Monkey2645

Hi all

Looking to move to Perth next October (2016). My son will be 5.5 in January 2017 - am I right in thinking that is the usual time for starting primary school in Oz?!

If so, what kind of educational level is expected of kids when they start school? - I presume kindy is usual, guessing ability to count/alphabet/write name is expected? How much more?

And on a side issue - any fantastic primaries (for pastoral care) anyone can name? Are there any IB primaries? With catchment area if known - not in the city but at the moment very flexible on area.

Thanks muchly.

Dorothy

Where in Perth will you be living/working? If I tell you that Two Rocks Primary is fabulous but you're moving to Mandurah that's of no use to you.

quoll

https://bettereducation.com.au/Resources/IBSchools.aspx For all Aus IB schools. Mainly private but a few gov schools.

Nothing is expected of kids entering school except that they're toilet trained and not totally feral (lots of schools prefer that you haven't taught your kids the "wrong" way!)

You'll probably need to be more specific about where you plan to live - Perth is a big place.

Monkey2645

Thanks guys

Well I guess we'd be looking at somewhere within a 60 minute drive of one of the universities as I'd be doing my teaching masters.

At the moment hubby is thinking of fifo. But if not that then we would go where the work was - why I figure having a kind of list from all over the place would help the flexibility. We can't be too precise until he knows where his job would be. All I know is I want a 'nice' area and all that entails!

Monkey2645

That IB list is great, thanks - hardly any in wa :-( shame cos loads in sa which is where I'd actually love to go - just not enough work for hubby.

brits1

If your husband is thinking of FIFO then you can always live in Adelaide. What is your husbands trade as from what I understand from friends a lot of a certain type of work in Perth is now hard to come by, if I were you I would do as much prep as where is suitable for you all especially work for your husband, my husband worked FIFO (even overseas) and I was okay with it as I had been in Aus for 9 years before he worked away and also we had established a lot of friends and our two boys were older, it would not be a situation though I would want to start my new life with especially with a young child. Good luck ps there are plenty of good primary schools in Perth which Uni will you be attending that might help with the areas as you would need to be pretty close with a young child for pick up and drop offs etc.

Monkey2645

Can you live out of state? I thought they laid on planes from a single airport?
He's seeing quite a few roles at the moment in (I want to say) pillsbury? He's maintenance rather than construction so in the same boat regardless of bust/boom. Fifo would be temporary too which is why Perth is showing as better on the job front generally. No worries about separation - he's ex army plus I was on my own for 10 months with our son whilst pregnant/with baby while he worked away so few weeks on/off will be a walk in the park! Saw him twice. Both (?) the Unis offer the course I want to do, as do OU Aus if it comes down to it and the hours are laughable - I think about 15 hours per week - the only tough time would be school training and I know it'll be stopping my mum from coming for weeks and weeks that'll be the problem lol
I like rockingham and joondalup at the moment - but when I say flexible really mean it the only thing I know for sure is that I wouldn't want to be properly 'in city'

jackieh23

With the traffic congestion problems in Perth metro area, within 60 minutes of the universities could mean only a few suburbs away in peak times.

In WA, children can start Kindergarten when turning four years old by 30 June of the year they attend. From your figures, your son was born in August 2012? He will always be one of the oldest in his year.

Birth year Kindergarten Pre-primary Year 1

1 July 2011 to 30 June 2012 2016 2017 2018
1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013 2017 2018 2019


I think you will find this site of interest and assistance.

Education & training | wa.gov.au

This second link is a specific link from the same site in relation to your child's education from kindy onwards.

Your child's education - The Department of Education

You could live in Adelaide and your OH FIFO to Perth; just means more travelling for him.

Think long and hard re Perth. It is an expensive place to live and jobs are disappearing at a rapid rate. Adelaide's not as expensive for things like food and housing although their utilities are more than here. (We lived there from 2011-2013.)

Monkey2645

That's great info, thanks. He was born June 2011 - the .5 was only an approximation. He goes to nursery already so only thinking of 'proper' school - tho if kindergarten teaches specific things I am wanting to make sure he's up to speed. But based on those figures he should actually start school January 2016 and he'd be one of the youngest. Genuinely gutted - he'd have been one of the youngest in the UK and I think he will be one of the ones that really suffer from that distinction :-( I thought we'd be safe in Oz cos of the January start.
Thanks for the links I'll check them out.

NickyC

Then hold him back a year. It's not unusual for kids with borderline birthdays (particularly boys) to actually start school a year later than their official start year.

It's no big deal. Loads of parents do it to avoid their kids being the youngest in the year.

aussietobe

Davallia Primary in Duncraig is suburb.

Monkey2645

Thanks aussietobe

astera

That is a bit risky, especially if one needs to take into account the possibility of returning to the UK.

The Aussie system seems to start off slower, only making up pace at later years. I would recommend pushing kids forward - at least that's what I did with one of my daughters who just missed out on the cut-off (jump from pre-prep to prep). She's now the youngest in her class but is also in the top of her class, so sometimes the younger ones try harder when put in such an environment.

Of course in case of any hiccups you can always send them to Kumon to really plow their way ahead and stay in a nice comfort zone compared to the school curriculum.

northernbird

My experience of Perth is that it doesn't seem to be as popular here to hold kids back. I worked in a primary school for 3 years in admin and out of a school of over 500 I can only recall a couple of kids over the 3 years that were held back.