Primary school age children moving from UK to Aus

[Cheery Thistle]

Some of the attitudes towards education on this forum are very strange. As an ex teacher with more than 10 years experience I can tell you the role of the school (or indeed which class or year group your child is in) is much much less important and influential than the home environment. Some people are overly hung up on this. 
My preference would be for my child to be in with the appropriate age group. If a younger child is placed in with an older age group, gaps in maturity and readiness can quite often appear further up the school, even when a student appears to be thriving early on. School is about a lot more than academics. In fact, in many ways, academics are not the most important aspect of school life! 

[Marisawright]

5 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said:

Some of the attitudes towards education on this forum are very strange ....My preference would be for my child to be in with the appropriate age group. If a younger child is placed in with an older age group, gaps in maturity and readiness can quite often appear further up the school, even when a student appears to be thriving early on. School is about a lot more than academics. In fact, in many ways, academics are not the most important aspect of school life! 

If you read this whole thread, you'll notice that every single poster (except the OP) agrees with you.   I've been here long enough to know, that reflects the advice given here 99% of the time.

[Cheery Thistle]

9 hours ago, Marisawright said:

If you read this whole thread, you'll notice that every single poster (except the OP) agrees with you.   I've been here long enough to know, that reflects the advice given here 99% of the time.

 Aye, but elsewhere on the forum we also have a lady seemingly experiencing analysis paralysis over a move back to Perth due to the apparent impact it may have on her (young) children’s schooling. 

Folk need to calm down. A lot of how well your bairn will do at school is not related to the school. It’s more related to their own ability/motivation and your parental expectations/support levels. School environment can definitely enhance this but it’s certainly not the be all/end all. Positive home environment and parental support trumps an amazing school every time. 

[Marisawright]

3 minutes ago, Cheery Thistle said:

 Aye, but elsewhere on the forum we also have a lady seemingly experiencing analysis paralysis over a move back to Perth due to the apparent impact it may have on her (young) children’s schooling. 

Folk need to calm down. A lot of how well your bairn will do at school is not related to the school. It’s more related to their own ability/motivation and your parental expectations/support levels. School environment can definitely enhance this but it’s certainly not the be all/end all. Positive home environment and parental support trumps an amazing school every time. 

Absolutely, and everyone on that other thread was trying to reassure the poor woman that she was worrying about nothing.   I suspect she's using it as an excuse for her anxiety, and that's not the real reason that's holding her back. 

[ramot]

1 hour ago, Cheery Thistle said:

 Aye, but elsewhere on the forum we also have a lady seemingly experiencing analysis paralysis over a move back to Perth due to the apparent impact it may have on her (young) children’s schooling. 

Folk need to calm down. A lot of how well your bairn will do at school is not related to the school. It’s more related to their own ability/motivation and your parental expectations/support levels. School environment can definitely enhance this but it’s certainly not the be all/end all. Positive home environment and parental support trumps an amazing school every time. 

Whereas in an ideal world, it probably is best to stay in one educational system, but life isn’t necessarily that simple.  
Ok many years ago, I was an army brat, first  went to primary school in Germany, followed by 4 different primary schools in England. WOW I survived, certainly made me tough and adaptable.    
My 3 children like thousands of children who had  a  parent in the services, and or living as expats, have had to cope wth regular school changes. My daughter had the most disruptive schooling out of our three. Went from comprehensive, to boarding school, to change of boarding school halfway through GCSE’s with different boards, won’t go into the circumstances. Passed all exams, A levels and then university. both of the older two also coped well, and went to University.   
With very few exceptions, all my friends children likewise did well, despite coping with difficult circumstances.
i genuinely think children are more resilient than we give them credit for, and as others mention parental influence and support is the most important factor.
 

Edited September 10 by ramot

[EatCheese]

11 hours ago, Marisawright said:

If you read this whole thread, you'll notice that every single poster (except the OP) agrees with you.   I've been here long enough to know, that reflects the advice given here 99% of the time.

That may be so, but my son's school principal and now his high school principal for next year, both of whom have interviewed him, do not agree. Both think he is in the appropriate year and placed him in the appropriate year, which is 1 year ahead of where he would be following the AU date of birth system. 

To be honest, I'm unimpressed by suggestions that he is somehow going to suffer because of some "age gap". He is 8 days over the AU state school year cut off and about 2 weeks younger than the next person in his class. Am I to believe suggestions that because of a 2 week difference in age, he should be repeating an entire year. 

[Cheery Thistle]

1 hour ago, EatCheese said:

That may be so, but my son's school principal and now his high school principal for next year, both of whom have interviewed him, do not agree. Both think he is in the appropriate year and placed him in the appropriate year, which is 1 year ahead of where he would be following the AU date of birth system. 

To be honest, I'm unimpressed by suggestions that he is somehow going to suffer because of some "age gap". He is 8 days over the AU state school year cut off and about 2 weeks younger than the next person in his class. Am I to believe suggestions that because of a 2 week difference in age, he should be repeating an entire year. 

Look, my daughter is a Feb birthday which is around the cut off for schools (in Scotland). So, we could have sent her to school at 4 and a half or deferred a year and sent her at 5 and a half. 
I was on the fence but basically everyone I spoke to who had deferred and their kids had another year at nursery had no regrets, whereas some who had sent them at 4 said that the lack of maturity started showing around the age of 14 or 15 and some of them started struggling with exams etc. 

This is not to say this is what will happen to your child/children. But it is definitely a thing. I just let my girl have an extra year at nursery and have no regrets. She is one of the oldest in her school class and in theory could be in the year above age-wise. Yours will probably be fine and it’s an individual decision. I just think in general people (particularly from the UK) are far too hung up on schools/ages/progress etc. In Europe they mostly don’t start formal school until the age of 7 and those countries seem to manage fine! 

[ramot]

1 hour ago, EatCheese said:

That may be so, but my son's school principal and now his high school principal for next year, both of whom have interviewed him, do not agree. Both think he is in the appropriate year and placed him in the appropriate year, which is 1 year ahead of where he would be following the AU date of birth system. 

To be honest, I'm unimpressed by suggestions that he is somehow going to suffer because of some "age gap". He is 8 days over the AU state school year cut off and about 2 weeks younger than the next person in his class. Am I to believe suggestions that because of a 2 week difference in age, he should be repeating an entire year. 

There has to be a cut off date, even though it’s  never going to suit everyone. If an exception is made for two weeks, then next time someone will argue, that their child is only two weeks on from that date that was allowed, the rules can’t be changed to suit one person.

 

 

[EatCheese]

2 hours ago, ramot said:

There has to be a cut off date, even though it’s  never going to suit everyone. If an exception is made for two weeks, then next time someone will argue, that their child is only two weeks on from that date that was allowed, the rules can’t be changed to suit one person.

 

 

Evidently the rules were changed, as my son is in Year 6 and not in Year 5 based on his birthdate. I don’t see what is so hard to understand about: 

- the school principal being aware of my son’s birthdat

- the principal being aware of his year level in the UK 

- the principal deciding that he should not repeat a year and instead go into a year above what he would be in, based on his birthdate

 

I can see you don’t agree, so as I’ve said he is in a Catholic school. would you like to write to Sydney Catholic Schools and advise them that you know better than they do, better than the school principal knows and my son should be moved back down to Year 5?

 

 

 

[tea4too]

3 hours ago, EatCheese said:

Evidently the rules were changed, as my son is in Year 6 and not in Year 5 based on his birthdate. I don’t see what is so hard to understand about: 

- the school principal being aware of my son’s birthdat

- the principal being aware of his year level in the UK 

- the principal deciding that he should not repeat a year and instead go into a year above what he would be in, based on his birthdate

 

I can see you don’t agree, so as I’ve said he is in a Catholic school. would you like to write to Sydney Catholic Schools and advise them that you know better than they do, better than the school principal knows and my son should be moved back down to Year 5?

 

 

 

You know your child, you want what you feel is best for him and took steps to make that happen. In sharing your story other like minded parents may feel more comfortable in checking out their options too, which isn't a bad thing. Forum members are a broad cross section of people of different ages, experience, preferences and priorities, and it's inevitable to some extent that much of those characteristics are reflected in thread replies. However, most people are not looking to criticise when they post, it is simply an opinion being shared, but without tone or body language the written word can seem more abrupt or critical than intended. I'm sure the poster asking for your update appreciates the fact that you took the time to respond.  Tx 

[Quoll]

13 hours ago, EatCheese said:

That may be so, but my son's school principal and now his high school principal for next year, both of whom have interviewed him, do not agree. Both think he is in the appropriate year and placed him in the appropriate year, which is 1 year ahead of where he would be following the AU date of birth system. 

To be honest, I'm unimpressed by suggestions that he is somehow going to suffer because of some "age gap". He is 8 days over the AU state school year cut off and about 2 weeks younger than the next person in his class. Am I to believe suggestions that because of a 2 week difference in age, he should be repeating an entire year. 

Had he been in ACT or Victoria he’d have been 3months younger than his year cohort. You’re lucky to have been in NSW or there’d have been no chance and quite rightly so.  Unis complain that they’re getting kids too young, especially from NSW, they can’t cope. 
The idea that kids are “repeating” a year just because the school year name may be the same, is silly. They’re in a foreign country with a different curriculum. They’re repeating nothing because they’ve not done it before.

Edited September 10 by Quoll

[rtritudr]

On 09/09/2024 at 20:28, EatCheese said:

When we left London in Dec 2023, my son has completed all of Year 5 and 1 term of Year 6. 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the British system started with Year 1 at the age of five, and finishes with Year 13 at the age of seventeen?

The Australian system on the other hand starts with Year 1 at the age of six, and finishes with Year 12 at the age of seventeen.  So naively I'd thought to switch from the British system to the Australian system, you'd have to go back by one year (and forward one year if you switch the other way).

Of course the curriculum might be completely different to make this comparison valid.

[EatCheese]

2 hours ago, Quoll said:

The idea that kids are “repeating” a year just because the school year name may be the same, is silly. They’re in a foreign country with a different curriculum. They’re repeating nothing because they’ve not done it before.

It would be a repeat of a year.

My daughter went from Year 8 in London, to Year 8 in Sydney. No repeat. 

If I followed the advice on this thread, my son would have gone from Year 6 in London, to Year 5 in Sydney, but I'm to believe that going from UK y8 -> AU y8 is not a repeat as the year numbers suggest whereas going from UK y6 -> AU y5, well that wouldn't be a repeat of a year either, because of "curriculum" and "reasons"

So how about this scenario: had we moved to Australia in January 2025, not January 2024. My son would then have completed 4 months of year 7 high school in London. Following the advice on this thread, on arrival in Australia, he should not have gone into high school but done the repeat which is not a repeat of year 6 primary. 

The curriculum in UK and AU is similar. If it wasn't similar, both kids would now be having difficulty with their school work, due to not having done the "repeat which isn't a repeat" of a year. They are not having difficulty with their school work. 

[Quoll]

3 hours ago, rtritudr said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the British system started with Year 1 at the age of five, and finishes with Year 13 at the age of seventeen?

The Australian system on the other hand starts with Year 1 at the age of six, and finishes with Year 12 at the age of seventeen.  So naively I'd thought to switch from the British system to the Australian system, you'd have to go back by one year (and forward one year if you switch the other way).

Of course the curriculum might be completely different to make this comparison valid.

There is one year less school in Australia. 13 years compared with 14 in UK if you include the Kindergarten/Prep or whatever it is called.  It evens out by Uni honours where you can get honours at a UK uni in 3 years but in Australia it takes 4 years.  The age they start is different too so kids are more likely to start full time school at 4 in UK whereas it will be a small cohort which are still 4 by the start of school.  The systems are different - heck the systems across states are different, end of school assessments are different across states and content of curriculum is different across states, writing styles are different across states.  We could actually do with a common cut off date for school entry and a few consistencies tbh.

[Quoll]

2 hours ago, EatCheese said:

It would be a repeat of a year.

My daughter went from Year 8 in London, to Year 8 in Sydney. No repeat. 

If I followed the advice on this thread, my son would have gone from Year 6 in London, to Year 5 in Sydney, but I'm to believe that going from UK y8 -> AU y8 is not a repeat as the year numbers suggest whereas going from UK y6 -> AU y5, well that wouldn't be a repeat of a year either, because of "curriculum" and "reasons"

So how about this scenario: had we moved to Australia in January 2025, not January 2024. My son would then have completed 4 months of year 7 high school in London. Following the advice on this thread, on arrival in Australia, he should not have gone into high school but done the repeat which is not a repeat of year 6 primary. 

The curriculum in UK and AU is similar. If it wasn't similar, both kids would now be having difficulty with their school work, due to not having done the "repeat which isn't a repeat" of a year. They are not having difficulty with their school work. 

It probably more depends on birth date with respect to cut off.  Your year 5/6 kid has an August birthday which would be way out of whack in most states but in NSW it's potentially a few days out (same would happen for my grandson should he move here, he would be starting year 6 in UK this week but in Aus would have a term and a half o year 4 to complete) - and August kids are the youngest in their UK year.  So it isnt the content of the curriculum or the work that is completed it is where the kid actually sits with respect to their age cohort. If they have not done a year in Australia they cannot possibly repeat it!  Whether they may have covered some of the work - well, yes, there is a degree of commonality because the aim of first world education is to teach reading, writing and arithmetic  but not necessarily in step year by year and there are random esoterics which would have been covered at some point in one system which may never be covered in the other or may be covered at a different point of time.  As I said, you were lucky that you were a few days off cut off for NSW which has the latest cut off.  If you had been in any other state they wouldnt have looked at a little bend of the rules unless you came up with a psychometric battery which proved profound giftedness and a parallel adaptive behaviour and social/emotional checklist to prove well out of age capacity.

[Cheery Thistle]

I think I just feel most of this has gone out the window after the Covid experience. 
My daughter spent the best part of a year and a half at home. Pre-Covid they were telling me she maybe needed support with her reading (I was skeptical). After spending all that time at home she returned to school with a reading age 9 months more advanced than her chronological age. 
I didn’t have that much faith in school before this happened and basically lost what was left after it! 
My daughter goes to school for education but also for the craic and the carry on with her pals! 
Kids advance and progress at different rates. Good teachers should be able to cater for this in either direction. 

[Jules83]

On 10/09/2024 at 08:37, Cheery Thistle said:

 Aye, but elsewhere on the forum we also have a lady seemingly experiencing analysis paralysis over a move back to Perth due to the apparent impact it may have on her (young) children’s schooling. 

Folk need to calm down. A lot of how well your bairn will do at school is not related to the school. It’s more related to their own ability/motivation and your parental expectations/support levels. School environment can definitely enhance this but it’s certainly not the be all/end all. Positive home environment and parental support trumps an amazing school every time. 

Hi, 

I just read this post and I was happy to be mentioned in it Yes , you are correct I developed analysis paralysis regarding this move. You’ve hit the nail  in the head. I’ve over thought every little detail and I shouldn’t have. 
I also agree with you the home environment is extremely  important part of a child’s success in life. I can say my children are happy, confident intelligent because of the strong family unit we have. They have been homeschooled by me during covid and I sit time I am actively involved in homework’s etc.

 I just need to clarify I was not comparing education systems as such , I would be quite happy for my children to be in a group with their similar aged children regardless of how advanced they might be. I agree with you.
My issue was that I was afraid of being pinging and how would my children cope if we moved back to uk system in 2-3 years. 

 

[Jules83]

On 10/09/2024 at 08:41, Marisawright said:

Absolutely, and everyone on that other thread was trying to reassure the poor woman that she was worrying about nothing.   I suspect she's using it as an excuse for her anxiety, and that's not the real reason that's holding her back. 

Hi 

I just saw this thread. It’s an interesting one. I just wanted to say there’s nothing else holding me back from this move only I have a fear of pinging, unfortunately I don’t want to expose my children to this. I have no concerns re Australian education , it’s fantastic from what I see and wonderful it we stay permanently.