melaniecharlton Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Our family will hopefully be moving to Sydney in April on a 457 visa. We hope to live in the Hornsby area. My husband will be earning $90k per year. We will have to pay the higher rate of tax and full school fees on the 457 visa so there is no way we could afford this as we have 3 children. I think the only option we will have is to homeschool our kids until we gain permanent residency. Has anyone done this before? Is it difficult? Are their complications? Its not ideal as I believe kids should socialize but we have no other option and it is our dream to live in OZ. I think it may be possible to have the school fees waived if one applies however I have read that this is near impossible. Any comments or thoughts will be much appreciated. Thank you kindly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest famousfive Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 I have a good friend who has started homeschooling her kids,I will ask her for some info if you like.I would think homeschooling from the start might make the move a lot harder on the kids though,mainly in the line of making friends.I know my friends kids meet up with other homeschool kids once a week for sport,not sure if this happens everywhere,but many of these kids live a long way away and they never really see them outside of sport time.I know kids meet up at out of school activities but again this costs money.Anyway,just a thought.The move is a big one for kids and making friends at school is a major part of them settling,it was for mine anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melaniecharlton Posted January 28, 2011 Author Share Posted January 28, 2011 Oh! Thank you so much Famous Five - I would so appreciate info on homeschooling from your friend. I know its not ideal to do homeschooling as I do believe that children should interact with other kids. I think we may be able to afford my eldest going to school as she is 8 however I think I would need to homeschool my twins who are currently 3. They turn 5 on 30 July 2012. Hopefully permanent residency wont take too long. Its a pity that NSW dont charge school fees according to ones salary and ability to afford it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Have you gone down the route of trying to get the fees waived? High fees for schools deterring migrants - National - smh.com.au Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest famousfive Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 No problem,will give her a bell tomorrow and see how we go.If you can afford for the 8yr old to go to school and just have the two little ones at home it should be fine anyway because most kids here at that age are either in daycare or at home.Some of course go to pre-school but others just go straight into kindy[often due to cost] and as they are twins they will keep each other busy a lot of the time.Will send you a message with whatever info I can get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melaniecharlton Posted January 28, 2011 Author Share Posted January 28, 2011 Wow Peach. That article is soo true. I will definitely try and get the fees waived. Its worth a go at least. THANK YOU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melaniecharlton Posted January 28, 2011 Author Share Posted January 28, 2011 Wow Peach. That article is soo true. I will definitely try and get the fees waived. Its worth a go at least. THANK YOU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caramac Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Have you contacted NSW education dept yet? A friend of mine home schooled her daughter for a few months at the end of last year and said the support she got from them was really good. There was always someone on hand to give help and advice. Might be worth a try if you don't get anywhere with getting the fees waived.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melaniecharlton Posted January 28, 2011 Author Share Posted January 28, 2011 Hi Caramac. I have not contacted NSW yet but once I get to Sydney I will definitely get on the case. We will have to show them all sorts of paperwork. Thanks for letting me know they are supportive with home schooling - puts my mind at ease Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizzy27 Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 You could also go down the route of sending her to a catholic private school, where the fees are about $2000 a year. Were on a 457, hubby works in Hornsby & we send our 2 kids to a catholic school. They are aware were on a 457 visa, but don't make us pay anything more than the standard fee. I think going private is a way to not pay the governement the fee each year for a public school. On 90k a year, you could easily afford a catholic school. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizzy27 Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Ps. There's Also a discount for subsequent kids. Ie: 20% off for 2nd child & 50% for third and free for 4th child etc.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melaniecharlton Posted January 28, 2011 Author Share Posted January 28, 2011 Wow Lizzy, I just thought that a catholic private school was either about the same price or more. I didnt realise they were that cheap. That is brilliant. Does one have to be catholic or religious to go to a school like that? We are a family of brights ie: (atheists) The Brights' Net - Home Page and I am not too keen on religion being preached to my kids. Are they very religious or is it only in name? THANK YOU however for this valued information, much appreciated. xx Mel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Wow Lizzy,I just thought that a catholic private school was either about the same price or more. I didnt realise they were that cheap. That is brilliant. Does one have to be catholic or religious to go to a school like that? We are a family of brights ie: (atheists) The Brights' Net - Home Page and I am not too keen on religion being preached to my kids. Are they very religious or is it only in name? THANK YOU however for this valued information, much appreciated. xx Mel LOL the Catholics are really Catholic although they do take non Catholics into their education system. As avowed atheists you will probably find it uncomfortable. Parents - Board of Studies NSW is the page you need to start getting organized to be registered for home schooling, As your twins dont turn 5 until the very end of July 2012 they are within 1 day of the cut off and so you probably wouldnt be looking to put them into school until 2013 anyway by which time you may well have permanent residence so you probably arent going to need to worry about them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melaniecharlton Posted January 28, 2011 Author Share Posted January 28, 2011 Oh! Wow Quoll - Thank you so much for that useful link. I dont think a Catholic school would be suited to our family. I do hope residency will come before 2013. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizzy27 Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Even public schools they teach religion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Even public schools they teach religion. You can opt out of those lessons though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizzy27 Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Not in the public schools round here you can't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melaniecharlton Posted January 29, 2011 Author Share Posted January 29, 2011 Oh! I dont mind my kids being taught religion. In the UK they teach religion too but they teach all the religions not just christianity. Its good to know about the world religions to make ones own mind up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caramac Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 In most schools you can. I don't mind my children being taught about religion as it has such a big influence on the world. They learn about different religions and belief structures and how they fit in the world, which builds tolerance and understanding, but, not being religious ourselves, I wouldn't want to send them to a faith school where the emphasis is on one belief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shereen de Silva Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 You could also go down the route of sending her to a catholic private school, where the fees are about $2000 a year. Were on a 457, hubby works in Hornsby & we send our 2 kids to a catholic school. They are aware were on a 457 visa, but don't make us pay anything more than the standard fee. I think going private is a way to not pay the governement the fee each year for a public school. On 90k a year, you could easily afford a catholic school. Hope this helps. Dear Izzy, which suburb is the catholic school located in? I am currently paying $5000 per year to the dept. plus school fees :mad: Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Dear Izzy, which suburb is the catholic school located in? I am currently paying $5000 per year to the dept. plus school fees :mad: Thanks This is an old thread but you'll find schools in most parishes - Google is your friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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