ERICOLA

Hi everyone,

Im a newbie here and i am after some advice!!

Ok, so my family have decided that we have had enough of the UK and want to move to Australia. With my hubby being in the IT field we decided that maybe Melbourne/Sydney are going to be the better places to go to job wise.

My query is this:

I have a 14 yr old son (well legally he is my step son) but my hubby has had custody of him since he was 9 months old. I married his dad 2 months later so i have been in his life since he was 10 months old. He has had no contact with his "biological" mother for nearly 10 years now. So in order for us to move we have to get a specific moving court order to take him out of the country.

Now we have to get together as much information as we can to put before the courts in order to get permission. Now my son has a statement of special education needs here in the UK as he has a lot of difficulties in general maths, english etc. That is not to say he is thick, he isnt, he just has a lot of trouble putting things down on paper and working them out. So is a SEN recognized in Melbourne schools? if not is there an equivalent? how does the school system deal with children who have learning difficulties? is there a website i can go to in order to find out all this information i need??

Any information you guys could help me with would be great!!

Many thanks

Erica

Jensanco

Do you have a visa or have you applied for one?
If not the rest could be irrelevant if you find you can't get one?

It would be incorrect for me to reply about the schools, we have visited a few in the past but I don't know enough to comment accurately.

If you haven't applied for a visa do you realise dependant on the visa you may be eligible for it could take a couple of years give or take a few months either way to get one?

I'm sure someone will toddle in in a few and fill in any gaps

ERICOLA

Hi,

Thanks for your reply and yes we are totally aware of the time it takes for visas etc. We are in a catch 22 really as we cant apply for visas untill we have a court order for my son and we cant get the court order untill we have shown that we have done the right amount of research as to why we want to take him out of the country etc.

The company my husband works for has offices in Sydney and Melbourne and often send ppl over who want to migrate. We are lucky that he is in a field that is on the wanted list plus with the possibility of a job offer anyway he (fingers crossed) should be able to get through the process in a decent time (say 12 months to give time for problems).

Our main concern is getting the court order for my son as without it we dont go anywhere so thats why i am asking for as much insight as possible as all i can get over the internet is that the education system isnt brilliant.

Thanks again

Jensanco

Ok how about looking at the areas you'd want to live in - i.e within a good commute to where your husband could potentially be working?

Contact the schools in those areas and put your sons situation to them and ask what policies and procedures are in place to support his learning, what special educational needs support is there?

Print out the emails from schools in both states as the help may differ slightly and there is your evidence.

Also may be worth asking the school if they ever use anyone externally for support if so get those details too.

I think this would be you're first point of contact. we have found schools have replied with good information and a come back to us if we can do anything else to help comment to end with each one we have contacted and fairly quickly.

Find out if possible what visa you would be able to get - if its a PR visa you could be entitled to more help?

Also look into the life he would have out there, things he's interested in, places you'd be able to take him too that he would enjoy, places like Science Works that would probably be a good interactive way for him to learn about things.
It may be that he will get his GCSE's before you leave the UK, so perhaps contacting further education TAFE? in Australia close to the areas you'd want to live would be a good idea too and asking what support he would receive there ?

Getting any details for drs you could find out who are supportive the the educational needs or any other needs he may give further evidence for the courts maybe?

Jaycee1

I work in a primary school and you don't really get funding for kids with SEN unless they are of an extreme low IQ - under 70 and its special school just over and its mainstream primary with minimal funding. This is how it is where we are in Melbourne and how i have found the system. We have kids with Autism and severe behaviour disorders who don't qualify and would certainly have a statement in UK.
Another issue is that the Australian government do not want to (I apologise but there is no easy way of saying this) have the burden of a child with SEN and it cost them money in the future. Be aware of how your son's needs are presented on a visa application. You may require the help of a good agent to ensure you get your visa and provide the assistance your son needs.
Good luck with it all
J x

Buzzy--Bee

I can't help you with queries about your son but I do work in a very big IT company in Melbourne so if you have any queries related to work I'll do my best to help.

You are very sensible to be basing your emigration on the location you can best earn an income, without an income everything else is just a dream.

BB

Jensanco

Can I just say some kids don't always get a statement in the UK, schools here don't always want to fund it either and you really need the backing of the GP but in some cases the gp needs info from the school before supporting it - the problem comes when the school doesn't want to play ball !!!