Decent Schools
 

Anyone know how to go about finding a decent school?
Here we can access ofsted reports but do they have anything similar in Canada?
We are looking to move about 20 minutes outside Fredericton in New Brunswick.
Also will the schools automatically put my daughter in the year she should be in for her age? She is 7 but is doing work a year ahead of herself and I know Canadians start school a year later. I was just concerend she would technically be going back 2 years.
I guess though maybe it won't be too much of a problem as I guess what they get taught probably differs a lot from here in the U.K. so maybe she won't end up going 'back' in years....hope that makes sense!
Any information greatly received.
John:)

Re: Decent Schools
 

Go the the local school - job done. Canadians do not get anything like as stressed out as their English counterparts with schools. Most go to their local school unless they wish to send their children to a religious school or a French Immersion one. Do you actually understand the Ofsted reports?

Re: Decent Schools
 

Yes I do understand the Ofsted reports!

Re: Decent Schools
 

Around here the kids go to the school that you are zoned into (with your address) unless you are looking for something like the french immersion (sp) or a private school

Re: Decent Schools
 

Yes, find decent place to live and the local school will be just fine.

Re: Decent Schools
 

Would agree with all of the above. In Calgary for the most part kids just go to the assigned school. Here we do have a lot of choice.My son goes to our local Spanish Billingual school for example. I don't know what the choice would be like where you are. However, you will find that generally speaking Canadians are far more laid back - in partic about the early years in schooling. The kids have fun and do the basics - as they are viewed in Canada....

I know that there have been a few threads about people coming over and wanting their very bright children to be put into more advanced classes! I would imagine that is done on an individual case basis. My suggestion (to ignored as you wish!!) is always that at least your little one could 'coast' for a while and have a few months to settle in and make friends...In a few yrs time you will probably rather have her in a class of her peers rather than in a class with kids that are older than her....Canadian kids seem to do pretty well in the end so I wouldn't be too concerned.....

Good luck and hope it goes well
Lisa

Re: Decent Schools
 

I concur. They don't generally care that much about different schools, the local ones will just do. Most of the public schools here are adequate at best, I think the overarching pedagogical sentiment here is 'average plodding'. Most Canadian school systems had a brief flirtation with the "excellence and standards' movement in the 90s but it didn't really sit very well with the national embrace of mediocrity.

Re: Decent Schools
 

I know where you are coming from with the "bright" kid thing. My to are clearly from a different gentic pool to me and their pa. But with the pressure of shifting them and the huge adaptions I would be happy to let them coast. And its part of the attraction to Canada is to get away from the hothouse pressure here. They can kick back and limber up for a later time.

My big one is 9 going on 29 with a lot of peer pressure and push in school. Bright kids will do well no matter where if the parents are willing. But I want them to be busy being kids as it is lost so early here.

Just my opinions but I understand, and we all want the best, I know I'll be on here flapping with the same query likely. :blink:

Re: Decent Schools
 

Like everyone has said dont worry about hunting out the best possible school - if the area is nice then you will no doubt get a nice school.

My observations of schooling out here FWIW is that the have a totally different way to teach and use alot of different medias for kids to work with - so if a child is not good at writing an essay then an assignment might very well have the chance of wither writing the essay or for example doing a powerpoint presentation. Exactly the same but the forms in which they can present their work is different.

I have also found that teachers here teach because they are passionate about teaching - probably like it was in the UK about 40 years ago - so I think the kids know that and therefore have more respect for the teachers. Classrooms are less disruptive - my daughter found it hard to get used to how quiet it was when they were doing independent work.

About going back a couple of years in education. Depending on the age of the child some schools offer grade split classes this means that there could be a mix of grade 4 and 5 in one class. Work out what year/grade you child will be in by which year they were born in.

IE daughter born 1994 in Grade Ten, Son born 1996 in Grade 8. Where we live it goes on the calender year and not Sept to Aug like the UK. 1998 is Grade 6 and so on.

HTH

Re: Decent Schools
 

Re: Decent Schools
 

Hi there,

As mentioned already most Canadians send their children to their local schools. However this is changing especially in large urban centres. As rule, most public schools in Canada are quite decent. According to a report put out by either the UN or another very large respected organization, the Canadian education system was one of the most equitable - just after Sweden. Having said this, parents tyically try to buy into good areas, to ensure that their kids go to good schools. Private education (other than religious) is not as popular in Canada as say the US or the UK. To get an idea of the quality of the school you could go onto the Fraser Institute and see if they have ranked the schools in the area you are looking at. There are problems with the Fraser Institutes ranking as with OFSTED ranking. I taught at a school in the UK which had a very good OFSTED ranking which was horrific. I have been to many schools in the greater Vancouver area since then as a supply teacher and have never witnessed anything as bad as the school I taught in the UK.

With regards to your daughter's abilities, I wouldn't immediately say that she will be 2 years ahead of the class. Canadians do start school one year later than the UK; however they do catch up - just look at the international league tables. Also, if you daughter is approaching high school or junior high there will be plenty of opportunties for her to take more advanced classes if she is deemed fit and wants to take them. The Canadian system generally places kids according to ability rather than age. (to some degree) Also, many provinces do not stream kids here. Thus you may find a down syndrome child in the same class as a gifted child. You may be shocked by this; but as a teacher (that has taught in both systems) I can confirm that it works. Also remember that every province has a different education system. There is no National Curriculum.

Good Luck