EatCheese

I doubt the legislation says anything about if you are born in Aug 2013 and a foreign entrant you must be in kindergarten grade in 2019. The legislation will say something along the lines of you must be in school at from a certain age. The school year vs age will be an administrative guideline. It cannot be legislated or cannot be rigid legislation, as children are sometimes moved up or down grades. I presume everybody saying that is just the way it is would be fine with a child born in the month of July, having completed Year 6 in NSW, being all set to go to high school, then moving to Queensland and having to repeat primary Year 6? Because rules is rules and Qld rules are different to NSW rules. ---- Can anyone who is telling me I just need to lump it please state their experience with this, i.e. you have a child born in August and you moved to NSW from overseas or interstate, or you work in a NSW public school and have seen strict application of birthdate cut off applied, or you just think this should happen as this is the first thing which pops up on the NSW education website for new students or it is your own personal opinion? Since I posted the thread, I've called the school closest to my mother's place in inner Sydney. I got through to the deputy principal. I told her my son's birthdate and told her which year he is currently in in London, Year 1. She suggested, unprompted by me, a mid-year entry into Year 1. Not kindergarten. At least one public primary school in New South Wales is therefore flexible. It would still be helpful if I could find out if all NSW primary schools are generally flexible as I would have to engineer it to get him into the school near my mother's Sydney house.

I don’t think that maths adds up. I went myself to two NSW primary schools and one NSW high school. There was never a 2 year, 2.5 year or 3 year age range in one class. I have friends with kids in NSW public schools and the age range in s class is one year or a bit more. If he went into NSW Year 1 in August, he would be less than 2 weeks younger than the normal range for the year. That would make the age range in his year 12.5 months. As per my previous reply: I do not see why intelligence is relevant here. I did not say he is abnormally intelligent. I said he will have completed two full years of school when he arrives. That is not my opinion, that is an objective fact. I do not want him repeating 1.5 years. That he will have to repeat 0.5 years; having completed UK Y1 then a mid year entry into NSW Y1 is more appropriate.

Errrrr, I’m not sure that references to ‘gifted children’ are applicable. He may or may not be more bright, less bright or the same as other kids. What you can definitely say is the learning outcomes in the UK and Aus primary school systems are broadly similar and on arrival, he would have completed two full school years. Completing two full school years doesnt make him gifted. It means he has spent 1.5 more years at school than would have been the case had he started off in the NSW system. So if he turns up in Sydney in August, he should be repeating the final part of NSW Year 1. Not repeating the final part of kindergarten, then repeating all of Year 1 in 2020.

How do you know this is "bending the rules"? The entry age and birthday cut off for new school students entering kindergarten is published. The procedure for mid-year admissions for overseas students is not published, so how do you know what the rules are? How do you know there are not routine assessments of prior education when deciding what year children should be placed? Somebody else has already posted that there is flexibility in putting a child in a different class year. Do you think it is appropriate to put a child who has had 2 full and complete years of schooling, into a class of kindergarten children who have had around a half-year of schooling? > Put him with his age peers, it’ll all work out in the end. As I said, there may be a return to the UK in 3-5 years, in which case he would be 1.5 years behind his peers, so it will not all work out in the end.

> As pointed out, the Australian curriculum and education system is completely different. Why would the European/UK system not place him with his age peers if he returns? I completed my entire schooling in NSW. He has an older sibling in a higher year in the UK and I have seen the UK system. I've lived overseas where there are international Australian and British schools, with movement between them. The UK-Aus schooling system is not that different. Certainly not completely different at primary school level. In primary school, you are taught how to read, write and do maths. Why would it be appropriate for him to repeat kindergarten in Australia when he has completed Year 1? What is it in the kindergarten/Year 1 Australian curriculum which he has missed out on by going to school in the UK? > Cut off dates vary between states so it is not an "Australian" cut off date. However, if you know you would be living in NSW then it is the relevant one for your son. Yes I see 31 July is applicable in NSW but 30 June is applicable in WA. So how about this: A child born on 15 July moves from Western Australia to New South Wales. Would it be appropriate for them to repeat a year because that just is the cut off date in NSW?

It is not certain that this will be a permanent move to Australia. If there was a return to Europe in approx. 3-5 years, he would re-enter the European/UK education system and would then be 1.5 years behind, placing him at a significant disadvantage compared with just staying in Europe. He can read and write. Going mid-year into Kindergarten after having finished first class in the UK is just not going to ever be acceptable, even if it means never moving to Australia. I'm an Australian citizen btw. Based on his birthdate, he is less than 2 weeks younger than the 31 July cut-off date for Australian school admissions. ie if he had been born 2 weeks earlier, he would automatically be put into first class in Aus if he arrives in August 2019.

This is about a child born August 2013 who is in primary school first class (the class after reception) in the UK now. Family is planning on moving from UK to Australia this August 2019. First class/Year 1 is the correct class for him in the UK based on his birthdate. Some enquiries with NSW primary schools already and have been told that kids are placed in a class based on their birth date. Because of the differences in birthday cut off dates and school calendars, it's been suggested that on arrival in NSW this August, he will be placed in _kindergarten_ in Australia. He would complete the Australian 2019 school year in kindergarten. This would be moving him back almost 1.5 years of schooling. Him dropping back 1.5 years of schooling is unacceptable and would be a showstopper for moving to Australia. Going from having completed first class/Year 1 in the UK to a mid-year admission in kindergarten in Australia is not OK. The school has made some hand waving comments about children being assessed on their ability blah blah so maybe he would be put in first class, which would still mean he is repeating about 5 months (due to the Sept-EU vs Jan/Feb-Aus start of the school year), but this sounds far from guaranteed. Anyone have more info about what happens in reality?