Expat mom seeking advice

[sannie]

Hi There....

My husband and I currently live overseas and are thinking of moving back to England some time this year. We have a 21 month old and are expecting our second child in a couple of weeks....

We are weighing everything up at the moment, applying for jobs and are thinking about the money side of things. I know that we would get child benefit and have heard of working family tax credits (??) but have no idea of any other entitlements.

I would really appreciate if anyone could give us a lowdown of what we could be entitled to and the best places to find information.

Also, how does it work with schools? How do I get the kids registered so they will start school etc....

thanks

[santabebespain]

Hi sannie

I am also an expat mum and would love to be able to move back to England but thats another topic all together!!

Can´t help you in terms of financial entitlements etc as I had DS abroad but I used to be a teacher back in the UK. The usual route is to register your child with the local LEA - you should find an "education" page on the local government website and this should include details on admissions to nurseries/schools. If you know the area you will be living you should be able to look up this info quite easily,

HTH and Good Luck

[choufleur]

there's an online benefit calculator at www.entitledto.co.uk but you need to input salary details, childcare cost etc but i guess you could guestimate to give yourself an idea of costs.

FYI i pay £18 for a half day at nursery, a full day is £34 but that is in the midlands. i'm sure costs differ around the country.

My ds is too young for school so i'm not sure how you go about registering but www.direct.gov.uk give details of all local authorities so you could contact an authority where you are think about moving to and ask them.

good luck.

[caughtintheact]

www.entitledto.co.uk/ for benefits info

[Cocobear]

also an expat mum, also no help with the financials. But if you want to get the kids in school for September, get onto your LEA straight away. Applications in my area need to be in by the end of this month, so maybe it's similar all over?