Please tell me about UK schools

[Dontliketheheathelp]

We’re British, have lived abroad for a few years and due to return next summer-2027
Dc will have just turned 9 at that stage (late summer birthday)
What year will my Dc go into, would there be opportunity to go into the year below, due to being very young for her year and having started school later where we are and therefore behind others?
Also, what is the difference between a normal Primary school and an academy?
When would we need to apply for the school and what are the criteria for hoping to get into the one we hope for-is it due to being in the catchment area?

Any info greatly appreciated!

I always thought the argument for countries starting formal education later is that DC learn quicker as they are older

Apologies but even so at 7 that's still very very behind. I would look at the end of year expectations for children at the end of year 2 (the year children turn 7) to see what the expectation is.

The level you have described your daughter at is similar to those in Reception/ the start of year 1.

This really is my worry, and that was with your 9 year old going into Year 4, not 5? Imagine Year 5, it just sounds impossible and is making me re think the whole thing
So sorry your Dd went through that

You say ‘the alphabet of your country’?

So all her learning has been in a different language, with a different alphabet (Cyrillic; Greek etc)?

What is her spoken English like, and can she at least do what she is able to do in the country’s language in English as well?

I have taught children joining in Y5 with no English, but that is a tough ask, more than the curriculum jump.

Given the English system is quite inflexible, what can you do to bridge the gap over the coming year +? Tutor; classes; homework; lots and lots and lots of reading?

As you know you’re coming to England in 2027, you need to get her a tutor so that’s she’s at the right level when she arrives. I don’t know where you’re based but I’m actually quite shocked that it’s acceptable for a 9 year old to only be learning the alphabet and numbers from 1-100. If you grew up here you must realise that’s not usual.

Op, this sort of mismatch between education systems is one reason so many international families use the private system in the U.K. - there you can negotiate with the school about which year your child goes into.

in the state system in the England it is not easy to get a child placed out of year and when they are it is a absolute maximum of one year adjustment.

I’d suggest you look for specific advice on which counties are likely to be more amenable than others to this. Finding a school that has experience of international children would probably also be good.

How long have you lived abroad for? Did your DS attend a school before you moved?

I think they all catch up at a certain age, but not sure what age that is and then they sometimes overtake

Your daughter should indeed learn faster as she is older (I presume the country’s secondary school system doesn’t run to 21, so there must be a faster pace). How can you boost that? What’s available to you locally? Would eg online Maths learning help?

Yes because they start later! So it isn’t behind for where we are, she isn’t behind, just a different system

She’s Year 1 now and learning the alphabet of our country and numbers to 100-essentially fairly parallel to Year 1 work in England from what I can see.

So she's learning everything in the language of the country you live in?
Are you teaching her in English at home? If yes, what can she do now in English?
You will have to get a tutor for her and you should start that right now.

In England the alphabet is one of the Early Learning Goals and most nurseries or other settings will start it in the pre-school year so age 3-4

there’s a real mismatch here op.

not your fault, not her fault, but yes this is likely to be a very difficult transition

She is English so obviously fluent in English and reads well and writes ok, but has been taught everything in the language of where we are, everything else Ive done at home with her since she was little

She’s not 9, she’s 7 😫

No born here

Which nation of the UK are you intending to move to? It makes a difference as the school year age groups are determined differently.
I'm in Scotland, where your DC would be about to start P5; the fifth year of primary school, there are seven in total, and your DC would be middle of the age group.
In England I believe they would be about to start year 4, the fifth year of primary school if you include reception, but your DC would be one of the youngest.
I don't know about Northern Ireland or Wales.

She is behind though compared to her peers in England, even more so if she's not learning in English currently. However, you've acknowledged that which is a good first step. As I said earlier your best option would be 1-1 tutoring to help her lessen the gap.

Ahh at 7 that is still quite behind a typical year 7 in the UK.

I have a 7 year old and he can read independently, do basic maths questions and write in full sentences (not particularly neatly).

The fact of it is she will have to go into year 5. It is exceptionally, exceptionally unlikely she will be placed elsewhere so you need to investigate choices around this.

1. look at the year 5 curriculum and work with your daughter to get her up to the appropriate level.

2. look into home educating or supplementing her education with tutors

3. accept she will be behind and discuss her needs with prospective schools and look as an education plan for her (what she will learn, how she will be supported, can they offer interventions)

She can read and write fluently in both languages and i’d say her maths is end of Year 2 level in uk curriculum maths books I have done with her. She’s 7, does this seem terrible? Really worried now

If she’s used to working in English at home with you, that’s great. I would get a set of workbooks - or buy online curricula - that cover the curriculum from eg Y2 to end of Y4 (concentrate on reading, Maths & grammar/ spelling to support writing) and work through them. You have 16 months.

Yes, she’ll have gaps in her knowledge of other subjects, but if her Maths & English are age appropriate for the English school system, she’ll be ok.

Yes she can read independently, write in full sentences and do maths easily-in both languages

Then she will be fine. She has the fundamentals in place, any specific gaps can and will be addressed by the school and by yourself.

Ok thank you, we can start the Year 3 over summer, she seems to be fine up to Year 2 work

A very large number of schools in England now use the White Rose Maths approach.

They do free parent / child workbooks - topic by topic. May well be a good place to start gentle acceleration:

whiteroseeducation.com/parent-pupil-resources/maths/free-downloads

If she's 7 (turning 8 soon?) now and her maths level is at the end of English Year 2 then she isn't really that behind.
That sounds good.