a year, year 6 in oz into 8 here, and year 8 into 10 for the 12 and 14 year old respectively. 8 year old went into year 4.

They have all adjusted very very well, some ups and downs but on the whole very favourable and much better than the schools in SA.

Why much better ? 8 year old is aspergers (very high functioning) and he was or rather the school in adelaide just had no skills or capability to deal with him, common solution was to exclude and send home (that head teacher has since been relieved of her duties and dismissed - too late for us I'm afraid, but hopefully it will improve for other families ), he was also mercilessly bullied and excluded by his cohort.

By contrast, the UK system is much more mature, better understanding and much better equiped to manage aspie's, so much so they described our son as a remarkable and fantastic child, something the SA school could not even see.

Both our sons were at he same school in adelaide, and for one it was a disaster and it just simply shows that the capability is very narrow and thin in SA, they just don't have the maturity or training to deal with it. Our daughter went to a private school in adelaide and that was superb, she's taken the work ethic there to a new level here and she's doing triple science, double math and international bacc of GCSE.

We live near Falkirk and our son goes to school West of Edinburgh! I could not recommend his school more, very happy to have a private chat with you about it so just message me if you would like to.

 

Happy to discuss different areas around here too - it's only my opinion of course but we spent a lot of time researching when we came back & like you preferred something rural-ish but within an easy commute of Edinburgh, we ended up on a modern estate in a small village after losing out on our 'dream house' - it was meant to be temporary as 'dream houses' don't come along that often but actually love where I am and we have no plans to move until we can retire to the Highlands or France or....wherever the mood takes us! It is semi-rural & the view isn't too shabby so I kid myself I live in the country [ATTACH=CONFIG]34308[/ATTACH]

Thanks Lady Rainicorn. I've sent you a PM, I hope you don't mind.

3 kids, moved from South Australia to east sussex last year , two oldest kids skipped a year, year 6 in oz into 8 here, and year 8 into 10 for the 12 and 14 year old respectively. 8 year old went into year 4.

 

They have all adjusted very very well, some ups and downs but on the whole very favourable and much better than the schools in SA.

 

Why much better ? 8 year old is aspergers (very high functioning) and he was or rather the school in adelaide just had no skills or capability to deal with him, common solution was to exclude and send home (that head teacher has since been relieved of her duties and dismissed - too late for us I'm afraid, but hopefully it will improve for other families ), he was also mercilessly bullied and excluded by his cohort.

 

By contrast, the UK system is much more mature, better understanding and much better equiped to manage aspie's, so much so they described our son as a remarkable and fantastic child, something the SA school could not even see.

 

 

Both our sons were at he same school in adelaide, and for one it was a disaster and it just simply shows that the capability is very narrow and thin in SA, they just don't have the maturity or training to deal with it. Our daughter went to a private school in adelaide and that was superb, she's taken the work ethic there to a new level here and she's doing triple science, double math and international bacc of GCSE.

It sounds like your children are thriving in the UK system!

Our eldest daughter is an Aspie, and whilst school has pushed her academically with extension classes etc, there has been little support for her socially or when she has meltdowns. They usually just bang on about how she needs to build resilience, and yes I agree she does but it isn't quite that simple. The teacher she has this year has been great, although in week two of the first term she phoned me in a panic because daughter was hysterical and she didn't know why and she couldn't calm her down - the school had mislaid the diagnosis paperwork so she had no idea that eldest was on the spectrum. Now she understands why Soph has meltdowns and what triggers them, and she has been able to adapt her teaching to avoid those situations which has been great. However, I have been forced to keep her at home on days when I've sensed that she might struggle with school because I don't fully trust school to be able to help her through a meltdown should one come, and I don't want her to feel embarrassed or anything in front of the other kids.

Our daughter is having some problems with anxiety at the moment which I suspect will become greater as she heads towards puberty, so I expect she will need more support as time goes on which is one of our considerations for moving back. I had suspected that access to support with her autism but also mental health support might be easier and better quality in the UK.

Hi. We hv 12 yr old who may hv aspergers and we're thinking of moving back to uk. He needs support with organisation, and social skills. We were wondering how well supported he would be in the UK.

Hi. We hv 12 yr old who may hv aspergers and we're thinking of moving back to uk. He needs support with organisation, and social skills. We were wondering how well supported he would be in the UK.

Support in senior school is going to be different to primary. It varies across the country. You really need to research the area you intend to live and the schools on your short list. I'd discuss with them directly and also do some reading/research on things. Make yourself informed as best you can.

This may be of use as a starting point

http://www.autism.org.uk/about/in-education/choosing-school/mainstream-special.aspx

It sounds like your children are thriving in the UK system!

 

Our eldest daughter is an Aspie, and whilst school has pushed her academically with extension classes etc, there has been little support for her socially or when she has meltdowns. They usually just bang on about how she needs to build resilience, and yes I agree she does but it isn't quite that simple. The teacher she has this year has been great, although in week two of the first term she phoned me in a panic because daughter was hysterical and she didn't know why and she couldn't calm her down - the school had mislaid the diagnosis paperwork so she had no idea that eldest was on the spectrum. Now she understands why Soph has meltdowns and what triggers them, and she has been able to adapt her teaching to avoid those situations which has been great. However, I have been forced to keep her at home on days when I've sensed that she might struggle with school because I don't fully trust school to be able to help her through a meltdown should one come, and I don't want her to feel embarrassed or anything in front of the other kids.

 

Our daughter is having some problems with anxiety at the moment which I suspect will become greater as she heads towards puberty, so I expect she will need more support as time goes on which is one of our considerations for moving back. I had suspected that access to support with her autism but also mental health support might be easier and better quality in the UK.

Teen years are a challenge whichever way you look at it, I would not immediately assume that more support will be needed, just different support, I am really quite astonished and humbled by our aspie's growth and development, in part it must be said , started by some exceptional individual teachers both in Sydney and Adelaide.

But you must remain positive and look at the opportunities that are now available for aspies worldwide, I knew a 747 captain in HK who was definitely on the spectrum, can't imagine what long haul would be like sitting next to him , I also knew a judge who was both at once brilliant and so obviously on the spectrum, in another lifetime ago i worked for an investment bank in the city and i can definitely comment (now that I know) aspies will thrive in that arena

in fairness to the people in SA, there were some fantastic individual teachers and some really capable and motivated professionals, but, and here is the rub, there seems to be a significant disconnect between the policy and practice delivery within DECD (department of education) , with no clear and consistent practice and or strategy across the sector, and it looks like each individual school has to make do with what they can, and of course this varies with each principals appetite for such challenges.

Unfortunately, it only takes one or two narrow-minded selfish people to make it more difficult or to ruin it, and unfortunately with aspie families we have constraints and challenges we need to work out as we go along, however we do get better at it and we can identify and address these obstacles as they present.

You as a family, and you as an advocate must take up this slack and manage it as well as you can, my only advice is to be involved as much as you can with the school , parents group, charity work, board and visibility and contribution make it much harder for un-cooprative or dare i say incompetent principals to ignore you or frustrate any frameworks you require to support your child.

I worked at DECD as a consultant for a while, so I had a very good looking glass and my comments are not based on hearsay or rumour , and what I saw I did not like.