SusieG

Just wondering if anyone else has had this issue - we are in the first stages of planning a move to Victoria (I am Australian, husband needs partner visa) which we estimate will happen in the latter part of next year.

Our eldest child will turn 4 at the end of Feb this year and is due to start school in the UK this September. I'm fairly sure in Victoria we would have a choice whether he started in Jan 14 (turning 5) or Jan 15 (turning 6). From research and personal experience, I'd rather he was turning 6 instead of 5...but once he's started school in the UK would it be wrong to hold him back when we arrive in Australia until the following January?

A big advantage of doing this would be it would buy us time to find a place to live - I am concerned that if we rent somewhere and put him in local school straight away then we are either tied to that area or face moving him yet again. I understand he doesn't have to start school in the UK until he's 5 so if we left the UK before Feb 14 then I could just keep him out of school, but I think that time scale is just too short for us.

Has anyone else has this issue and what did you do?

musicalfever4

If I understood it right kids start Prep in VIC when they are six at the beginning of the school year or will turn 6 until the end of April the same year.

We have kind of same problem. My younger son will turn 6 in May, so would start school in VIC now in some days, but here he would not start till August. Till then we are not here anymore, but he will miss the beginning of school.... Hope it won't cause a problem for him.

quoll

If your child turns 5 in Feb 2014 then they will start full time school (Prep in Vic) in Feb 2014. You can theoretically hold them back until they turn 6 but they would be out of step then with their cohort. Your child could attend kindergarten (part time preschool) if you can find a place in Feb 2013 but you will have to pay for it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Education is a good reference

SusieG

You can theoretically hold them back until they turn 6 but they would be out of step then with their cohort.

Thanks for your replies. I was under the impression it was more common these days for children born in the first part of the year to be held back to start school when they were almost 6 rather than just turned 5? My preference would be to start him with kids of a similar age, which ever year that was.

I guess I won't be able to make a decision until we know when we are going. If he's started school in the UK then it will probably be unfair to hold him back once we get to Australia.

Myself and my children are Australian passport holders - would we still need to pay for kindergarten?

itigo

A lot of friends have held their children back until they are 6, my daughter has a lot of friends with birthdays in March who turned 6 almost as soon as they started.

My son has his 2 besties that will start school the same time as him and will turn 5 this March 2013 - they will start school Feb 2014 - one girl and one boy.

There are also several girls in my daughter's class who have January birthdays and had only just turned 5 in the year they started. So there can be a whole year between some of them. It's down to parental preference and most importantly the child and how they will cope.

I was a teacher in the UK and I thought you couldn't hold them back any more in the UK - they have to start in the September of the academic year they turn 5? My son was 4 in August so would have started school already in the UK but here won't start until next year!!

quoll

Very much child dependent really. My niece was kept out of school until she was nearly 6 (not a very wise move IMHO, she was an only child in need of some socialisation) however they popped her into Prep for a week and immediately moved her into year 1 where the bulk of her age cohort was. I think it's a bit different in states with June/July cut offs, I don't think there is the same inclination to hold back in other states so much - maybe April birthdays but not usually the Jan/Feb ones.

Yes you will pay something for Kinder in Vic (universal free preschool is only in ACT at the mo but it is an aspiration in a few other states. You should get some child care rebate for it though

Geordie George

Japonica found some interesting information about school starting ages by state. Have a look on page 4 of this thread:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...=school&page=4

SusieG

Thanks very much for your comments - very interesting link Geordie George.

It looks as though being far older/younger than his classmates won't be an issue so at least that's one thing less to consider.

itigo - In England, from the school year beginning September 2011, local authorities must accept children into primary school in the September following the child's fourth birthday. However, parents may request that their child does not start school until later in the year or until reaching compulsory school age. A parent will also be able to request that a child attends school part-time until compulsory school age. I wouldn't be able to hold him back a year in the UK, but if we were to move before he turned 5 then it may be better not to send him at all in September this year. It's not common practice, and I'm not sure how that would work (ie would pre-school still accept him) so will have to look into that if it becomes an option.

Really appreciate the responses, lots of things to think about....and obviously need to wait and gauge how ready he is for school when the time comes.

rasen78

Just some info for anyone looking at that link, who is looking to move to SA. SA will be adopting the single intake policy from Jan 2014 and some schools have already started to implement it.

SA School starting age

Buzzy--Bee

If you send a just-5 year old to prep then they will be the youngest in the year and they may struggle.

4 year old kinder in Victoria (for 4-5 year olds) is like the first year of school in the UK.

BB

Pomster

We went through this exact scenario....could be me writing!
We were back in UK for 2 years with our pre- schooler. She went to nursery (as we worked) the started school at 4.5yrs in Sept 2011.
In July 2012 she completed prep year but did not go back for Y1 in Sept.

We moved back to Melbourne in Oct, enrolled daughter in kinder programme for socialisation and to stop her watching TV!. (they were a bit surprised that she could read and write).

Next week she begins year 1, and next month turns 6.
She seems to have enjoyed kinder and is looking forward to school. I kept up reading (not every day but 2-3 times a week) to make sure she will not struggle going back to school.
One school wanted her to repeat prep- but the school she is going to have allocated her to G1. She will be one of the younger ones in G1, but she will be bored doing the basics all over...and has flexibility to drop back if needed.

sr71

We stressed about holding our son back but in the end he went to school. Once there all worries were unfounded, he absolutely loves schools, has loads of friends and is doing well academically. He needed the stimulation, if he'd stayed at kindergarten another year he would have just floundered doing nothing I think.

As for changes schools, would not worry about that either. Many families do that these days, they have because of work or other reasons.

Pomster

Just saw this and have to say I completely disagree- having experienced both.
Reception in UK is about learning numbers, writing (cursive script, punctuation, sentences etc) phonetics and end the year being able to read.

In Victorian kinder (completed 4th term in Dec) they played! No structured learning whatsoever. My mother's group confirmed this was the case with their kinder as well...not that mine was slacking.

sr71

Exactly what we found, hence the main driver to get our son in school where he'd actually be doing something.

Buzzy--Bee

Some kids just arrived from the UK are put into our kids school when they are too young because they "have been to school in the UK". They can't read or write at the levels that the Australian educated kids can (who are a year older) and they really struggle. We've seen this with two new arrivals recently. Hence my comments.

BB