primary schools

[newtoallofthis]

Hi there everyone, I have a couple of questions re; schools in Sydney (Coogee) if everything goes to plan we should be moving with our two children next year, they will be 8 & 6.

 

Im just wondering how it works with the change of curriculum and term dates? Is it right that they will end up missing months of school because of this difference? Eg if they leave school in the UK at the end of december in years 2 & 4 they would start a new school year in January in years 3 & 5 because schools there start new years in january rather than september?

 

Or would they actually have to re start in the years they had started in the UK?

 

I hope this makes sense! Im very confused and really need this info asap for a court application!

 

I would really appreciate any input from people in the know or who have been through this?

 

Thank you

[LKC]

Hi there everyone, I have a couple of questions re; schools in Sydney (Coogee) if everything goes to plan we should be moving with our two children next year, they will be 8 & 6.

 

Im just wondering how it works with the change of curriculum and term dates? Is it right that they will end up missing months of school because of this difference? Eg if they leave school in the UK at the end of december in years 2 & 4 they would start a new school year in January in years 3 & 5 because schools there start new years in january rather than september?

 

Or would they actually have to re start in the years they had started in the UK?

 

I hope this makes sense! Im very confused and really need this info asap for a court application!

 

I would really appreciate any input from people in the know or who have been through this?

 

Thank you

 

Are you able to give their dates of birth (month and year will do)? This will help us to advise which year they will be in and when. The schooling system is different here, so they won't really be missing or repeating any of their schooling. They will be doing something different.

 

Let us know what the dates are and we will be better able to advise.

[newtoallofthis]

Thank you! They are May 2008 and April 2010

[Quoll]

They are actually somewhat equivocal ages unfortunately. The cut off date for NSW is 31 July but kids with birthdays in the last 3-4 months often choose to delay starting school so that they aren't the youngest in the year. A bit of maturity sometimes pays dividends.

 

May 2008, turning 8 this year could, in theory be starting yr 3 in NSW this week but unless they are confident, socially mature and competent you may be advised that they should be year 2 if starting this week. (Next year just add one of course!)

 

April 2010 turning 6 this year could in theory be starting year 1 in NSW this week but you may be advised that Kindergarten would be more appropriate.

 

At young ages it doesn't matter quite as much as in later years - many 15 yr olds flounder with the pressures of HSC hence the tendency of many parents to give them the extra maturity.

 

Bottom line, it's a foreign country with several different systems, not the UK so ignore all you think you know and go with the flow. Don't get caught up with year level names just go with their age cohort and take advice. They can start school at any time (tomorrow if you arrive then - I know you aren't but just as example!) and the local school will be obliged to find them a place - all schools have priority enrolment areas. If you are PR it'll just be the voluntary contributions and sundry other incidentals. If you're temporary then it will be $5k pa per child.

[northshorepom]

As per Quoll

 

Don't worry about "missing" school or whether the curriculum matches - it won't - different system. At primary school age it really isn't that crucial in any case. But if you migrate, as we did, in November/December, then the kids will be going to school in late January when the summer holidays end in any case.

 

Public primary schools have to give you a place if you are in catchment, and a resident. If you are on a temporary visa (eg 457) then technically they are not obliged to, but in practice schools refusing enrolments for this reason is very rare, and if the closest school does operate this, there'll be another one nearby that will take you. Some areas of Sydney are under severe high school pressure but the Eastern Suburbs (apart from Randwick I think) isn't one of the worst

 

Each school year will have kids born over a 16-18 month range in it, rather than the 12 month range you're used to. The rule is, they have to start Kindy (first year of school) by age 6, and there is a "cut off" date of 31 July. Kids born between 31 July and 31 December will go to school the January after they turn 5. Kids born between 31 December and 31 July, you have a choice, they could go to school the January after they turn 5 or the January after they turn 4. It is more normal to send them later than earlier, opinions differ as to whether this is a good thing or not, like most things it depends on the child. IME there are very few children "sent early" with birthdays after about early April. My son is a June baby (2007) and we DID send him early (because he'd already started school in UK so we reckoned starting school, stopping for a year and then starting again would be damaging) and in both his schools he's been the youngest in his school year by at least a few months

 

So the kids who have just started school last week, will have been born between 1 January 2010 and 31 July 2011

Year 1 this year, 1 Jan 2009 - 31 July 2010

Year 2 this year, 1 Jan 2008 - 31 July 2009

Year 3 this year, 1 Jan 2007 -31 July 2008

Year 4 this year, 1 Jan 2006 - 31 July 2007

.....and so on

[LKC]

I concur with what both Quoll and Northshorepom have said. Year 2 and kindy or year 3 and 1 if you think they have the social, physical and intellectual maturity to cope with being among the youngest in the year group.

 

My eldest has an end of April 2006 birthdate, and we didn't hold her back because I was put under a massive amount of pressure by my mother-in-law to get her to school as soon as possible - she thought that if we waited a year she would be 'behind'. However, with hindsight I wish I had stuck to my guns because whilst she is academically fine, she is physically so much smaller than the other kids in her year that from a sport perspective she will always be 'behind'. She exceeds grade level in the classroom, but I just wonder how much better she would have performed against kids of her own age rather than those who were more than a year older. Thankfully she is coping socially now, although she was bullied at times (easy target, being the youngest and the smallest in the class/year) and has just been put in the year 5 group of a year 5/6 composite class so she is with kids who are potentially more than two years older than she is, which the teachers obviously think she will cope with.

 

Youngest is Feb 2008, and we didn't hold her back either, partly because she has always been taller, bigger and more physically strong, she is academically and socially mature and also because she had quite a number of friends (her sister's friends siblings) who were starting school at the same time. It really does depend on the child.

 

As the others have said, it is a different system, with a different curriculum and from what I have seen at our school, there is flexibility in moving kids up or down if things don't quite go to plan. Each year group will contain a vast spectrum of abilities, particularly where a school uses composite classes, but the teachers seem to teach more to individual ability here, rather than treating all children as the same. At least, that is my perception of things, having two kids in a great public school.

[pildav]

I had a question too, my oldest is born Jun 2004 and is currently Primary 6, I was told she may be presented with the option to go to high school. I'm not sure what to make of it. I think I'd prefer for her to stay back and finish P6, I can't really see any upside with rushing to high school. Is there something I'm missing perhaps ?

[northshorepom]

I had a question too, my oldest is born Jun 2004 and is currently Primary 6, I was told she may be presented with the option to go to high school. I'm not sure what to make of it. I think I'd prefer for her to stay back and finish P6, I can't really see any upside with rushing to high school. Is there something I'm missing perhaps ?

 

Couple of things here:

1. It's not really about "finishing P6". The curricula in both countries are completely different, it's just a different system. So I would say to you (or anyone else moving) to try to put out of their heads concepts of "missing" parts of their schooling or "finishing" it

2. The vast majority of Jun 2004 babies will be just starting year 6 in NSW now. A tiny minority of them will have gone to high school and Year 7. I think if I had a child of that age and I was just moving across now, I'd be putting them in Year 6, no question: They will be with all their age peers (and no need to worry about being the oldest kids in the year as there will be plenty who are 6 months older) and they will have the chance of getting used to the different customs & practices of education here, get to know some people in time for high school, they'll get used to the rhythms of the school day/terms/year here, and so on

 

Don't look on it as putting them "back", just as looking at "finishing" is wrong

[Quoll]

Yup, what NSP said! Get rid of the notion of "repeating", "putting back", "finishing". Just put the kids with their age cohorts and go with the flow. It's a foreign country with different things and you're likely to find that a kid from UK has better developed formal skills than kids several years older but there is still scope for them to learn different things. Comparing with UK us only an issue if you plan on returning to UK!

[newtoallofthis]

Thank you everyone, it's really helpful to know that they won't be missing out or re doing anything as such, I think although they are currently both above average at school at the moment- with them adjusting to a new country and a new way of schooling it'll be worth keeping them back and let them get used to it all!

[newtoallofthis]

Also does anyone know if we would have to pay schooling fees? i cant seem to find the answer online anywhere? We will be there on a defacto partner visa...?

 

Thank you

[northshorepom]

On the presumption that it's a permanent residency visa, then no fees. I don't know which visa subclass you are coming on, so check (I believe some of the partner visas don't have residency, eg prospective partner visas, but this isn't an area I know anything about so don't quote me)

 

Fees are payable for temporary residents:

http://www.decinternational.nsw.edu.au/study/schools/temporary-residents

[newtoallofthis]

We would be on a de facto partner visa 309 i think its called....

[Millie1978]

Hi there everyone, I have a couple of questions re; schools in Sydney (Coogee) if everything goes to plan we should be moving with our two children next year, they will be 8 & 6.

 

Im just wondering how it works with the change of curriculum and term dates? Is it right that they will end up missing months of school because of this difference? Eg if they leave school in the UK at the end of december in years 2 & 4 they would start a new school year in January in years 3 & 5 because schools there start new years in january rather than september?

 

Or would they actually have to re start in the years they had started in the UK?

 

I hope this makes sense! Im very confused and really need this info asap for a court application!

 

I would really appreciate any input from people in the know or who have been through this?

 

Thank you

 

 

Hi newtoallthis....

 

We are emigrating to Sydney and leave in 6wks. We will be living in Randwick which is next door to Coogee! Our eldest son started school in sept 2015. As we will be arriving to Oz April time this year there term2 starts 4 wks after we arrive. He will be in the same year of school as he was at home only difference is, is that they start4months later than the uk. We contacted the local state primary school Randwick public school. They emailed back and confirmed us a place as our address is within the catchment area. Also the local catholic school (which has payments of around $3000per yr. they also have offered a place for us. We will go for interviews when we land and decide which school suits us best and what the schools offer.

Good luck with all your plans xx

[Captain Roberto]

We moved last July to Sydney North Shore.

 

Most of what's said here on this thread is about right.

 

My son who had just turned 6 when we arrived had nearly completed year 1 but was youngest in his class in the UK (mid July), and when we came here, the teachers suggested he go into kindy. We said 'no way' and got him in year 1, but it soon became obvious that the other kids were loads bigger and older than him, and were ahead in reading and writing (as many were nearly 8). We quickly realised that he should be with kids his own age, and they were all in kindy, so he moved down to kindy. He's now just started year 1 again in the new school year, and is still only in the middle of the age range, and many of the other kids are bigger than him now.

 

Our 2 daughters stayed in the 'same school year' - they are older and it seemed to work. The eldest was in year 7 in the uk, and had almost completed that, and had to join year 7 here half way through the year. She is born in March and is one of the youngest, but she's ok. Some of the work she'd done they hadn't yet done in Australia, but they had also covered some stuff that she hadn't. It's a different set-up, different curriculum.

 

Our younger daughter was in year 4 when we arrived, and similarly had to do half a year again, but she's ok. The biggest thing is missing her friends, making new ones.

 

I'd suggest go to the school with an open mind, and see if you can take a look in the classes. you'll get a feel for the right age mix for your kids quite quickly. Just put them in a class with the kids their own age, and you'll be ok (whatever they call it!) - like the others have said here, there's an age range, but at least around here, most people keep the kids back. It's just how it is!

 

There's also some kids who have lots of extra tuition and are ahead with most subjects... Many ambitious types, pushy parents etc - hard to say if it's a good thing or not. But basically the class will have a mixture of kids and some of them might be doing the extra work. (at least they do In Killara)