reesim06

Hi all,

We're looking at moving to Nova Scotia in August for about 3 years, and have hit a little hurdle with regards to kids schooling. Apologies if this has come up before, i'm posting before searching!

Our kids are in Foundation and Year 1 in England, and due to birth dates, would apparently be entering pre-school and year 1 in September in Canada! This would not only, in my limited-knowledge opinion, be a step back.. But would mean they would be a year behind upon our return in 2018...

The eldest was born 10 March 2009, the youngest 8 July 2010.

Anyone have any input on this? I'm going to be looking into getting them graded on the Canadian syllabus so they can go into a year relative to their current learning level...

reesim06

Temporary?

I think I should go back to school, perhaps!

Tirytory

I always took the opinion that I would rather settle my son in socially as a move like this is quite hard on them than worry about them facing academic challenges as well as social and cultural ones.

Bare in mind that if you take them out of their school now you might not get them back in. We were only thinking a year and my son lost his place at a good school with all other good schools full to the brim. We were offered a place at the worst primary school... And even the private school was full. We stayed here!!! Just something to think about as I was reassured by the headmaster it wasn't a problem and go have a life experience.

reesim06

Thanks for the post

Assuming I get the final "go" from the boss, we will be there for the start of school in September.

...and I WILL be back during the school holidays 2018. So if they don't go in at the right school year over there, they will be a year behind when they return here at the age of 8/9.

SchnookoLoly

Read this article from the wiki - School Age Categories-Canada : British Expat Wiki

So your eldest is turning 6 this year, and your youngest is turning 5 this year.

So yes, you have your grades correct. It's not a "step back", per se - it's just a difference in how age-to-grade is calculated in Canada vs the UK. If your kids had been born after September, they'd be a year back, and would "line up" better with Canada.

You can try speaking to the school board when you arrive, they may choose to put your children ahead a year... but as TiryTory said it's more important to help them get settled and adjusted as opposed to getting too worked up about where they fit in school. I think it might be quite a bit tougher for, for example, the eldest to go into Grade 2 and then to try to adjust to a new life while being a full year younger than all his/her classmates. The differences between age groups when they're that young is pretty big.

Teaandtoday5

When we came to Canada 3 years ago my youngest was 8, and had just finished Primary 3 (in Scotland). She went into grade 3 here, which effectively sounds like 'repeating' a year. One of the main things they learn in early years of school is, obviously, reading. I was shocked when she was assessed a couple of points below the expected level (level 26 rather than 28 I think) on their very detailed reading scale, she had always been doing fine in Scotland, but I was assured she would soon 'catch up', and she did.

At the same school I volunteered to read with SK kids (second year of kindergarten, just before grade 1) so equivalent to the first year of primary in Scotland, and was amazed at how well they could read compared to what I remembered from doing something similar in Scotland.

I understand how you feel about going 'back' a year. I was about my oldest going back to elementary grade 8 when he'd already done a year of secondary school, but it's all worked out ok. There is a lot of talk on this forum about how bad Canadian education is but, from what I've seen, I wouldn't expect your kids, at their ages, to be miles behind their peers when you return. (Someone will be along shortly to disagree....)

Good luck, hope it all goes smoothly.

reesim06

I'm most worried that they'll be returning post KS1 SATs and not long before their KS2 SATs.

We need to ensure they are at the same level of schooling as they would be for when we return to the UK. Reading the Year 1 syllabus, it's things that my elder child can already do, but would be made to do again. He'd be returning after his 9th birthday potentially a year behind with regards to the UK system, 18 months before sitting some fairly important tests.

Teaandtoday5

never thought I'd say this but thank (insert fictional deity here) we lived in Scotland! What are the consequences of failing or doing poorly in a test taken at age 10? Serious question.

reesim06

They are designed to set up their following years of education... Do poorly in them and they expect you to be an under-acheiver in the future requiring more support and being (potentially) placed in the lower-tier of a grade. Do well and you go in the top groups.

In simple terms...

SchnookoLoly

Don't get caught up thinking that Grade 1 in Canada is the same as Year 1 in the UK - that may well not be the case. The curricula will be slightly different. Even in the equivalent grades there will be some stuff that they know how to do and some stuff they do not. Either way there will be a bit of catch up, regardless of how you cut it.

You can always speak to the school to get their input. You aren't the first and won't be the last to be enrolling kids who come from different school systems.

rivingtonpike

Be aware as well that many classes in Canada are split grades - where you have, for example, Grade 2 and Grade 3 pupils in the same class with the same teacher, but not necessarily doing the same level work at the same time. I'm not sure why you think, after 3 years Canadian education, your kids would be a year behind? The number of the grade/year would be different, but so what? Surely when they return to the UK they would be put back into the appropriate year groups for their respective ages.

Of course in that 3 year period they'll have learned different things to their UK peers, but so what? My youngest currently has a tank of 250 Coho Salmon in her classroom that they're rearing. That never happened in London.

Teaandtoday5

Tootlepootle

My daughter cam over in 2013 starting in Grade one/two after having done a year in UK. She had no problems finding enough to stimulate in the Canadian curriculum. Simple things like basic geography, new currency, new sports helped her fill her time. We were concerned that as she was listed as above average in all fields in the UK she would be bored. They allowed her to do Grade 2 spellings etc to stitch her where necessary.
If you feel that it is important to track their progress with the UK, why don't you bring over some test books from the UK so you can measure/contrast.

HGerchikov

And that, in a nutshell, is why I am so happy my kids have been educated in the Canadian system. Determining that a child is an under achiever at age 10 is beyond crazy.

rivingtonpike

Must admit that I am quite happy with the education my kids have received so far. Not so sure about the latter years though. Too many drugs around here.