EverydaySunshine

Hello everyone,

We are making tracks to relocate to Australia later this year. I have a few questions and would really appreciate some help and advice.

1.Regarding primary schools - my daughter is in Year 1 and by the time we leave will have done a month in Year 2. What is the Austalian equivalent? Is she likely to be put back as she will be 6 by then? How much notice do the schools need here before you take your childrent out? and what do I need to take with me for admissions at school in Aus? If it helps we will be moving to Brisbane.

2.My husband's job is in IT. What is this sector like in Brisbane? What about pay? and what skills or qualifications are specifically needed? Is it advisable to approach would be employers before hand or wait until we land and then he can start looking for work?

3.Have you found it easy to make friends. Last night my 5 year old was in tears because she didn't want to leave her best friend from school. I felt bad but I know that at some point she will make some new friends-well I hope that it doesn't take very long. How long did your child/children take to get over leaving and settling in? I'm a little worried as she hadn't been this upset in a very long time. From now on hubby and I are going to talk about our plans when she's gone to bed instead. My fault as I didn't realise how much she was listening to our conversations.

Thank you everyone.

I apologise if this is the wrong board.

EverydaySunshine

80 views and no advice?

RCoight

There'll be others better qualified than I (I'm not IT and not in Brisbane) though you should be aware the perception at least is that the IT sector is slowing right down and so gaining employment may be trickier than it might have been say a year ago.

One comment which will stand whatever is that the majority of agencies will only look at you once you are in the country with a valid visa.

Short answer is 'very easy' (subject to the usual disclaimers of not living like Little Englanders).

Pollyana

With such a general title people will need to look before they know whether they can answer it or not Its only 8am in Qld so you'll probably find most people that have viewed it aren't in the State you are moving to.

Kooky.

At least we're reading it, EverydaySunshine.

Sorry I can't help regarding all things children, but re. IT, if you can be a bit more specific about what your husband does, you might get more advice/opinions.

"IT" is a very wide field, e.g., my husband works for a vendor selling enterprise-wide software solutions.

northernbird

You posted it at 10.43 last night when the majority of Australian residents were in bed. The views you got were probably from people resident in the UK and unable to help. It is now 7.10 here in Perth and most people with it being school holidays are either in bed or on their way to work.

See my answers above in red.

emelems

Here you go, I'll give it a shot...

Schools - when was your daughter born? the school year runs from Jan to Dec here... so if you daughter is a Sept-Dec babe, then she will be in the year above here than she was in the UK.. don't worry.. she'll be fine!

Notice in schools in UK.. you can take them out at a moments notice.. I gave notice once we had booked our flights...

Primary schools in Oz... you just go to your local nearest state school and they have to take the child.. simple as.. if they get too many kids, they make a new class... so therefore where you live does make a difference to which state school they go to.. you need to research this.. you can choose a private school should you prefer and most aren't too expensive ($3k per year and upwards from my research)..

IT work - my OH is IT and from the global recession, it seems that IT is hard to get.. we havent really looked yet as OH is hoping to do something totally different.. He has been offered IT work in Perth btw..

Making friends - yes, my kids found it easy... you need to help them along the way tho and have a realistic look at your child social skills... we told them to make it a priority to remember people names and get them talking about themselves.. saying that your little girl is only 5 and will fit in more easily than perhaps older children? who knows? I would suggest that you get her into a surfclub or drama or dancing.. something NOT related to the school and then she has other friends to fall back on (or help her feel good about herself) should there be issues at school...

There.. hope that helps a little

Em x

DadAgain

As a IT professional Qld'er for the last ten years with a daughter starting school next week I'm in a good position to answer some of your questions - feel free to ask more (publicly or PM).

If she turns 6 in Jan-Jun '09 then she'll start Yr2 in Jan 2010
If she turns 6 in Jul-Dec '09 then she'll start Yr1 in Jan 2010

IT is a very broad sector and discussing pay levels is pointless without more description (between $35K lowly tech-support and $200k+ a yr CIOs). In general pay will be significantly less than you'd be used to in the UK.

My expertise is in software development - so I cant comment too well on other areas of IT:

Senior Developers with good sought after skill sets can get around $90ph on contracts but in permanent roles the same people might be forced to join consultancies and struggle to earn $100k pa. Outside of consulting finding development based work will be VERY hard.

In the last 12 months the market for jobs has DIED. Finding any work in Brisbane is always tough - its a much smaller IT town than you'd think, but right now its gonna be nigh on impossible. Good luck! - and dont even think of trying to find work before you're here in Brisbane, the agencies wont even blink in your direction until you're on the ground in front of them.

5yr olds are surprisingly resilient - I'm sure once she gets to school and meets lots of friendly new people she'll be fine in no time at all... If you get involved in school stuff at all you'll soon find you've built a network of friends too (your own kids are a great resource for meeting new people!)

dakesojo

hi, you will find that your daughter will settle quicker than you do, i have 2 kids aged 9 and 12 and they made friends easily. we found getting a web cam great for the kids to keep in touch with friends in the uk. aussie schools are very approachable compared to uk so just pop into your nearest school when you arrive. all you need to take is passport, birth certificate and school reports from uk. other posts have said about school years but we found that our childrens birthdays are august and feb and they both repeated the term they had just done in the uk so they didn't have to worry too much about the work and could concentrate on making friends. good luck with the move

EverydaySunshine

Thanks everyone for your help so far. I should know about the time difference as I do have family in Aus...sorry.

Following on....

Does anyone know what happens to Child Benefit when you leave the UK?

and

As we are going to Brisbane we are also looking at areas to rent initally....I don't think we will be able to buy for atleast 6 months to 1 year. Also, within close proximity to a primary school will be great.

Thanks a bunch for all your help.

For all of you already in Australia the weather is rubbish here today.....raining, winding, freezing you get my drift...... Send us some sun please.....

EverydaySunshine

Thank you for that...my kids birthdays are also in February and August....

sj oldfield

2.
3.Have you found it easy to make friends. Last night my 5 year old was in tears because she didn't want to leave her best friend from school. I felt bad but I know that at some point she will make some new friends-well I hope that it doesn't take very long. How long did your child/children take to get over leaving and settling in? I'm a little worried as she hadn't been this upset in a very long time. From now on hubby and I are going to talk about our plans when she's gone to bed instead. My fault as I didn't realise how much she was listening to our conversations.



Dont worry.....by the time your youngster has finished her first day at school, she will have made loads of friends!!

Buzzy--Bee

Yes.

They keep paying you it despite all your letters, phone calls etc telling them you have left the country.

Then a year later they threateningly demand it back or they will fine you etc. The only way you can respond to them to explain is via an 0845 number which you can of course not call from Australia.

Buzzy

EverydaySunshine

Well Inland Revenue lost there efficiency years ago. Someone had said that we would always be paid Child Benefit for the kids.... think it's something like £80 a month. Glad I checked this out....

viviennef

Chapel hill is nearish the city, easy on the bus and has the most lovely primary school - its absolutely fantastic.

re: IT - there are some agencies that are very helpful to chat with. Interpro will certainly talk to your husband if you telephoned - ask for jessica or Andrew. Targeted recruitment will talk about testing jobs. The bigger ones won't so much until you come but to just touch base and talk through options I would suggest telephoning and having a chat with them before you leave.

Vivienne