HuwandDonna Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Hi, I was wondering what time of year is best to move over when you have two young children? We have a 4 and 7 year old and don't want them to miss out on school if at all possible. Of course, getting the visa etc etc will have a big effect on when we go but it would be good to try and plan it down to a certain month if possible. The way I see it is, they will have to 'go-back' a little because if they completed the school year in July, and we went then. Then they would be near enough in the middle of the aussie school year wouldn't they...?!!? Is that right!!?? That's not really fair on them, is it?! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cameron Clan Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Hi HuwandDonna I have been advised by friends over in Oz that have done the move and by schools that we have emailed, that, it works well if children coming from the UK or northern hemisphere finish the school year in July. Then relocate over the UK summer hols starting school in Oz in term 4 which starts in October. So our daughter will finish year 6 in UK, start in Term 4 of year 6 in Oz in October and then she will move on to year 7 in January after the long summer holiday in Oz. I think the thought behind this is it gives them time to settle, in effect repeating a term depending on curriculum covered in Uk school, and gives them time to get used to the move, say if you moved over in August or September they would have a month or two to get used to new surroundings. But more importantly they will have made friends when the long Oz summer holiday starts in December, when they are perhaps most likely going to start missing friends and family at home. Hope this helps AC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 It really doesnt matter at that age, kids come and go all the time. You dont even need to start at the beginning of a term (or a week for that matter!). Take your time and get your permanent rental sorted. There is no "repeating" because this is a foreign country with its own peculiar systems (all states are different) of education Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shusselmann Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 Whichever way you do it your children will end up having an extra term in one of their school years. A. If you leave UK schooling in July and move to Aus over the UK summer, your children will join the Australian system for the final part of the year they just finished in the UK (as suggested by Cameron Clan) OR B. You could complete the UK autumn \ winter term and move to Aus over Christmas, meaning that your children will start school at the beginning of the Australian academic year, and join the year they just left in the UK i.e. they’ve already done the autumn \ winter term of Year 2 in the UK but start school in Aus at the beginning of Year 2 again. As Quoll says, in reality they’re not repeating as curriculums differ, they’re just spending longer within one school year so that they stay with the children of their age group. Personally, I would think it’s easier for children to join a school at the start of an academic year rather than part way through a term, but kids are adaptable, I’m sure they’ll cope whatever you do. The other consideration is whether you know exactly where you’re going to work and live. December and January are slow months in Aus so if you arrived then with little idea of where to live, you may finding contacting rental agents and schools frustrating. But, if you have a good idea of where you’d like to live and can organise acommodation and schools before you arrive then I think Dec \ Jan is a good time to come. Good luck with your plans! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paednurse Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Hi all! We are hoping to be in Queensland (fingers crossed for Sunshine Coast) by around February next year. Could anyone give me an idea what year my son would attend? He is 6 this November and is currently about to finish his reception year (first year at school) in England. Am I right in thinking he will join year 2 at pretty much the beginning of the academic year? Also has anyone had a child of the same age had to do this recently? I'm a bit concerned that his has spent the last year learning to write in full cursive and using phonetics when it all may be completely different over there! Any advice very much appreciated! Thank you xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shusselmann Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Hi, My understanding is that he'd be eligible to join Year 1 in 2012, at least Year 1 would be the correct year for his age group. In Queensland children are eligible to join Year 1 if they turn 6 on or before 30 June of the academic year they join. Children in Queensland complete a non-compulsory year before Year 1 called Prep. Full details here: http://education.qld.gov.au/schools/about/enrolling.html My children are younger so I don't have direct experience of making the switch between UK and Aus schooling but Australian states often have different handwriting styles. If you search online for "Queensland handwriting style" you'll find plenty of worksheets and be able to spot the difference! All the best, Sarah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyman Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Hi, I was wondering what time of year is best to move over when you have two young children? We have a 4 and 7 year old and don't want them to miss out on school if at all possible. Of course, getting the visa etc etc will have a big effect on when we go but it would be good to try and plan it down to a certain month if possible. The way I see it is, they will have to 'go-back' a little because if they completed the school year in July, and we went then. Then they would be near enough in the middle of the aussie school year wouldn't they...?!!? Is that right!!?? That's not really fair on them, is it?! Thanks i havnt read any other post but i would get here in January ready for the new term in February and this would mean the children would have been able to spend their Christmas with the whole family ......also January is probs the best time to buy property as people are on the move to new jobs , other states or just want a change ....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 We plan to move either for the July term or the October (3rd or 4th terms in Aus). If we move for the July term we plan to take son out of school for a few weeks holiday before the end of term in the UK so he has a break before starting in Aus. If we move in Septemeber to start the 4th term he'll have the UK summer hols. This also gives us a term or two to decide if we want to push on to have him move up a year or to redo the year over. If we push for him to go up he'll be the youngest in his class pretty much probably and if we decide to have him do another 4 terms of that year he'll be one of the oldest. Either way, we know we'll have at least had a term to assess carefully how he is coping with the curriculum, settling in and so on. He'll have already done a year of reception here in the UK from 4.5 and we want to give him every chance in a new school where they start a bit later and things are done a bit differently. At the moment when we discuss it both hubby and I feel confident this is the best solution all round and will give our son the best chance to at least make a few friends before the summer hols in Aus and to work out which way to go in terms of school year the following year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Also don't think of it as 'going back' in terms of education. As Quoll said, its a different system and at that young age in many ways it can be good to be a bit ahead of others in the school year. I know hubby and I have thought long and hard as our son faces a year of reception here, then either 2 more terms of it or another 6 if he repeats for whatever reason in Aus. Depending on how he is coping, the age issue (I don't relish having a boy who is the very youngest in his year as boys tend to not do as well academically and he'd probably always struggle to compete with the older kids in sporting terms) so am happy to consider the option of him repeating reception and being the oldest in his year. I think in the long term it'll stand him in good stead. Many kids are in the same boat and doing 6 terms of reception under the current system in SA so I am not worried about it now and am happy with the way we've given ourselves options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Our eldest daughter started kindy this year and is the youngest in her class (if not the school). I actaully wanted to keep her out of school for a further year, but I gave in to pressure from family back in the UK who were concerned that she would be 'behind'. Academically she has been fine, she is pretty bright and is top of her class for reading, but for sport she is way behind the other children, some of whom are over a year older than her. I am glad that I sent her on one hand, because it was increasingly difficult for me to keep her occupied at home and she is definitely holding her own with respect to learning at school, but I am worried that always coming last in sport may start to upset her at some point. I have spoken at length to her teacher about it, and she thinks that she will be absolutely fine, but if there were any concerns at all, I would be more than happy for her to repeat a year. She only went to pre-school one day a week, and had absolutely no trouble going from that in to full time school. From my experience with the school so far, I am really happy. In the two terms that she has completed, she has gone from knowing simple words and all of her letters (taught by me at home), to being able to write a story with a beginning, middle and end. The kindy classes at her school all do literacy from 9.30 until 11.30 every morning, then other things later in the day, and it shows. I go in to class once a week to listen to the children read, and the difference in them just in the two terms has been astounding. I actually now think that there are huge benefits to sending them a little later, and I am glad that we moved to Australia and were able to send her to school a little bit later than we would have had to in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.