mrs_sparky12

Hi,

Just wanted to hear other people's experience's of schooling in Oz. My eldest daughter is 3 and currently in a nursery class in our village primary school. I love the school, think the teachers are excellent and they seem to promote a real culture of respect within the school i.e. I never hear any swearing in the playground and the kids all seem really polite (very different from the schools in the city where I'm from). We were in Brisbane for 2 years (came back last March) and now we're trying to decide whether to emigrate. Although my kids were too young for me to be involved with any of the schools there, I did get the feeling that there was respect amongst the kids and there just seemed to be a friendlier atmosphere. Am I just seeing this through rose-tinted specs?

I would really appreciate hearing what you think.

Thanks

melbournehelp

I don't believe that you are doing the rose-tinted thing.
I have worked in several primary schools here in the past and was very impressed by the teaching philosophy promoting confidence,respect and having fun .
They certainly do have a more positive approach to life .

ABCDiamond

My Daughter is 8yrs and 7months, just finished year 3, and loves school here, and is looking forward to year 4 starting on 24th Jan.

From myself and speaking to other parents I do get the feeling that the comment "teaching philosophy promoting confidence, respect and having fun is very apt.

tracey.d

What is the school age system in Oz? I have 3 children aged 15, 14 and 9. I have no idea what schools or forms they will be in. When I have looked at school web-sites it states the seperate forms but not ages.

rudo1ph

It's very dependant on which state you choose to live in.

In NSW a child must be 4 and a half to start in kindy. They must be 4 before the 31st July in the year before they start school (in the Jan/Feb). HOWEVER, in some areas (like mine!) EVERYONE seems to hold their kids back a year unless they are at least four years and 9 months old when they start. I do find this very odd, and have to decide what to do when my youngest daughter is due to start in school - her birthday is in July. My eldest started school in the UK a week after her fourth birthday and never had any problems......

As I say - it will be different in other states.

Rudi

Banksia

Our son tansferred to Sydney after a year's primary education in London. He was desparate to start school and no obstacles were put in his place to start as soon as he was ready. Despite losing 6 months in the move, we had a battle in Sydney because the system wanted to hold him back. His school subsequently even wanted him to repeat year six because he was too young to start high school.

We battled on and ultimately prevailed (but he was in the private system). Be prepared for a battle if your child is an early starter; not that I can promise victory in all cases. The system is quite ageist.

fair_dinkum

Just to add comment about the school wanting your child to repeat a year becuase he was too young to start high school .... The thing that parents quite often dont realise is that if there child is a year younger than the rest of the kids in his class, later on in high school they often have problems adapting on a social level the rest of the kids, things like maturing a year later than their class mates ( a big thing for the girls especially) , perhaps not being able to go out to certain events with their class mates after school becuase they are " not old enough yet" ... I know this may seem a bit over the top to some parents at the moment becuase their children are still young, but beleived me, I experienced this first hand as a teenager myself and so did so many other kids ... hence the reason for Aussie school's trying to keep the kids at a certain year level depending on their age.

Cheers
fair dinkum

rudo1ph

I agree with this absolutely. My older daughter had completed year 2 in the British system - August birthday - so just makes it into her year in the UK, just misses out on being a year higher here. When we arrived we thought long and hard about where to put her in school and decided to put her into the correct age group, rather than her academic year, so she's just finished year 2 again. She's always been one of the top three in the year in the uk, so she's had a VERY easy year this year in school. No regrets though - socially I felt it was more important for her to fit in both now and in the future. Would make the same choice again.

Rudi

Banksia

We copped that propagand at the time, 20 years ago. Our son was dux of his (private) primary school. Pray tell how you tell a kid who is dux he should repeat. When he started school in Sydney and was initally put in a class beneath his abilty, a kid who preferred school days returned into a "I'm sick today, mum" kid. He subsquently did Ecos/Law at USYD and is now climbing up the greasy pole at the Millionaire's Factory.

Are you saying if he had been held back, he would have done better?

My point is, teacher does not always know best. Incidentally, teachers who knew him agreed with us. It was those who read down the age scale to form their view who make me cross!!

jad n rich

I dont think its a big issue really, in all my kids classes QLD they have had kids over a 20 month age span, eg, my son is at the yonger end of his year the youngest in the class, but hes in with kids who might have been born at the beginning of their school year and had to repeat they will be almost 2 years older than him, the variety of sizes in all classes is huge anyway. By the time my eldest got to high school the size variant was from about 4foot 6 to 6foot 6. The main time kids found it difficult was learning to drive there is so much pressure (and need) to have a car the ones that didnt must have felt terrible. Back to primary a lot of the immigrant arrivals try and get their kids put up grades, oft leading to the belief they have sired a genius however its just real reading and writing does not start in OZ to 6 or 7 pre school in QLD for example is just play. Plus states in Aus have different starting ages so skipping or repeating grades is quite common if people move.

Banksia

The Federal Government has pledged to unify school starting and leaving ages ages across the country and stop all this nonsense. But since there are budgetary implications, the states which have done this on the cheap for decades will be the hardest to convince.

jad n rich

Queensland will start a full prep year to replace pre school, my kids are older so I can be sure of the dates but it starts 2006 or 2007? I think, and the starting age will cut off in june not december. There was a trial at about 30 schools last year.

Its good because in QLD children like my son who's birthday is in december would finish grade 12, the highest education prior to uni, at 16 , 7 weeks before his 17th birthday to be exact.

ABCDiamond

Here is the new info for QLD:

From 2007, all Queensland children of appropriate age will have access to a full-time preparatory year.

It will be offered in all state primary schools and replace the part-time preschool system that is not available at all schools.

Therefore there will be no need for waiting lists for enrolment in the preparatory year at state schools.

Funding has been allocated for refurbishing existing classrooms and building new classrooms, where needed, in state and non-state schools so all Queensland schools are ready for the new preparatory year. It is anticipated that the preparatory year will be offered in all non-state primary schools.

Eligibility
Children born on or after 1 January 2002 will be eligible for the new preparatory year of schooling before enrolling in Year 1. They must be five by 30 June in the year they begin the preparatory year.

Children born between 1 January and 31 December 2001, including those who complete preschool in 2006, will enrol in Year 1 in 2007.

http://education.qld.gov.au/etrf/prep.html

G'Day

Very true. We had the opposite problem - of wanting to keep child back because he is ADHD and we didn't want to put too much stress on him what with a whole new culture and school and everything. Knew he'd ace the previous year's work so we thought we'd give him a casual year to get settled in, which he was more than pleased to do. What a fight we had on our hands! Despite our sons insistence that he wanted to be in a "younger" class it took forever and a year for the principal (once again private system) to see sense.

G'Day

AMEN to that Banksia. There is no such thing as the "correct age" for a child to be at, at any given level of school. Every child is unique and this whole "box" method of dealing with children is just plain rediculous.