School starting age

[ItchyFeet76]

Trying to work out when my kids would start school / what years they'd go into, if we moved to VIC in Jan 2015 (complete estimate as need to get sponsorship but we're working on that basis as it would enable my 2 eldest to finish the school year at Xmas 2014 and say goodbye to their friends, and then settle in to Aus school at the beginning of their term).

 

My son will be 8 in the last week of Jan 2015, so I'm assuming he would go into Year 3 (which he would have started in Sep 2014 in the UK).

 

My eldest daughter will be 6 in the April of Jan 2015, so I'm assuming she would go into Year 1 (which she would have started in Sep 2014 in the UK).

 

My youngest daughter will only be 4 yrs 5 mths by Jan 2015, so I'm assuming she wouldn't start until Jan 2016, by which time she would be 5 yrs 5 mths and would go into Prep (equiv of UK Foundation?). She would be 1 year behind as her birthday is in August, so in the UK she would have gone into Year 1 by this point (Sep 2015). (I read that they have to turn 5 in the April of their first term, so she would have to wait until she turned 5 in August 2015, and then start the following Jan...?).

Does this sound roughly right? Hope I've explained it with enough clarity as to not confuse anyone!

 

Thanks in advance,

 

I-F :wink:

[Cerberus1]

Hi

The table below should give you an indication of what year they'll go into

 

[rosiew]

the dates that Cerberus has kindly provided are for Victoria. Some states have a later cut off.

 

Don't worry about your little one not starting school until 5 years 5 months - perfectly normal here. And in Victoria, prep is now known as Foundation too.

[Quoll]

Forget England! Remember that Australia is a foreign country with its own systems. What they may have done in UK is irrelevant! It only matters if you are planning a short stay and a return to UK.

 

They may recommend that your daughter with an end April birthday doesn't go into yr 1 - it will depend on their assessment of her ability to cope with the cohort being the youngest in the year but, of course, technically she would be able to.

 

Just go with the flow and put the kids with their age cohorts, the name they give to the year level is irrelevant.

[ItchyFeet76]

Forget England! Remember that Australia is a foreign country with its own systems. What they may have done in UK is irrelevant! It only matters if you are planning a short stay and a return to UK.

 

We are, in fact, only planning a temporary move. We don't have enough points for PR so the 457 route is our only way, which actually suits me as I'm not ready to leave my UK life behind on a permanent basis. Yet. If we love it then we'll see if there's a way of using our time in Oz to get enough points to get PR (on a 186) and, if we hate it, we return to the UK with no shame as it was "only temporary" anyway ;-)

 

My concern - and something which would potentially put me off doing it if I thought it would damage my children's education / future - is the fact that, when we return to the UK, our children will essentially be skipping an academic year as Aus starts later. I.e. say we return in Jan 2019, my son will be leaving Aus year 5 (not yet starting Yr 6) and going straight into the second term of UK year 7 (which would have begun in Sep 2018). And so on for our other kids...

 

If there is anyone out there who has done the move on a temporary basis, I would be very interested to hear their views on how / if it affected their children's education...

 

Thanks,

 

I-F

 

PS - Thanks also for the chart - very helpful! (we would be going to Melbourne anyway)

[jac2011]

itchyfeet, whilst an adventure is really good for families I would as a mother have a few reservations, firstly some states are starting to introduce school fee's to people on a 457 visa leaving you with a bill of $5000 dollars per child. Also there is no stability that you could be made to leave at any point if the visa holder were to lose their jobs. You are also looking at getting sponsorship but depending on your job its getting much harder to secure from England. The employment market isn't what it was and for example a well known job sponsorship website has just closed down as its jobs have dried up. You are also forfeiting any benefits you may be entitled to whilst living there for the children.

 

The dream is still there but its just a little harder to get at the moment, Id say it was safer but more expensive to get PR and then move back if you choose. Whilst the initial expenses are more your child benefit may eventually recoup that outlay.

[Quoll]

Kids tend to be placed with their age cohort in both places so yes, a child returning from Aus is likely to be somewhat behind their UK age peers but it seems from many returnees that schools are very good at accommodating and helping kids to catch up with their year level. Another alternative might be to find a school which does the IB - I know there are some primaries out there doing it and it is an internationally accepted level so it might be better for a kid changing systems.

 

I tend to agree about the insecurity of the temporary visas as well - and they are going to get tougher in the near future too. The goalposts can change at any moment and I doubt it will be long before the other states follow NSW, ACT and WA and start charging school fees - current rates anywhere between $4k and $10k per child pa. Hugely risky to be taking a family.

[ItchyFeet76]

Hmmm the concerns you guys both raised are certainly weighing on my mind considerably. Not so much the job bit, as my husband is lucky enough to be in a sector of work which is very much in demand and not likely to be affected by the new 457 visa rules as they just cannot find qualified, experienced locals to do it (he's a Penetration Tester, aka IT Security Consultant, aka Computer Hacker). But definitely the kids' education and the potential charges for school fees bits...

 

My mind is all over the place at the mo. Part of me wants them to bring in the visa fees rule in Vic so the decision is taken out of my mind, but the other part still desperately wants to give it a shot as we've been talking about it for a decade now and we just feel we'll always regret it if we don't try it. Or get it out of our systems, at least... But not to the detriment of my children's future.

 

:frown:

[jac2011]

If he is so suitably qualified surely you stand a chance at meeting the points test for a PR visa? Have you spoken to a migration expert?

 

Unfortunately from what I am reading every job is struggling in Australia, I will be a nurse and supposedly one of the most sought after professions (after all nurses are needed everywhere and there is supposedly going to be a nursing shortage due to baby boomers) however this just isn't like it used to be and many people are struggling. Just ensure you have a safety net. I'm not saying don't try it (if someone told me that I would swim across) just be careful and do it carefully!

[NickyNook]

My concern - and something which would potentially put me off doing it if I thought it would damage my children's education / future - is the fact that, when we return to the UK, our children will essentially be skipping an academic year as Aus starts later. I.e. say we return in Jan 2019, my son will be leaving Aus year 5 (not yet starting Yr 6) and going straight into the second term of UK year 7 (which would have begun in Sep 2018). And so on for our other kids...

 

 

I don't get this. In your first post you said (correctly) that your son would be in Year 3 in 2015. And he would be starting Year 3 just 4 months after he would have started Year 3 in the UK. That means four years later (in Jan 2019) he will be entering Year 7 - obviously just 4 months later than he would started Year 7 in the UK.

 

If he starts four months behind the UK in 2015, he will still be four months behind the UK in five years time (not a year and four months). :wink:

[ItchyFeet76]

If he is so suitably qualified surely you stand a chance at meeting the points test for a PR visa? Have you spoken to a migration expert?

 

No, because he into the last age bracket so loses points for age, and you don't get extra points for having a certain occupation, unfortunately. I agree with the cautionary advice but I don't see what practical measures we can put in place to be 'careful', short of finding a lump sum of cash under the sofa incase we run into money troubles, or not getting on the plane in the first place. I hope you manage to find employment as a nurse - I've also heard it's in demand so I'm sure you'll be fine :-)

[ItchyFeet76]

I don't get this. In your first post you said (correctly) that your son would be in Year 3 in 2015. And he would be starting Year 3 just 4 months after he would have started Year 3 in the UK. That means four years later (in Jan 2019) he will be entering Year 7 - obviously just 4 months later than he would started Year 7 in the UK.

 

If he starts four months behind the UK in 2015, he will still be four months behind the UK in five years time (not a year and four months). :wink:

 

Me neither! I think you're right - he would be just 4 months behind, not 1 yr 4 mths. It seemed like they would be further behind because my youngest would start school (UK) before we go, but then have to wait another year (Aus) to start, so I had it in my head that they'd always be 1 yr behind! Thanks for clearing that up :-)

[jac2011]

So sorry to hear that itchy, it is a bummer at times. I had to retrain just to get points to get in but it turned out I got to follow a career I always wanted to do. Good luck with your plans and I am sure if you keep your eyes out you will be just fine. I understand you fears with the education but I also believe 'life' skills are really important and emigrating and teaching your children to have the confidence to reintegrate in a new school is a good opportunity. I wish you all the best and keep us informed. Stay on the forum and keep up with any updates! x

[ItchyFeet76]

Thanks Jac2011 for your thoughtful comments :-) I'm torn between wanting to fulfil our long-standing desire to experience living abroad, and our children's security and future. I agree that the benefits of a 'sabbatical' for children are that they would hopefully gain more independence, greater cultural understanding, etc. and that it would broaden their minds and remind them that there is life outside of the UK. It may not necessarily be better (just as well if we're only doing it temporarily!) but so long as it's no worse and we're no worse off financially, then I think we can handle it.

 

Whenever I think of the hassle and expense involved in selling all our stuff, renting our lovely new house out to total strangers (and increasing our mortgage term and paying the bank extra to do so!), completing self-assessments (for rental), other paperwork / bureaucracy, etc. it just fills me with dread and I want to curl up and never leave my house! We've moved house 4 times in 6 years so I guess that's my body / mind's way of saying "enough!". Lol. Nothing needs to be done yet though, so I guess we'll sit on it until next year and if we still want to do it then we'll start job-hunting and reassess the situation if / when we find anyone willing to sponsor my husband :-)

 

I-F :-)