jac2011 Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Just a thought we had whilst planning our move... Is there a set requirement for children to start school within a set timeframe once arriving in Australia. One of the thoughts we had was helping the children settle for a few weeks with us, like a holiday period, learning their way around etc before we get thrown into the demands of work again. I was thinking approx 4 weeks break with us. Would this be allowed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samshep Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 There is no rush to get them into school, you need to settle, look at schools, then apply. My eldest was here for 3 weeks before he started and my youngest 4 weeks, so don't rush! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 No one would know. It will probably take you a good four weeks or so to find a rental, look around schools, apply etc anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger2shirts Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Throw then straight in to make friends as soon as possible - that helps them to settle more than anytghing else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Just a thought we had whilst planning our move... Is there a set requirement for children to start school within a set timeframe once arriving in Australia. One of the thoughts we had was helping the children settle for a few weeks with us, like a holiday period, learning their way around etc before we get thrown into the demands of work again. I was thinking approx 4 weeks break with us. Would this be allowed? We arrived early November, pinpointed an area and secured a rental late November. My son started at school in January at the start of the new school year. It worked well as he had made some friends on the estate for when he actually went to school, so it seemed to make starting a new school less daunting for him and also having the family home for a few weeks gave us time to settle in and explore the surrounding areas and facilities together. Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NowPerth Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 There are advantages both ways. You probably won't be able to enrol at school until you have a permanent address. It also depends on the ages of your children. Younger children usually find it easy to make friends in play parks etc, but teenagers might struggle to make friends until they are in school, so sooner might be better for them. If you have teenagers, it might be good to arrange on the forum in advance to meet up with other people with children the same sort of age in your area. Then they won't feel quite so isolated. We came over just before the summer holidays (early December) so they had 9 weeks off school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 No one is going to get their knickers in a knot if you don't put them n school for 3 months or more TBH. You will need your permanent address all sorted before you can enrol them anyway most likely. I wouldn't even bother trying if you arrive after the middle of November because it will be all wrap up stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jac2011 Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 Thanks for everyone's replies, sorry its so late replying! You know what its like here in the UK - if you get some decent weather you have to get out in it every minute of the day! Its great to here the kids can have some time off, we were tempted to fly into Melbourne and drive up to Brisbane along the coast in a camper van for a few weeks (finances dependant of course). We've worked so hard these past 5 years and no doubt we will be working hard once we settle it would be nice to have a mini adventure with the children to enjoy what we have been working towards for so long. Just nice to be able to keep our options open. x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incata Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 Thanks for everyone's replies, sorry its so late replying! You know what its like here in the UK - if you get some decent weather you have to get out in it every minute of the day! Its great to here the kids can have some time off, we were tempted to fly into Melbourne and drive up to Brisbane along the coast in a camper van for a few weeks (finances dependant of course). We've worked so hard these past 5 years and no doubt we will be working hard once we settle it would be nice to have a mini adventure with the children to enjoy what we have been working towards for so long. Just nice to be able to keep our options open. x It sounds lovely and once you get jobs sorted you may not have as much time off in one stretch as you will right at the start. The time you spend on your mini-adventure will be so precious! We got my 4 year old into Kindy two weeks after we arrived but my husband did not start work for about 3 - 4 weeks after we arrived so we had some time to settle and explore before getting into a routine. It helped that Kindy was only 2/3 days a week so he had time with us to enjoy himself a bit first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jac2011 Posted May 30, 2013 Author Share Posted May 30, 2013 That sounds lovely, and I bet your 4 year old enjoyed socialising with others for a few days a week too... It of course is so far away I keep flipping from one to the other. I am a nurse and the job situation is currently 'iffy' in QLD however who knows what it will be like by then. We cant decide between being sensible and having a job lined up or spending 24/7 ensuring their will be a job to start or to take the time out. For now this can only be an idea but even if we are in QLD it would be nice to explore whilst I am looking for work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incata Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 That sounds lovely, and I bet your 4 year old enjoyed socialising with others for a few days a week too... It of course is so far away I keep flipping from one to the other. I am a nurse and the job situation is currently 'iffy' in QLD however who knows what it will be like by then. We cant decide between being sensible and having a job lined up or spending 24/7 ensuring their will be a job to start or to take the time out. For now this can only be an idea but even if we are in QLD it would be nice to explore whilst I am looking for work. You have the rest of your life to be sensible and one chance to have a long stretch to enjoy yourself as a family before financial worries start to get in the way. I'd say do it. You can buy a mobile with a wifi hotspot on it to link your laptop to the internet and then search for work during the two weeks before you finish the trip if you are that worried about job hunting. For ourselves we want to go and do Route 66 in the US again. We did it fast over 2 weeks several years ago but would like to explore it as a family once the children are old enough to enjoy it. We will (once hubbie is eligible for long service leave) look at going for 4 or 5 weeks over the Christmas holiday, take it slowly and probably in a camper van. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolvesaussie Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 its a tough choice I like poster above was going to go via the USA take 7 weeks and have an adventure. a combination of people on here moaning about no work and my mum saying the same made us change our mind and start applying for jobs in advance. if I got one holiday adventure of a lifetime was off. fortunately or unfortunately I got a job pretty quickly and am off now in a couple of weeks. u never know if it was the right choice I could have got a job within weeks of starting the hunt or it may have taken ages...maybe I just got lucky with this job. takes pressure off my girlfriend tho as she knows the money will keep on rolling in and its less presure on her to find a job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jac2011 Posted May 30, 2013 Author Share Posted May 30, 2013 Thanks for all the input everyone, you certainly are convincing me... As for USA and Route 66 - That is on our list but with a 2 year old we decided to do it in 10 years time when DH will be 40 and youngest will be 12 and will be able to take it all in. We are thinking of 3 months starting in California, heading down Route 66 and travelling to Florida where we will get an annual pass and hopefully spend 4-6 weeks. I think we should have a final relaxing week in Cancun before heading back too :-) just for me! As you can tell we have a travel bug, we are currently trying to explore as much as Europe as cheap as possible before we emigrate. Last year we did France and Paris, this year via Sun Holidays we have Belgium and Holland and next year we are driving to Italy via Luxembourg, Switzerland and Austria lol... I am just hoping once we settle in Oz my DH will actually settle lol... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 There is so much more to life than school, and providing you aren't disadvantaging children in terms of taking them out at crucial times (eg at times when they are sitting important exams, and I don't mean the NAPLANS but the ones that are needed for uni entry etc), then I think that taking children out of school for extended holidays is a great thing to do. It is part of our plan, probably from next year when youngest is six and more able to appreciate our travels, to take longer and more out of the ordinary holidays, both in and out of Australia. There was a little boy in eldests kindy class who was taken out of school for a year to travel around Australia with a circus. The school didn't bat an eyelid. Particularly in Australia, there are great remote schooling services if that is a worry and the holiday is going to be very long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incata Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 its a tough choice I like poster above was going to go via the USA take 7 weeks and have an adventure. a combination of people on here moaning about no work and my mum saying the same made us change our mind and start applying for jobs in advance. if I got one holiday adventure of a lifetime was off. fortunately or unfortunately I got a job pretty quickly and am off now in a couple of weeks. u never know if it was the right choice I could have got a job within weeks of starting the hunt or it may have taken ages...maybe I just got lucky with this job. takes pressure off my girlfriend tho as she knows the money will keep on rolling in and its less presure on her to find a job Firstly congratulations on getting a job - that is marvellous news and must be a wonderful reassurance to both you and your girlfriend. I have struggled to get a job (still not having any luck) and am mightily relieved that my husband managed to get a job before the kids and I arrived. it is very reassuring to know that even though I am struggling, we still have money coming in. I think it is slightly different when you have children and are considering a long trip as before school years they are too young to enjoy it and once they are at school you are restricted to school holidays. In your position you can take the leave whenever you want, save it up etc and it makes it a bit easier to choose your departure times. I hope your move goes well. Which part of Australia are you coming to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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