toon williams

Can anyone tell me, we are half way through applying for our visa and what is keeping me awake at night is we know we are going to Adelaide, but worrying about which area exactly we would like to live in to coincide with best schools??

We dont want to make any rushed decisions, is it legal to keep your kids out of Australian School for a couple of months to get some breathing space and make sure we choose the right place to settle first time round??

Any advice would be GREATLy appreciated, might mean I can get a good nights sleep tonight!!

lucyb

Dont know the answer to that, Im afraid. Come over to

http://s2.invisionfree.com/Adelaidebrits

if you havent already....its a dedicated Adelaide site and very good it is too!

Lucy

biggy

Who is going to know how long they have been off school!!!!! You could just be there for a couple of months holidays.

We initially were going to keep our off for 6 weeks as they would have been back in Scotland, they dont have any probs at school and got excellent reports, so we thought missing a few weeks would be cool. But when we got here it was mid term break so we decided to get them in at the beginning of the next term. They settled in very well.....but by the time it came to the 6 week break over Christmas the wee souls were shattered....they really missed having the LONG break off school.

I have heard of quite a few Aussies who take there kids out if school for 6 months a year to travel round....they just educate them themselves.....Let the kids settle, thats what I would do if I had a second chance.

jaxowen

I don't think anyone would bother how long they have been off - we are planning to have a 'holiday' for one month before sending ours off to school. My only concern is that they will settle quicker and make friends once they go to school so i don't want to leave it too long.

good luck
jax

renth

If, like us you have a primary school aged child born in August, you could keep him away from school for 3 years and when he joins his Australian primary the rest of the kids in the class will be just starting doing the stuff he was learning at primary school in the UK when he left.

This might only apply to WA but the cut off ages are diffferent, so being born in August means being the oldest in the class in Australia rather than the youngest in the UK. Also the fact that they start kids off 2 years later means effectively a 3 year break in their education.

banjo

Not sure exactly on the legal side....but I think you would be ok to keep them out. Certainly where we are we know of a couple of families who have had their children out for months at a time while they travel around Australia. They also take holidays mid-term so they can go while it's cheaper. I asked what the schools thought and the answer is always the same.....they don't mind.

movetoperth

we arrived in November and the kids started school at the beginning of the new school year in Feb and nobody locked me up, i was however very glad to see them start school again

The education system is different here and although you'll find your kids are more advanced in some areas they will have other areas where thats not the case.

A couple of months out isn't going to kill them!

Lynn

Bella Donna

We have a 7yo and have no intention of starting her at school until the beginning of the next academic year (Feb 06). We feel that settling down and feeling at home in the community will give her a better chance of integrating at school. She'll still meet loads of people so the socialisation aspect is covered. We shall home educate until then to make sure she doesn't get behind.

Australia has got a good home education network and support network - better than the UK. Check out http://www.hea.asn.au for more information.

steandleigh

We arrived 4th september and our eldest didn't start school until beginning of November. He was 6 when we arrived.

Quite frankly, although we were busy in a *New Country*, sorting everything out, our son still recieved a decent amount of 'learning' - I brought educational books and reading matter etc out with us to stop the gap.

Don't worry - it's your child / children - you can choose to keep them out of school and 'home-school' completely if you wish.

Arrive, get settled and be happy - that's what the kids will pick up on most - if you are all happy or not - not whether or not they have missed a couple of months at school!!! Kids make friends quickly, whenever they do it.

Derek Clarke

When we visited the schools, the school headmasters at 2 schools recommended that we settle in first. They even stated that taking a full term out of school would not be a problem.

Derek

Scottishmum

We are planning in arriving in Australia in August 2007, my son will be 5 in July 2007, when would he be due to start school?

Thank you

hevs

Here in vic he could start the following January

Scottishmum

Thanks for that. We're planning on Melbourne now by the looks of things, dh has just been offered a job there, don't know whereabouts yet mind you!

Seems strange that he would be starting school so late on, in Scotland he would start Aug 07 but in England it would have been a lot earlier. So I'll just have to put up with the little terror 'til Jan 08 then!

Catherine x