kateNollie Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Couple of questions if I might... Thanks We're planning on moving to Perth but want to plan it round our daughters schooling. Those that have made the move, would you say its best to come in UK summer holidays or wait till xmas and start the Oz school year. How do you choose a school and apply especially if you want littlen to start school as soon as possible? Are there any websites out there that can give info on whether a school is good or bad? Back here we can check ofsted reports etc. Is there something similar for Perth? Thanks for your help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 (edited) Really doesn't matter what time you arrive, kids come and go all the time. The thing to do first is to find the home you want to live in 24/7 - location to work, other facilities, other interests, availability, rental costs etc etc. If you don't want to live in a suburb, chances are you won't want to send your kid to school in the suburb. With a 7 year old it isn't that vital when they start or even which school they go to and certainly not worth planning a move around. https://www.myschool.edu.au is the general go to site for school comparisons but, really, nothing beats the eyeball test. As long as you live in a catchment area then the school is obliged to find a place for a child. If you live outside a catchment area then the school is not obliged to find a child a place but they may choose to offer a place if they have space. Always good to remember that there is roughly a parallel private system in most suburbs - usually Catholic so if you dont like the government offering you can opt for Catholic (if you have the background, usually). The schools are much of a muchness though and tend to change with periodic leadership moves. Far more important to you when moving will be - when will your job need you? where will you be working? how far are you happy to commute? etc. It's usually not a great idea to arrive just before Christmas because Australia shuts down then and if you are in the unfortunate position of not having a job to go to, you dont want to be hanging about until early Feb when people start getting their act into gear. Also, as more internal moves happen over that period, you tend to get more pressure on accommodation and competition for rentals. It really doesnt matter when a kid moves, as I said. Theoretically, you can rock up one day with visa, vaccination book and rental agreement in hot clammy little hands and expect the child to start there and then but the school usually asks for a couple of days to get organised - find a desk, shuffle a class etc. You can take your time to enrol a child in school, nobody gives a toss if they are out for a couple of months while you find somewhere you want to live. Edited November 4, 2018 by Quoll Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Bear in mind that you'll be spending your first month in a holiday home or AirBnB, and the best suburb for your famliy might actually be miles away from where you thought it would be. Unless you've lived there before, it's almost impossible to choose the right area before you arrive! If you rush your daughter into school, then find you can't afford the suburb you've chosen, or you realise you'd be much happier somewhere else, that's going to be more disruptive than letting her stay off school while you do your research. Everything will be new and exciting so I doubt very much she'll be bored. No one is going to come chasing you if she's not in school for the first month or two As Quoll says, arriving in the Australian school holidays might seem to offer a solution, but I wouldn't arrive until mid-January because so many real estate agents close down over Christmas/early January so you can't house-hunt, and employers aren't looking for staff. The British school holidays might be better because she'll be ready for a break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Albeit a while ago now, but we arrived with a 7 and 11 year old at the beginning of January. We knew the suburb we'd be moving too and been in dialogue with the school and were aware of the catchment area. We'd booked a private holiday rental for 3 months - it was fully furnished and whilst expensive - included all bills and a car to use (we got a rental discount for it being a long term rent). For us, we wanted the children to start school at the beginning of the school year. For our eldest, the school had found her a classmate who was willing to be in touch with her before she arrived. My take is that you know your children and how they might adapt - for us, it was starting the same day as everyone else. We didn't officially enrol at the school until the first day which was no issue, the uniform shop had some openings prior to the school starting. There's no right and wrong way to do it - just do what's best for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benj1980 Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 We arrived the 1st of November 2015 and the children were in school by the 4th in our desired catchment area. I felt it was important for the children to meet potential friends before the school holidays and this worked out well as they met up with children (and we met with parents/adults) during the Christmas break. The difference maybe is that we knew where we wanted to live, had an idea of the school and had researched the cost of rentals so knew affordability wouldn't be an issue. I reviewed the schools, as a teacher myself I was really interested in the data anyway! I guess the main difference was that we had been on holiday to the area a few years before so we had some sort of idea what we were doing. That said we are in South Mandurah and the house builds in that time really surprised me, places weren't quite as I remembered them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon the Hat Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 On 27/12/2018 at 23:35, benj1980 said: We arrived the 1st of November 2015 and the children were in school by the 4th in our desired catchment area. I felt it was important for the children to meet potential friends before the school holidays and this worked out well as they met up with children (and we met with parents/adults) during the Christmas break. The difference maybe is that we knew where we wanted to live, had an idea of the school and had researched the cost of rentals so knew affordability wouldn't be an issue. I reviewed the schools, as a teacher myself I was really interested in the data anyway! I guess the main difference was that we had been on holiday to the area a few years before so we had some sort of idea what we were doing. That said we are in South Mandurah and the house builds in that time really surprised me, places weren't quite as I remembered them! We are thinking similar timing, perhaps October 2019; We know where we are going to live (Applecross/Ardross/Mount Pleasant) because we lived there before and have visited 2 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benj1980 Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 If you know the area you are going to live it really isn't as daunting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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