Moving to the U.K. for a year? What do I need to know?

[hummmuna]

Posting here for traffic.
My job has asked me to move to the U.K. for the year. We were hoping for a September move to coincide with a new school year. My dh is ok with this and he has had permission from his job (in Ireland) to work from home, from the U.K.

So we have started to look for somewhere to rent and near schools so dh can collect dc. And then we won't need childcare. What do I need to know about bills in the U.K.? Our only bill is here electricity and mortgage. We don't have water bills. What is the average water bill for a 3 bed house? What else do I need to know?

We have 2 dc and one will be in what I can see as year2 as she is in her 2nd year of schooling here now so if she starts there in September it will be year2. The youngest will go straight to reception. Eldest is just turned 7 now and the youngest is 5 in July.

What else do I need to do/be aware of? Thank you

An independent school may be happier to take children out of year.

@hummmuna I moved over here a few years ago from Ireland, depending on your kids ages is the difference in the schools

My big infants Irish school child went into year 2 here, essentially loosing an entire school year in the process!

I work in a school and you will be amazed at vie quickly your children will catch up. We had a child arrived Sept 19 from France straight into yr2 , our head arranged for them to do yr 2 work every morning and then go into reception/yr1 in the afternoons. They are now in yr3 and reaching the required standards . Children are much more adaptable than we give them credit for sometimes.

@fightingirish how did your dc get on with that??

Op, schools have the discretion to have kids in other year groups - being honest, the smaller village schools have more flexibility to do this as they have mixed year groups already and are less restricted by the enrolment/max class size numbers that an oversubscribed suburban school might have.
You would need to talk to the head teacher and they may well agree to keep them down a year group, especially with it only being for a year.

Bills-
Moneysavingexpert has some good resources and budget planners - basic utilities are rent, council tax, gas, elec, water, tv license and then broadband/phone, mobile etc. Add on things like netflix

3 bed on a water meter, 2 adults 2 under 6 our bill was £241 for the last 6 months

Which part of England is it? The costs will vary quite a bit between North and South (particularly South East).
I'm in a 3 bed in North West and pay around £50 a month for water. Council tax depends on band, which is based on the value of the property. It's usually somewhere between £100-£200 per month.

You don't pay for water or council tax in Ireland? Maybe I need to move there!!!

In England now you can defer a summer born child, so I would have thought the OPs youngest could start reception? But I don't know for sure as it changed the year after dc1 started school.
op re-utility bills so much will depend where you are moving to. I've lived in numerous different parts on UK (inc Wales and Scotland) but each area is different, even in the same county you can have different council tax revenues! Again depending on the area you may get a choice of schools. You could ring the LEA (local education authority) and get more info re school admissions.
Or if you were happy to say which area you're moving to, you might get more info.
Whatever you decide I hope it all goes well

@hummmuna the small one has adapted well considering due to Covid he is now 2 school years essentially behind, my older boy not as much, I have to say I find schools here are so much better than at home, where we are all school books and copies at home, here there is so much more practical learning,

Bills wise, ye will have ur esb and gas, cheaper I think than at home,

Council tax is expensive depending on area and size of house,

Most newer houses don't have an open fire! I'm really struggling with this!

Cost of living is very much cheaper here than at home, (again that's my opinion)

Car tax and insurance is much cheaper,

NHS and doctors are very good, but not like home you wil have a wait to see a gp, not always but it's common
But..

Had I have known now then, would I have made the move, definitely not, I'd go home in the morning

Is private school an option for one year?

I work in private and we often have children come to us for 1-3 years whose parents are on a temporary contract from abroad. The years are flexible so they can go into whatever year is the best fit with where they have come from. They then go back into the right years when they go home.

People are making it sound far more difficult than it needs to be. Call the council when you move in and they’ll bill you, if you’re particularly worried look at the website zoopla that should give you costs for the house you’re considering.
I’d move the children, any school will help them catch up if they need extra help and it’s only a year. I don’t think any primary school in this country is so bad I wouldn’t have them educate my child for a year.

Basically in England a July born child would start school in the September after their 4th birthday. Their first year is called reception, the following school year is called year 1. In Ireland they would usually start the Sept after their 5th birthday, into Junior infants, followed by senior infants the following year.
So if you moved to England for a year, it's like your child going straight into senior infants (which they might struggle with).

If you are wanting three places in private schools you will need to see which ones are near your job and if they have spaces.

If you wish to have them in state schools in England, you will need to see if there is a primary school that has 3 spaces available in that area. Many schools do, but worth looking now to see what area is likely to, so can choose housing that is not too far away,

@fightingirish thank you for that.

If you are happy to share where, you may get more specific responses. For what it's worth, I think it's a great opportunity particularly because its only a year! Your children are young and adaptable. You get yo set up for the future. Uk/Ireland is super easy for travel back for friends and family. All that says win to me!

@Moonbabyskalimba I don't want to say EXACTLY but Manchester is our nearest big airport.

When I say out I was talking for the company 🤣🤣 so it's an hour or so from Manchester (that area)

@hummmuna do you know what area you are going to?

In bigger towns/cities you can get Irish messages, ie chef red sauce, Barry's tea etc, I'm in Liverpool we have a great Irish shop in the Irish centre, also a huge Irish community, walking down the Main Street in Liverpool is like walking down the streets at home, every second accent is Irish,

@fightingirish I do but I just don't fancy saying it exactly on here as it may be outing and all staff at the company may not be aware of the plans as such.

@hummmuna pm me if you wish x

Just for a year, I don't think its worth the disruption for your family..

Will your work let you fly out on a Sunday eve or very early Monday and return Thurs eve? We have done this, it isn't so bad.

OK ... Google houses for sale in town you are moving too on rightmove.. Find one equivalent to one you would rent in the area you picked... It will tell you the council tax band and then you can Google the cost of that band for that council.

UK in September will still be a shambles.

Schools and education as a whole will be all over the place with huge variation in who learnt / remembered what this year.

Possibly further lockdowns next winter (I know, very pessimistic but there you go).

I’m not sure it’d be a great time to come over tbh, especially for your family. If you come alone, could you cope with potentially not being able to travel freely between work and home?

With the children being 5 and 7 and a husband working from home it won’t be much hassle. Any state school classed as good or outstanding by Ofsted (you can check them in their site) would be ok, at that age they will catch-up faster than in secondary school both arriving here and going back. If the area you are moving to has a lot of expats it would be relatively easy to find a non reception place as kids are moving out of school all the time.

I moved DS from private into Year 1 state school and again in Year 3 to oversubscribed schools. The second school was crap so he was got very behind after 2 years but the third school (also a state one) bring him up to speed and into the gifted and talented group within a month or two of moving.

I wouldn’t do the travelling back unless you are moving to a massively expensive place in England (like London, which I understand may sometimes be cheaper than Dublin).

And COVID will make no difference, unless Ireland has a much better grip of it than England (not difficult considering the clowns we have in power)