ozanand2004

Hi!! We are Australian PR holders and are planning to migrate to Sydney by July 2013.We have a daughter who will turn 4yrs by Sept 2013.Our daughter has been attending pre-school for the last 18 months in India. If she was in India she would have started with Kindergarten in June (we had secured admission in a good school here). Following are my questions:

1.Is my daughter eligible for Preschool or Kindergarten?
2.Is there any fees in Public schools?
3.Can we go by the ratings updated in http://bettereducation.com.au/?Can you suggest any other sites for selecting good schools?
4.Should we communicate to schools and depending on response,.. hunt for house close to school? It will be great to get some inputs as we need to plan so many things before we start.
5.What justification is usually acceptable by school authorities on exception cases (just below age criteria, etc.)? Is it on a case to case basis?
6. What is typical school year? Is it different state to state? Also, which is most friendly state (relaxed policies, etc.) when it comes to newbies moving into Australia and have their child start school education?

Sorry for the barrage of questions, but am confused where to start...!

Thanks in advance..
Anand

Kim67

This is a link to the guide for school starting age in NSW.

http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/gotosc...tingschool.php

If you're coming from India, you may find the attitude to the first years of schooling in Australia differ greatly from that of what you're used to. Up until a child turns 5/6, education here is really play based learning.

Jilliebee

This link will give you the general info on schooling in NSW. School years are slightly different state to state and even school to school (public v. Private). http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/gotosc...imaryindex.php

Jilliebee

* Snap *

NickyC

Your daughter will be eligible for kindergarten in NSW schools in January 2015 when she is 5.5.

In the meantime you can, of course, send her to pre-school - but the chances are you will have to pay as publicly-funded pre-schools are very few and tend to be located in the poorer areas of Sydney (mostly).

ozanand2004

Thanks everyone for the response.. Especially interested to hear about exception cases and how they were handled, etc.? Am I right in assuming school year for junior classes start somewhere around July?

Thanks!

NickyC

No. The school year for all classes starts late January/early February after the long summer holidays are over.

Kim67

moneypenny20

Are you saying that where you decide to settle, live and work etc is dependent on which state will accept your preschool aged child in school? Bit confused by that tbh.

spouse of scouse

Hi anand. If you're not already familiar with the Australian government's recommended schedule of immunisations for pre/school aged children, you can find all the info here http://www.health.gov.au/internet/im...tent/IMM52-cnt

Although immunisation is not compulsory prior to a child commencing pre-school or school, it's strongly encouraged and most schools ask for the child's immunisation record. If there is no record or the child hasn't received some/all of the recommended shots, the school is required to exclude them during an outbreak of the relevent disease.
Also, some government benefits are withheld unless a child is fully immunised, or the parents have obtained an exemption (details in attached link). Some of these benefits include child-care benefit and family tax benefit.

Hope this info is a bit of help, good luck with your plans!

ozanand2004

Thanks Spouse of Scouse and Moneypenny..

Yes, my prospective employer (hopefully) is giving me leeway between Sydney & melbourne.. I can join in either of these 2 cities.. I have lived in Melboure in the past and visited Sydney on vacation.. Slightly tilting towards Sydney in spite of higher cost of living..

Spouse of Scouse, I will for sure check the link you have sent me.. I am contacting our family paediatrician here to collect all immunisation records done so far... I am also writing up a small 'profile' for my child that will summarize her school curriculum/ sports activities undertaken here.. Hoping to send it in while seeking school admissions.. We are planning to write directly to the school principals requesting admission into pre-school..

quoll

You arent going to get her into school before Jan 2015 - not full time anyway. You will probably be able to pay for a childcare/preschool type environment. The cut off is later in NSW (31 July) than anywhere else in Australia and they dont like to bend the rules at all really.

itigo

At her age, kindergartens won't be interested in her curriculum/sports activities. It was said time and again at ours that this year (4-5 year old kinder) is all about play and socialisation - not to expect any formal education. There is also more of a lean to sending children later rather than earlier here......so that children only just turning 5 in Jan-April will often be held back until the following year.

It may be worth seeing what the private school curriculums are like but I think they probably follow the play based learning as well.

RedDragon2008

she maybe able to start school in 2014 if you try private and if the school feels yr daughter is ready.

the cut off in Vic is april I think but again the State schools don't like to change the rules even if you feel your "young" child is ready for school even though she is younger than the expected school starting age

Geordie George

My daughter turns 5 at the end of this month and won't be starting school until next year. Holding back is very, very common in Sydney. I can't remember the figures, but search for a post by Japonica about redshirting (holding back) and the details are there. Every school I've spoken to have recommended starting later, rather than sooner. One in particular was very shocked that we'd even have considered sending her this year. As it is, she's very happy in a community preschool 3 days a week, having a fab time playing. And occasionally learning to write properly along the way. We start the school tours in earnest at the end of this month/June (fairly normal schedule for Sydney), to decide where to send her to next year.