Move from UK to Ireland...Help!!! (title edited by MNHQ at request of OP)

[Pinnochiosnose]

I know this has been well covered but I would love to hear from those who have made the move. We are both Irish, left 15 years ago, living in London and are thinking about moving back to Ireland. DH wants to go back because of family, I just think it's a better option for the DC which for me takes precedence. We have two special needs kids which has essentially meant they all need private schooling (yes we tried public schools, they did not work, and we just had to move them into private schools) which in London is crippling from a financial point of view, a lot less costly in Ireland. That coupled with the notion that I prefer the school system there with the slightly broader range of subjects studied at sixth form level. Apart from that I'm about 50% on board and the rest undecided. Youngest is in year 7 and doesn't want to budge from UK as here is all he knows but middle child really wants to go.
Workwise there are no issues as we both work for International companies so effectively we can continue our current jobs in Ireland. Housing (like for everyone else in Ireland) is a big issue. I don't want to sell up here as I would like to keep a base in UK just in case we aren't happy in Ireland and want to return to UK. Also I don't want to cut all ties with London as I have friends here and my eldest child would stay here so that give him somewhere to live

Just wanted to hear from those who have made the move, whether you are glad you did so and any regrets! How did your SEN (or not SEN) kids get on with the move? What do you miss most about UK ? Does anyone have any experience of the international schools in Dublin? And how have you found getting a house, rental and buying? Cheers!

You need to edit your title.

Oh yeah 😅 sorry...

Sorry can't seem to edit it...but it's supposed to be UK to Ireland 😂

You'll also need to explain what Year 7 means!!

Year 7 is 6th class equivalent

Hi, no advice but wanted to say I'm in the same boat! Thinking of moving to Ireland (family there) from Yorkshire but feeling 50/50 about help but wanted to say snap! Haha

Another point that I'm concerned about is school hours in Ireland! Much shorter school days and wondering how people work FT.

Afterschool set up in some schools, childminders, crèches with bus transport from school, a kind grandparent/sibling/rota set up.

Do you go home often? Ireland has changed immensely in the last 15 years (we’re talking rural rather than Dublin) so much so that it’s looking like we’ll have to abandon plans to move there from London. We were looking at moving in 5-6 years time but the way things are going there it’s looking less likely.

We moved home in 2019, after being in London and a few other places in England since the late 1990s, with a London-born 7 year old. I was quite clear on it being a good move (rising xenophobia where we lived in Brexitland helped make the decision), but understandably our son was upset. He’s still nostalgic for the village which is the only place he remembers living. We sublet from friends, had a lot of temporary moves during Covid, had a house purchase fall through — it was difficult. No information on SEN school stuff, sorry.

Off topic but What's the school hours in England? I'm in n.i and as I thought roi was the same, 9-3?

I can't help with the moving bit. I did live in Scotland before I had children but that is very different to moving back with kids. But there are Afterschool's, crèches, childminders. It really depends where you are going whether childcare is an issue:

For the OP with a child in 6th class it is likely they could get home themselves or be picked up quickly by a parent working remotely. Sending SEN kids to private schools does not seem to be a thing here that I have come across anyway. Private primacy schools are a rare thing.

We moved back in 1997 so some time ago. I found it hard to settle initially but it's been the best thing for us.

You need time to adjust. Our children have had much more freedom here than if we had stayed in London.

We rented out our apartment in London in case we decided to move back but sold it when we decided we were staying after 2.5 years.

Not sure about England, but our primary school in ROI is more like 9 to 2.40pm for Ist to 6th class. The infant classes finish earlier so it’s 9 to 1.40pm for the first two years, until they’re about 7.

That’s a thing I wanted to mention too OP. You said year 7 was the same as 6th class, which it is in terms of years at school, but don’t forget that Irish children tend to start later age-wise. It depends where the birthdays fall but 11 would be typical for a 5th class child and many children will have turned 13 before starting secondary. Just something to factor in…the starting age has risen because there are free preschool years now.

Yes, DS left the UK in the middle of Year 3 and went into second class, but he was by far the youngest in his class, and is now the youngest in his school year at secondary out of 110 kids — he was more than able for the academic work, but sometimes I wonder whether we shouldn’t have moved him ‘back’ a further year in the transition.

I moved to UK Ireland pre pandemic. So lots of these things are fairly fresh in my head.
How will the money work if you stay in the same roles? Ireland has higher tax, insurance, food etc and you'll probably want private health insurance too. A UK salary and Irish costs will be tight.
There is so a well publicised squeeze on special needs classes, especially in the Dublin area. Can you go anywhere else? But there will be no private primaries outside of Dublin (and there is only 1 international school Nord Anglia). I second that Irish school kids are older starting and finishing school, many will be 18 starting 6th year.
And remember you can "never go home" time has moved on and things won't be the same. So you need to treat it similarly to a move anywhere, but one with hopefully some added relatives to help out.
Editing to add that the rental market is insane, few properties and they are very expensive. You won't get a mortgage til you are home for a year, and the market is very slow. Daft.ie if your friend here.

ReturnOfTheMakkaPakka why do you think you'll need to abandon your plans? What exactly has changed that would affect you so?
Thanks to all for the messages. I have been back to Ireland about once a year to visit family and I'm kept up to date about things there although i agree it's no substitute for actually living there. I know Ireland is expensive but quite frankly I don't think anywhere could be as expensive as London ?! We would save an absolute FORTUNE on schools alone. Yes I've also heard that private schools in Ireland aren't necessarily the best option for SEN but I had such an awful experience here in London with public schools and SEN kids that I'm not terribly anxious to return to public. I've heard about Nord Anglia and I'm really surprised by the lack of International schools considering there are probably a lot more people working as expats there now.
Re school ages, that's very interesting BakedAubergine and a big consideration! But they start school at 5 here in UK...isn't that the same in Ireland? I'm confused

You won't get a mortgage til you are home for a year,
Why do you think that? I moved back to Ireland from London in 2007. My dh is English so he was moving to Ireland for first time. We got a mortgage and bought straight away.

I have no experience of public schools in UK but I have two children with sen in Ireland. Both in state schools. Schools will differ in how they support kids so don't assume all state schools are bad. In my experience the fee paying schools tend to be very focused on exams and very academic I was advised by one that they could not guarantee they could support my child's needs. Ireland don't tend to have the independent fee paying schools like the UK so I would not be convinced fee paying in Ireland is better for children with additional needs. There are options though such as the Steiner schools or private Montessori schools that go up to 6th class.

But they start school at 5 here in UK
Yes same as in Ireland. I have nieces and nephews in UK and they had to start after they turned 4 there didn't seem to be much option in that. Irish schools have 8 years of primary, UK 7 years afaik, that's where I think the difference might be. How many years of primary has your child done?

But they start school at 5 here in UK...isn't that the same in Ireland? I'm confused

I thought that in England they started reception in Sept once they’d turned 4 OP? Is that wrong? Maybe private schools are different?

Either way, here they mostly start at 5 now. A child would generally only start at 4 if their birthday was before Christmas and they’d turn 5 then. Some January or Feb birthdays start at 4 too but teachers mostly consider this too young ime and a lot of those children start closer to 5.5 years now. There are two years , Junior Infants and Senior Infants before reaching First class, so 8 years of primary altogether (apologies as you probably know this already but just for anyone else who may be reading.)
The school starting age has risen even in the last few years so you may not have been aware of that.

Sorry, cross post @Dulra

I've a child with SEN so feel free to message me OP but no as PP have said with SEN private schooling isn't a thing and it's often a question that comes up on the various Facebook groups but I'm not in Dublin so private primary schools dont even exist where I am. Actually it's quite the opposite the schools that are disadvantaged (DEIS schools) are quite often highly sought after by families of SEN children regardless of the family income as their funding is higher and staff ratio is amazing in many cases

It was a year when we came back, and when relatives moved in 2015. Maybe the rules changed?

Just to echo PPs, I have a child with SEN and I was advised against sending him private by the psychologist who diagnosed him. Private schools are very academic focused and often don't offer the best support.

On costs it's the less visible things which are the main difference, you don't see then as a visitor. Electric and gas are way more expensive, insurance is at least 4 or 5 times the price. Cars are way more expensive (and bringing one from the UK is a paperwork nightmare) Grocery shopping is more, but the food is better. There are few (if any) council run pools etc.
But if you are saving 30k pa plus on school fees, as long as you don't go for Nord Anglia, you may be better off.
I'm very happy we moved. DC have benefited from a more relaxed secondary experience. The leaving is high pressure, but so are GCSE and Alevels.

With respect, 2007 was the height of the Celtic Tiger and banks were throwing money at anyone in sight. It definitely tightened up post-2008…..