Primary Schools better in the UK or Aus, cant decide

[jewels&john]

Hi everybody,

 

Wonder if anyone can tell me their opinion on schooling.

 

We emigrated ou to Australia, October 2009, to The Sunshine Coast, Qld.

My little boy was in year 1 in the UK,he attended an excellent state school, with very high standards. I feel that the schooling here is not up to the uk standards, my thoughts wonder day to day as this is a decision to either return back to the uk or stay here, I dont know if its because they are behind the uk or they are simply not good here, we need to do whats best for our little boy.

Anyway let me know your thoughts, may help me decide what to do.

[Guest gary12]

Wow, this one will open a whole can of worms and I am not sure that any responses will make it any easier for you to decide. Lots here think it's better, others think it is from the arc. It is just different here, the children start later some almost 3 years later so yes they will be deemed to be behind a child of the same age in the UK but then they stay on past 16 here.

 

I would be speaking to your school in the first instance, I wouldn't be happy either with the situation you describe.

 

I, from my experience have found that it is not so much result related ie OFSTEAD and they don't seem to "pitch" schools against each other like I found in the UK although NAPLAN may change that.

 

I haven't on the whole experienced children running riot anymore than I did in the UK.

 

It's a tough choice and one that only you as a family can make, to stay or return to the UK. Big choice!

 

regards

Michelle

[Quoll]

They even out by the end of honours both in terms of internationally accepted transferability and also number of school years completed.

 

I cant say that I am much impressed by the Aus system and have kept an eye on what is happening locally and also on what is happening where my friends and rellies and their kids are in UK. On balance I would say more rigor in UK schools and higher expectations. Less teaching and more independent learning and experimentation in Aus schools - which is fine if you have a competent, self motivated student.

 

I certainly wasnt impressed by what I saw happening in local gov schools and paid through the nose for my kids to have a private education - not regretted for one instant and my Aus educated son is now doing very well in UK - as I said, after uni honours all is pretty much equal.

[Guest mozziebite]

Hi there - I think you have to make your own minds up on this one and it is hard, especially as he is settling in and making friends and you are probably loath to move him. Having said that ,it may be easier to consider changing schools than considering heading back home because of this one issue?

 

I have found the (public) primary school near us excellent, couldn't fault it. Lots going on, sports, camps, far more than in the UK state school. The children who find the mainstream work given out easy are challenged with extra 'harder' work. At first I did worry that my 10 year old wasn't being challenged (mind he thought it was great whizzing through all of his homework) but the school should hopefully pick up on the level they are at.....or go and speak to them. I suppose at the end of the day him being happy and settled was just as important as his education, after a big move abroad his happiness was and still is more important. I would speak to the school, perhaps they think they are a little too young (Year 1 is only about 5-6?) to force them to do the work but I can see why you are disappointed if you are paying for his education at a private school. My son has just sat his NAPLAn tests in Yr 5 and what a difference to when his older brother did SATs in the UK, no pressure, no build up, just as it should be with kids this age (but thats just my opinion!)

 

Hand on heart though, I have found the kids in Australia better behaved and more polite on the whole!

[Guest brownfamily]

I think that this is a bit of a difficult one to answer! From my perspective both of my kids attend the local state school here on the Sunshine Coast and I have to say that I have found that their schools (both Primary & Secondary) have been far better than their schools in England. My son is in an 'accelerated program' so I think that the teachers here tend to recognise abilities and try and stretch the students. They have homework/assignments each night and having spoken to my kids they have both said that they find their teachers more approachable here in Oz.

 

Since my time in Oz I have worked in a state school and in a private school (not in teaching - but in administration) and have found the 'atmosphere' to be generally happier than the schools I worked at in England.

 

But without a shadow of a doubt I think that the kids here in Australia are far better behaved than the kids in England (on the whole!)

 

Hope this helps.

 

Heather

[calNgary]

I tend to agree with mossiebite, that everyones opinion will be different so your dilema is only really something you can sort out as only you know whats best for your child.

 

Children behave in different ways regardless of which country they are in. My son was a handful in the UK and is still a handful here both at home and at school. In all fairness to the school he has had alot of one on one time with teachers trying to work through his issues and i am very grateful to them for this. My daughter is in her 2nd year at the same state school and is absolutely thriving. I couldve blamed the education system or the teachers here for my sons behaviour but on seeing my daughters performance in the same enviroment i really struggle to fault the teachers or the way they teach.I dont think this because Oz education/teachers are better or because the UK was better i think its because my children have their own personalitys and they are different.

If you are unhappy with the school ,have a look around at others in the area to see if you think the teaching styles are different or the kids better behaved etc.

 

Good Luck and i hope you can find somwhere your happy with.

Cal x

[ali]

I don't think either is better or worse they just seem to have a different emphasis .. and as Quoll said at the end of the day it all evens out. Your child will achieve in an environment they are happy in and which stimulates them. We have found that it is us as parents who have had to change and be more relaxed. I too worried that my son wasn't getting homework, but when I look back in the UK he was getting 2 or 3 double side A4 sheets every friday in year one. My hubby was horrified the first time he dropped him off here in Aus, my son just dumped his bag and walking into the class room ... in the UK they rang a bell for everyone to stand still, rang the bell to line up in classes and then they'd troop off like little soldiers into class ... so regimented and when I think ... exactly what I had to do (except there was a boys yard and a girls yard) oh so many years ago.

 

I've found since I relaxed about home work etc., and paid attention to what my children were being taught I'm happy with what they're doing. They're happy, they like going to school and they're learning.

 

My children are chalk and cheese and have both found a niche within the system here

[Guest chris955]

Again I think this is one of those subjects that is just too broad to come to any realistic conclusions, it depends on the area, the school, the teachers and even the kids themselves. Our 2 are bright boys and doing well and no doubt would do well in the UK as well. I do find the approach a bit too relaxed and almost haphazard in the way they do things here.

I can't say I have seen much difference in the way kids behave, we lived in a good area in the UK and a good one here so there is no real reason for them to be any different I suppose.

[Guest treesea]

We sent our children to private school (primary) in Australia. I found their teaching style quite relaxed. They certainly weren't into pushing the children. I doubt if the parents would have appreciated it. But I don't think my children learnt as much in Australia as they have here. My son, after 4 years of state education in Scotland, is way ahead of where his sister was at the same stage in Australia. The (state) schools here in Scotland have a tougher approach to education, imho. Lots of targets, lots of pressure to perform, it's go, go, go all the time.

 

Having said that, the drop out rates from school here, of children who don't go onto a higher education, because there isn't sufficient funding to fund higher education places for all who want them, is huge compared to Australia. At least in Australia pretty much everyone who wants a higher education can get it. Sure you have to pay for it, through HECS, once you get a job, but at least everyone who wants to go onto college or university, assuming they get sufficient marks, gets a place. Not so here, especially in England. You could have five A levels and still not get offered a higher education place.

[alimay68]

My kids attended school in the UK for 4 months in 2008/09 in my hometown in Staffordshire and personally I found the kids generally 'calmer' there than here. Yes, the system is far more regimented over there, whilst being very relaxed here - sometimes too relaxed! My son is in Year 6 and has been completely bored at lunch-times this year. He's not a football player and is sick of tiggy games. We're moving back to the UK next week and he can't wait to go back to the middle school over there, where, not only is the library open every lunch-time for quiet time/reading, but there are copious lunch-time clubs to try out....

 

Give us 6 months though and we might all be craving the relaxed nature of Aussie schools!!!!!!

[Guest guest22466]

I found the primary schools in the UK more strict and structured . If you bring your children over from the UK you will find they are well ahead of the Australian children of that year...not a bad thing as they will be top of the class here in Australia.

 

I put it also down to the fact that in the UK the child will often go to the same school in kindergarten for 2 years part time prior (which is free of charge 15hours a week) before they start that primary school in the UK. In Australia those 2 years are left to private kindergarten / childcare schools which can be expensive and not always educational. Just my observation over the years.

[Guest lifeinmono]

Hi everybody,

 

Wonder if anyone can tell me their opinion on schooling.

 

We emigrated ou to Australia, October 2009, to The Sunshine Coast, Qld.

My little boy was in year 1 in the UK,he attended an excellent state school, with very high standards. I feel that the schooling here is not up to the uk standards, my thoughts wonder day to day as this is a decision to either return back to the uk or stay here, I dont know if its because they are behind the uk or they are simply not good here, we need to do whats best for our little boy.

Anyway let me know your thoughts, may help me decide what to do.

 

Contrary to what some UK-bashers will try to tell you there is NO definitive answer to this. I have not taught primary but have taught secondary level in both UK and Australia and my main impression was how very similar everything was. Truly. Curriculum, behaviour, application, bullying, teacher skill....absolutely everything.

 

There are those who are convinced the UK is always worse than Australia with these things but they are not correct.

[Conniebygaslight]

I find to be honest it totally depends- I have a child in year 2 but should be in year 1 with the system here (although she was already in yr 2 in Uk before we arrived) she is way ahead of all her class. So is my son who is in year 4 here and would be in year 3 in UK.

 

I do however think that if you get a good teacher (here or UK) it can make a world of difference- My son's teachers here are excellent but my daughters is dreadful.

 

I also have a 3rd child who would be ready to start Prep here in Jan (but we are returning) and she seems infront too.

 

I o belive that it evens itself out later on but if your child has started any education in the Uk it can be hard to adjust.

 

The one thing I have noticed is that every single topic/story my youngest & middle child learn about seems to be based around Australia/the bush/ute's/kangaroos/wombats etc and that can be very grating-they also sing the national anthem from a very young age which is a strange thing to get your head around. I do worry that the Oz system equips for life only in Oz (as my much older neices & nephews seem very insular)

[Guest chris955]

Yes the insular nature of Australia is one of the things I find hard to come to grips with, much like America in that way.

[Guest lifeinmono]

I find to be honest it totally depends- I have a child in year 2 but should be in year 1 with the system here (although she was already in yr 2 in Uk before we arrived) she is way ahead of all her class. So is my son who is in year 4 here and would be in year 3 in UK.

 

I do however think that if you get a good teacher (here or UK) it can make a world of difference- My son's teachers here are excellent but my daughters is dreadful.

 

I also have a 3rd child who would be ready to start Prep here in Jan (but we are returning) and she seems infront too.

 

I o belive that it evens itself out later on but if your child has started any education in the Uk it can be hard to adjust.

 

The one thing I have noticed is that every single topic/story my youngest & middle child learn about seems to be based around Australia/the bush/ute's/kangaroos/wombats etc and that can be very grating-they also sing the national anthem from a very young age which is a strange thing to get your head around. I do worry that the Oz system equips for life only in Oz (as my much older neices & nephews seem very insular)

 

This is true. I have often been surprised by wife's lack of knowledge of world history. She says a lot of it was simply NEVER covered in school. I'm talking the two World Wars, American civil rights, European history etc. They focussed on Aussie-specific stuff all the time. Fair enough up to a point but not really a comprehensive education.

 

One of the big reasons why Aussies are so patriotic and CONVINCED that their country is best (and unable to imagine living abroad) is that they are BROUGHT UP TO THINK THAT from a very young age. It's built into their education system. A sort of indoctrination, if you like. Like you say, the singing of the national anthem all the time from the moment they can speak virtually. It's very parochial and at times jingoistic. I remember reading about American isolationism and this seems to be rampant in Australia. I accept that the geographical location of Australia makes this inevitable to a certain extent but they do seem to run with this idea at times.

[Conniebygaslight]

This is true. I have often been surprised by wife's lack of knowledge of world history. She says a lot of it was simply NEVER covered in school. They focussed on Aussie-specific stuff all the time. Fair enough up to a point but not really a comprehensive education.

 

Most of our Aussie family that live here say that it is a real insular place and since we've been here my Aussie Husband cannot believe it- it's just what you are used to I guess- but for us too great a price for that yellow ball in the sky.

[Guest lifeinmono]

Most of our Aussie family that live here say that it is a real insular place and since we've been here my Aussie Husband cannot believe it- it's just what you are used to I guess- but for us too great a price for that yellow ball in the sky.

 

I cannot help but find Australia insular and parochial in its attitudes and general atmosphere.

 

That's why it feels so 1950's here. The sort of smallness of the mentality.

[Conniebygaslight]

I cannot help but find Australia insular and parochial in its attitudes and general atmosphere.

 

That's why it feels so 1950's here. The sort of smallness of the mentality.

 

Yes I actually find it rather eerie to be honest- lots of houses but where are all the people.....

[mrsindecision]

Can't really comment on primary education - I know my kids benefitted from a suberb secondary education in the UK but the regimentation didn't suit both of them - although they both draw extensively on their wide general knowledge ( history, geography, languages etc) and ability to analyse infromation and intepret information.

 

With NAPLAN and myschool league tables already in train it would seem Australia is going the way of the UK but in area the UK is now dropping. I work wiht schools where they think differentiated learning ( same topic different levels for different abilities) is something new - I spoke to an English teacher from a good school in Canberra who said they are introducing concepts that she was teaching ten years ago in UK. However the relaxed approach can work really well for some kids. I cant wait to get my chilled out teenager back to some hard graft and clear expectations before she drifts into a world of few aspirations.

 

To the OP you do have time on your side and if you can afford it perhaps should look at some private schools but choose wisely otherwsie you could be wasting your money.