Enrolling kids in school
May 7th 2023, 3:11 pm
#1
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Joined: May 2023
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Enrolling kids in school
Hello,
im new here so sorry if this has been asked before. We want to relocate to Adelaide from the UK. Husband is Australian so kids will have OZ passport and I’ll get a spouse visa.
we have found an area we think we’d like to live in and schools for both our kids (one in primary and one in secondary), both state schools.
What are the timings to enrol them and how can we prove our residency if we are still in a temporary accommodation?
Has anyone got any experience and can give some advice?
I read somewhere kids might repeat the year? If we arrive in October/November, could they start in Jan/Feb the year they would have started in Sep in the UK?
thanks
im new here so sorry if this has been asked before. We want to relocate to Adelaide from the UK. Husband is Australian so kids will have OZ passport and I’ll get a spouse visa.
we have found an area we think we’d like to live in and schools for both our kids (one in primary and one in secondary), both state schools.
What are the timings to enrol them and how can we prove our residency if we are still in a temporary accommodation?
Has anyone got any experience and can give some advice?
I read somewhere kids might repeat the year? If we arrive in October/November, could they start in Jan/Feb the year they would have started in Sep in the UK?
thanks
May 8th 2023, 1:02 am
#2
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 1,177
Re: Enrolling kids in school
If you know the schools you want contact them directly and ask. You can then check the catchment area and discuss Year groups. Don’t get too hung up on this it isn’t a year anyway as the academic year starts Feb not September. More important to be with kids of same age group really.
Schools will enrol throughout the year to accommodate people moving into the area (state schools at least are obliged to educate those in their catchment.
Remember even state schools have fees for admin, equipment,facilities etc. so ask about these if it isn’t clear on the website.
They won’t enrol unless you have an address but you can certainly chat to them and prepare for it.
Where are you thinking of moving to? We are in the Adelaide Hills.
Schools will enrol throughout the year to accommodate people moving into the area (state schools at least are obliged to educate those in their catchment.
Remember even state schools have fees for admin, equipment,facilities etc. so ask about these if it isn’t clear on the website.
They won’t enrol unless you have an address but you can certainly chat to them and prepare for it.
Where are you thinking of moving to? We are in the Adelaide Hills.
May 8th 2023, 6:23 am
#3
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Joined: May 2023
Posts: 3
Re: Enrolling kids in school
If you know the schools you want contact them directly and ask. You can then check the catchment area and discuss Year groups. Don’t get too hung up on this it isn’t a year anyway as the academic year starts Feb not September. More important to be with kids of same age group really.
Schools will enrol throughout the year to accommodate people moving into the area (state schools at least are obliged to educate those in their catchment.
Remember even state schools have fees for admin, equipment,facilities etc. so ask about these if it isn’t clear on the website.
They won’t enrol unless you have an address but you can certainly chat to them and prepare for it.
Where are you thinking of moving to? We are in the Adelaide Hills.
Schools will enrol throughout the year to accommodate people moving into the area (state schools at least are obliged to educate those in their catchment.
Remember even state schools have fees for admin, equipment,facilities etc. so ask about these if it isn’t clear on the website.
They won’t enrol unless you have an address but you can certainly chat to them and prepare for it.
Where are you thinking of moving to? We are in the Adelaide Hills.
Good to know about being able to enrol at any time.
The move is so daunting but at least we don’t have any family in the U.K. so won’t be as hard.
May 10th 2023, 12:45 am
#4
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Joined: Sep 2007
Location: Canberra
Posts: 8,360
Re: Enrolling kids in school
Thanks for the info. We have contacted the secondary school but not heard back yet. We are thinking of North Brighton so it’s Brighton Secondary School. Do you know if it’s a good area?
Good to know about being able to enrol at any time.
The move is so daunting but at least we don’t have any family in the U.K. so won’t be as hard.
Good to know about being able to enrol at any time.
The move is so daunting but at least we don’t have any family in the U.K. so won’t be as hard.
Just ignore what year you think the kids will be in based on their UK history - it's a foreign country and they will go into the year group with their age peers. It could be quite different from what you might expect - for example, my grandson age 8 is in his last term of year 4 in UK - in Australia he would just have started year 3 because his birthday is mid August so he is the youngest of his year in UK but he is well past the cut off date for pretty much every Australian state. Best not to get in a tizzy about it and just accept that they need to be with their age peers no matter what that looks like - it is not repeating, being held back or anything else it is just accommodating to a foreign system. The only issue might be if you decide to return to UK (assume your DH has UK citizenship just in case!!!) then there could be apparently "missed" years.
May 10th 2023, 6:36 am
#5
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Joined: May 2023
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Re: Enrolling kids in school
They may not talk to you until you have an address with a lease of at least 6 months, it rather depends on the school - some of them are a bit ticked off having to give school tours only to find that the kids never actually turn up. That is especially true in "in demand" schools. You can compare schools on the myschool.edu.au site but generally the school reflects the catchment area and if you wouldnt want to live in the neighbourhood you probably wouldnt want your kids at that school. Kids start any time - theoretically you can rock up with their evidence of residence, vaccination books and "permanent" address and they could start there and then but in general, schools do ask for a couple of days leeway to organise desks, timetables etc. Nobody is going to give a toss if a kid is out of school for a month or two whilst parents get settled.
Just ignore what year you think the kids will be in based on their UK history - it's a foreign country and they will go into the year group with their age peers. It could be quite different from what you might expect - for example, my grandson age 8 is in his last term of year 4 in UK - in Australia he would just have started year 3 because his birthday is mid August so he is the youngest of his year in UK but he is well past the cut off date for pretty much every Australian state. Best not to get in a tizzy about it and just accept that they need to be with their age peers no matter what that looks like - it is not repeating, being held back or anything else it is just accommodating to a foreign system. The only issue might be if you decide to return to UK (assume your DH has UK citizenship just in case!!!) then there could be apparently "missed" years.
Just ignore what year you think the kids will be in based on their UK history - it's a foreign country and they will go into the year group with their age peers. It could be quite different from what you might expect - for example, my grandson age 8 is in his last term of year 4 in UK - in Australia he would just have started year 3 because his birthday is mid August so he is the youngest of his year in UK but he is well past the cut off date for pretty much every Australian state. Best not to get in a tizzy about it and just accept that they need to be with their age peers no matter what that looks like - it is not repeating, being held back or anything else it is just accommodating to a foreign system. The only issue might be if you decide to return to UK (assume your DH has UK citizenship just in case!!!) then there could be apparently "missed" years.
This might be for another thread but it’s the main obstacle for us right now. Not sure how others have managed this.
Aug 2nd 2023, 8:15 am
#6
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Joined: Jan 2023
Posts: 1
Re: Enrolling kids in school
Hey there
Sorry to jump in on this post- myself and husband are moving from Scotland to Adelaide next year by next June my son who will be six in December coming will have just completed P1. If you have an advice for us movin over would be much appreciated? Finding it hard to navigate the school system also ive another son who has just turned 3, he will be a month shy of turning 4 when we arrive, does he join kingarden?
Sorry to jump in on this post- myself and husband are moving from Scotland to Adelaide next year by next June my son who will be six in December coming will have just completed P1. If you have an advice for us movin over would be much appreciated? Finding it hard to navigate the school system also ive another son who has just turned 3, he will be a month shy of turning 4 when we arrive, does he join kingarden?
Aug 2nd 2023, 9:10 am
#7
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Sep 2007
Location: Canberra
Posts: 8,360
Re: Enrolling kids in school
https://www.education.sa.gov.au/pare...tarting-school
South Australia is a bit odd in that they have two intakes but general rule of thumb is that cut off date is 31 May so a child will go into Reception (first year of full time school) at the beginning of the year if they turn 5 before 31 May but with the second intake if they turn 5 between May and 31 October they can start in mid year and do 6 terms in reception and thereafter year 1 will be that they turn 6 before May 31 in the January of the year they start year 1, 7 for year 2 and so on. So your child who turns 6 in December will go into year 1 in 2024. Forget all that you know about foreign systems, their year level names and the ages in which kids attend them and just go along with the age cohort of South Australia
Preschool is also different from other states but it is quite clear here. Basically all kids are entitled to a year of preschool before they start full time school
https://www.education.sa.gov.au/pare...tart-preschool
Same rules apply for accessing school and preschool education - find your home and then approach your priority enrolment area school - they are obliged to offer a place, not sure about preschools, they often have limited numbers so you may not be guaranteed a local preschool placement. It will all fall into place when you arrive assuming you choose to live in a suburb where you are happy with the local community - if you dont like the look of the local community, dont get a rental in that suburb because the school usually reflects the community in the suburb. At least you know, unlike UK, kids in the priority enrolment area will always be offered a place in the school. If you dont like what the state system has to offer then there is a roughly parallel Catholic system which might be more in line with your values.
South Australia is a bit odd in that they have two intakes but general rule of thumb is that cut off date is 31 May so a child will go into Reception (first year of full time school) at the beginning of the year if they turn 5 before 31 May but with the second intake if they turn 5 between May and 31 October they can start in mid year and do 6 terms in reception and thereafter year 1 will be that they turn 6 before May 31 in the January of the year they start year 1, 7 for year 2 and so on. So your child who turns 6 in December will go into year 1 in 2024. Forget all that you know about foreign systems, their year level names and the ages in which kids attend them and just go along with the age cohort of South Australia
Preschool is also different from other states but it is quite clear here. Basically all kids are entitled to a year of preschool before they start full time school
https://www.education.sa.gov.au/pare...tart-preschool
Same rules apply for accessing school and preschool education - find your home and then approach your priority enrolment area school - they are obliged to offer a place, not sure about preschools, they often have limited numbers so you may not be guaranteed a local preschool placement. It will all fall into place when you arrive assuming you choose to live in a suburb where you are happy with the local community - if you dont like the look of the local community, dont get a rental in that suburb because the school usually reflects the community in the suburb. At least you know, unlike UK, kids in the priority enrolment area will always be offered a place in the school. If you dont like what the state system has to offer then there is a roughly parallel Catholic system which might be more in line with your values.
