Taking kids out of school for 2-3 months

[rosebb1]

Hi,
Looking for some advice regarding taking children out of primary school for a couple of months.
We are looking at the possibility of relocating to Italy, however before we make a final decision we are thinking of going over for a few months to see what it would be like.
The children (years 1 and 2 at primary school) have the chance to attend school in Italy as a taster.
Does anyone know where we would stand with our primary school in the uk? Would they keep the kids on roll?
Many thanks

Unlikely. They would be in trouble with people on the waiting list if they hold your places open for that length of time. I would expect that you would have to apply for places when you returned to the UK with no guarantee your children would get back into the same school.

If you deregister from school then they will offer the places to the next person on the waiting list.

Like others have said there is no way to leave for that long while keeping your children's places at their current school.

You will lose your school place, 2-3 months is too long. Why not try the half term or easter holidays and tag on an extra week? Two weeks should give you some idea of how it will work for you.

Do they speak fluent Italian? I would think this would be an absolute must before moving. It is a tall order for any child to relocate and not understand the language.

I don't think it's too long at all. It'll be a wonderful and unique experience even even if you decide not to move full time. Speak to the school and you local council for advice. You are not the first family to do this. I have taken my daughter for 6 months and 4 months. She stayed on roll as there was no waiting list. If not done properly it will affect the schools attendance figures which can affect the inspection reports and also educational welfare officers can become involved. That's not to scare you off from this experience and opportunity but take advice and work with the school as to how to best work it. You may want to consider home schooling or enrolling them in a local school. Good luck

Also your children will become fluent if immersed in the language in the country. Within three months they will be chatting away and they will have a good understanding before that. It will be difficult to become fluent from lessons here (if not impossible). Pop them into school would be my choice.

I know someone who did this and went to India for 6 months.
They had long discussions with the school who were very supportive. They couldn't hold the places, but promised to do all they could to get them back in.

They penpalled the school while they were away and gave a presentation when they came back.

So, I would say talk to the school, a lot will depend on where you are and the pressure on school places.

Do they speak fluent Italian? I would think this would be an absolute must before moving. It is a tall order for any child to relocate and not understand the language.

This is, I'm afraid, poor advice. I work with a lot of families moving to and from the UK, and while it is great to have lessons to get a head start, the best way to learn the language is full immersion in school. Be warned though, it isn't easy, especially the first month, and not all kids will be 'chattering away' after 3 months. I would say, working functional language after 3 months, fluent at 6 and native speaker level at 12, if it is English to European language. If it is Russian/Chinese or a tonal language, double or triple those times.

Just to be clear, the school cannot keep children on the roll when they are absent for this length of time. Even if there is no-one on the waiting list, they would mess up their attendance statistics. If no-one applies for the places the children will be able to rejoin the school when they return. But the school cannot keep the places open if other people apply.

Our local schools keep places for travelling children who may only attend 1-2 months per year...

steppemum I have experience of being in a school and not being able to speak the language and it was very stressful. I couldn't articulate even going to the loo, much less making a friend. I felt frightened. We stayed for six months and moved back, and although many children were curious no one really played with me as I couldn't speak their language and didn't understand how things worked inside or outside school. After six months I was not fluent. I later went back and worked there and became fluent but that took a few years (adult)

It wasn't just that one month was a struggle, it was all abit of a struggle.

That said it made me the independent person I am now, so a good experience from that point of view. I find it easy to make friends.

I would also add it is better to do this when they are young (as your children are) It will be harder the older they get, and impossible without disrupting their education. It is a window, so I can see why you want to do it now.

Our local schools keep places for travelling children who may only attend 1-2 months per year

The rules are different when dealing with children of travellers. They will normally be registered at more than one school. Their home school is, in general, required to keep them on the register while they are travelling.

Kids relocate all the time without knowing the language. Provided they are fully immersed and you’ve taught them essential phrases (eg please miss I need the loo) they’ll pick it up quickly.

You’ll lose your current school places, but that’s par for the course.

Having lived as an expat I agree your children will probably become fluent quickly but not as quick as 2-3 months as a PP implied (some will but that would be better than average). When I was an expat children of 2-5 usually took 6 months - 1 year to become really fluent (although there were a pair of brothers who learned English in 3 months). I agree though that it could be a wonderful experience for them.

They couldn't hold the places, but promised to do all they could to get them back in.

Interesting. How did they intend to do this?

There are some very naive ideas about child language acquisition here.

Ballpark figures are, kids under around 10 with no previous exposure to the language can become fully native speakers at the conversational level, but it takes 2-3 years.

Catching up academically (writing skills and having a rich enough vocabulary to be able to read things like textbooks with decent comprehension) takes another 2 years on top of that, on average.

If the OP takes her kids for 2-3 months, they will pick up some Italian but the idea that they will be "fluent" is a joke. If they move next year in equiv of English Year 2 and 3, they will acquire surface/conversational fluency within a couple of years, but realistically you are looking at playing "academic catch-up" for most of primary school, because they will need ongoing support with acquiring vocabulary, reading comprehension and writing skills. If you want your kids to maintain good English as well, you also have to put in extra work in English at home. It's possible but it is not easy and plenty of work is required. Emotionally speaking, some kids cope well, others become extremely stressed and it does not suit them.

I have a bilingual child and most of my friend's kids are bilingual, with several moving between different language school systems, so I am speaking from considerable experience.

Lots of interesting opinions here. I also have experience of bilingualism as my own daughter is bilingual. She went to a school at 4 which only taught in a language different from our own language. This language was not spoken in our home or in the wider community. So she was only acquiring this language from school interactions.

My daughter is average academically...no child genius. From a September start (with no language experience other than English, our home language) to Christmas my daughter was functioning easily in her new tongue...singing songs, expressing her needs, using past, present and future tense for herself and others....basic conversational language. From there it snowballs. This was the same for the majority of her cohort. Certainly all my friends children who were on the same position as us.

As a primary school teacher myself, my experience of having pupils enter my class who do not speak English is this...the better grasp they have of their home language, the quicker they learn English. This is not linked to being 'clever' but is based on their ability to converse and use any language. So if your children are confident and proficient in your home language I can see no reason why you wouldn't consider this experience for all of you.

All year group curriculums are available to download so you can keep on top of their appropriate maths if you wanted to. Other than that I would let their learning occur naturally from the new culture and experience. Good luck!

If there are rules for children of travellers can't you just say you're a traveller now and they have to hold your place?

No, that wouldn't work. The rules only apply where the child is of no fixed abode because their parent is in a trade or profession that requires them to travel from place to place and is registered at two or more schools. Simply saying "I'm a traveller" and then leaving the country doesn't get remotely near qualifying.