Lesneal

Hi Everyone, My hubby and I are just starting the whole process of emigrating to NZ and my only concern is bringing my 6 year old away from all thats familiar! Does anyone have any similar experiences that will allay my fears of traumatizing her for the rest of her life!

Yummy_Mummy

Hello and welcome

Many many people emigrate with children, and have done so very successfully for many years. We are planning to move with a 7 yr old and a 9yr old.

I think how you approach it is most important. If you feel that you are going to traumatise her then you will, but if you keep everything positive then she will most likely react to your positivity.

I have spoken to both my kids about it and they are looking at the move as an adventure and a chance to meet new friends and play outside alot more than they can do here!!!!

So stay positive and i am sure your daughter will be fine

nzfarmers

Hi, we moved to Christchurch 4 years ago without visiting first with three children ages were 5, 8 and 11 at the time. The kids have had the most wonderful time since, with so many experiences and adventures that they would not have had in the UK. We always said if one of us was unhappy we would return to the UK. Four years on not one of us would go back to live only a visit.

Lesneal

thanks for your words, she does seem to take most things in her stride and I am sure she will just be glas to be someone with a bit more freedom.

Lesneal

thanks for yor advice, it's reasuring to hear that others have stepped where you might, if you managed with 3 children in tow then it doesn't seem quite as daunting!! did you find the school process easy to get into?
Thanks

nzfarmers

Hi, the school process is very easy here; all you need is proof of address in the catchment area where you are living and also copies of your residence visas. Schools are rated on a decile rating from 1 to 10 with 10 being a top performing school. More information can be found on the government website http://www.minedu.govt.nz/.

Lesneal

Thanks i will have a look at the website.

travelling kiwi

Can I just add a note about the decile rating of schools...it is actually to do with the economic status of the families at the school - eg a decile 10 school has families of the highest income rating, and is not related to performance levels.
We went from NZ to the UK for 2 years (soon to move back to NZ) with a 10year old and an 11 year old - yes they found it hard leaving their friends but they were up for the adventure. One of them found it easy settling into the UK and the other took a long time to settle. We kept it really positive and talked with the kids a lot about the positives and negatives of the move. There have been some hard times for all of us but it has been great for us as a family (and we are looking forward to going back to NZ)

Aggles

We moved to NZ in December with three children, 12, 8 & 4. Timing was critical for us as we wanted our 12 year old to start with all the other kids for the first year of secondary school so he would be new like everyone else so we aimed to be here for the start of the academic year in Jan/Feb. That said our 8 year old has slotted into year 4 quite happily.

Overall our kids saw it as an exciting adventure and have made friends already. Only had two occassions so far where our eldest pined for his friends back home (lasted about 10 mins) Keeping in contact by Facebook or the like with your kids friends parents back in blighty is fun. The younger kids have recorded video to post on the site which they enjoy sharing. Skype is great too as is mobile phone providers charging $2 for an hour to call UK.

Good luck

harrogate girl

I have quite a few friends that have said the children have fitted in so well and at time its the older ones that find it hard.
Its good when its time for them to start school as they look after them so well but do look at the tables, as Nz is the same as the uk its all done to school zones, and as time goes on you will find lots of help from this site. Lots of school run an after school club so if you need to work you should be able to get that covered.
Best of luck and hope it all goes well, and before long you will be running round like an head less chicken.
Lin

Kiwiprincess

Actually, also regarding deciles, schools in cities can actually have a disproportionately low decile rating - one of the factors in determining a decile rating is number of bedrooms (i think) and ownership of a property. Both of these are likely to be slightly out of whack compared to regional areas - eg whereas a 5 bedroom house is common in the suburbs, having a 5 bedroom apartment or flat in Wellington is less common. Even the ones aimed at upper income families with one child aren't likely to have spare bedrooms around - the are like wasted space.


just a thought

travelling kiwi

Yes you are probably right, I don't know how exactly they decide on the decile ranking. But when looking at schools it is best to read the ero reports (like ofsted). I don't have the address but google the school you are interested in followed by ero report.

Kiwiprincess

And, to be fair, decile does influence how ‘nice’ it appears to outsiders. And yes, there are often fewer children from low income or English as a second language families. Which influences the school – children who move around a lot may have problems settling, second language children may require extra help and behavioural difficulties can result – after all, they can be pretty bored in class not knowing what goes on.

But, just be aware that it’s a funding mechanism. Logic being that the schools in a higher decile area need less extra funding (they still get funding, it’s a top up type thing) to keep their children on track. Lower decile schools might need extra to get their children to a higher level so they aren’t left behind.

FWIW, I have no children. But I wouldn’t want to send them to school which was particularly low decile for the simple reason that the teacher has other distractions and logic simply says less focus could be paid to the middle children. The ones who aren’t particularly high achiever or low achievers. Wouldn’t want them to get left behind.

travelling kiwi

I have 2 children and I am a teacher and I have to agree with you...

blackburn lass

Just reading all these replies, noticed that nzfarmers put that to get the child in a school you need proof of residence, can the child not start prior to this,?I'm panicking now as we are going to apply for residence after we get there.