Moving back to UK after 3yrs away, into Yr7

[itsveryyou]

Hi, we're moving back to UK after three years away, DS will be going into Year 7. We're keen to ensure we help him fill any gaps in his knowledge/the curriculum before he starts school and will work with him over the summer to bring him up to speed in any areas necessary.

I would like to find a detailed copy/outline of the current UK KS2 curriculum which I can compare to his US one and go from there - where should I look? I've also downloaded some previous SATs papers to look at - are these a useful guide. Thanks!

[mummytime]

Don't panic!
Is he going into a State school? If so I would suggest not doing any work, prepare him emotionally would be far more useful. At secondary level everyone starts from lots of different schools and even the most streaming school I've known expected a lot of moving around at the start - especially from those moving from a different educational system.
I have known students start in year 7 who had little English, and then flourished.

If you want to help him, I would probably consider getting a tutor to help him get a boost in the areas he is struggling with, but not until after half term of the autumn term.

My DD says she didn't really start to learn until year 10 (not quite true, but has some truth) and she is an A/A* candidate.

[itsveryyou]

Thanks mummytime! Yes, he'll be attending a state school. He's doing v well in school here, I think the topics in maths and English he has covered will be pretty much the same, just with some different terminology, I just want to ensure he's prepared. You're right though, the emotional side of things is more important. He's excited to be going home and we've kept in close contact with his friends, and whilst I know it's often not as simple as 'slotting back in', I think he'll be just fine.

[mummytime]

If he is concerned, read some British children's books (Alex Rider series should be fun), and maybe just look through a couple of SATs books so he doesn't feel too scared of the unknown.
But getting to meet other kids in the park etc. is probably far more important. Oh and maybe a crash course in the rules of Football and cricket!

[itsveryyou]

He's reading and loving Alex Rider, Terry Pratchett, David Walliams, Rick Riordan, Roald Dahl etc, so no worries there. And we've done WW1 and 2 on UK websites as, well, the perspective is rather different over here! He and his brother both play soccer football here too, rather than baseball or American hand-egg . They've not lost their true roots just yet!

[mummytime]

Horrible Histories are a good source of UK view of history (well roughly). All UK kids will have studied the Tudors, and know Henry VIII and his wives.

Year 7 is a lot of consolidation, especially in Maths.

Warn him about Uniform (unless he's going to one of the rare schools which doesn't have one), and tie tying lessons are normal over the summer.

[itsveryyou]

That's a great idea about Horrible Histories, they definitely don't cover Kings and Queens over here - however DCs will be great in a pub quiz when they're older if there are any questions on the minutiae of the US constitution of bill of rights! As for uniform - I'm looking forward to getting back into the routine of a standard school wardrobe...not sure he'll be so keen!

[pieceofpurplesky]

Look on the DFES website it will have links to the assessment level grids which tell you what each level requires

[ReallyReallyReally]

My DS spent 5 years in an International School following the US curriculum. He had finished 5th Grade and we then came home to UK into Y6. We haven't noticed any gaps, in fact Math & English were ahead. I wouldn't worry about it.

[itsveryyou]

Thanks piece, will do. Hi really, DCs will finish grades 5 and 3 and are both excelling, so hopefully there won't be too many, if any gaps - as you say, we may even find they've covered more subject areas. Thanks everyone for replying!

[LIZS]

It was definitely the cultural points of reference that were most lacking when we lived overseas - history, politics, religious studies (compulsory in UK), sport, museums , theatre and places of interest. If you can make some visits during the summer to give them a sense of UK culture that will help with their studies and to fit in.

[itsveryyou]

LIZS sounds like a good plan! Thanks for all the ideas.