We are moving in the UK from slovakia. I am worried.

[Thebravesisterstates]

We are moving in the Wales prefecture of UK from slovakia. I have a 5 year old girl and I am worried much about the education gap this will present for her.

Is my child likely to be integrated with no much trouble. School here starts from 6 years of age, there has been no formal education for her to this point?

Her English is no so good and very basic, she only knows her name on being written, no phonetic sounds yet. We have a different alphabet here.

Customs here are very different too. If my 5 year old was to take in cakes and donuts to school on her name day would this be seen as strange?
Or would the school could use this as a learning time for more understanding other cultures?
Is it only birthdays to be celebrated?

She is so young and so she will be absolutely fine! I wouldn’t worry at all! I know quite a few people who moved from my home country to the UK and all the younger kids were fine. They are so adaptable and learn new languages very quickly.

I would speak to school about name day, I think most schools would be really open to learn about other cultures and celebrate special times with the children. Some schools don't allow cakes because of allergies of being healthy but they might he able to celebrate in other ways if they don't allow sweet treats :)

Welcome x

She will be fine and will learn very quickly.
My sons school has a few children from Ukraine who spoke no English at all and can now speak fluently.
Your child can bring in cakes for any celebration if it is your custom. British schools love to celebrate customs from around the world such as Diwali and Chinese New Year.

She's very young and will learn English quickly. One of the best things you can do is read English books with her, watch English TV etc.

Re cakes etc my daughter's school doesn't allow it due to allergies (thank god as our daughter is allergic to cows milk).

Make sure you get a school place for her, your local council should be able to help.

You can ask the school for a gentle transition. As long as it takes for her to settle. Even going for part time hours for a little while. Im sure they will be gentle with her.

Your child will be fine. My DC’s school had lots of children who were from
other countries, some arriving with no English at all. With the cakes on a name day, you will have to check with the school. My DC’s school wouldn’t allow it, I think, but other schools might.

Welcome ❤️.

Your daughter will be fine. Talk to her new teacher when she starts and explain your worries. Best of luck.

My youngest daughter made very good friends with a Slovakian girl
Who started in year 2 at around age 7 in a primary school in wales. She adapted so quickly and was so happy in her new school and settled very quickly and the school welcomed all her national traditions. I'm sure your daughter will be just fine. X

Your daughter will be a fine. They adapt so quickly! Wales is beautiful too.

The school where I teach has many children from around Europe - lots start with little or no English but very quickly pick it up. Your daughter will be fine!
However, we don’t accept any food being brought in to distribute in school unless it’s in the sealed original packaging with the ingredients listed. So home made cakes would be unacceptable. This is mainly because of potential allergies.

Name day isn't celebrated in the UK, so while it would be interesting for the class; depending on the teacher, it wouldn't be expected. The UK has far fewer saints!

Will the school be Welsh speaking or English speaking?

cakes will have to be nut free. The school will let you know - my child always takes things in for his birthday.

Wales is a lovely country. Depending on the school they may teach through Welsh as well as English. Which part of Wales?
Yes bringing in biscuits or cake is welcome especially to celebrate a birthday or cultural event. Children learn very quickly at this age so do not worry.

Welcome!

It will be fine. At dds school lots of kids have arrived not able to speak English at all and are now fluent. There is a bilingual Slovakian family too. Don’t worry op.

don't worry, she will be fine.
welsh people are very friendly and have great cultural traditions, esp in music and poetry.
there is an ancient arts festival held annually called the eisteddfod, with a children's section. people come from all over the world to attend.
please keep posting and let us know of your journey of discovery in wales.
croeso = welcome in welsh.

I work in a secondary school in North Wales. We have a mixed student population from Portugal, Poland, Ukraine, Africa, English and Welsh!

Generally the children adapt really well and their language and literacy skills are incredible considering that for most they have two or even three languages that they regularly use.

Please don’t worry about traditional cultural celebrations in primary school as most are welcoming of other traditions. In my daughters primary school most children brought in cakes/sweets on their birthday.

Be prepared that your dd will be learning Welsh as well as English in school as Wales has a proud national identity, culture and language of its own that is separate to English.

Welcome to Wales, I have been here 25 years and wouldn’t live anywhere else now.

Welcome!

My daughter had a boy from Hungary join her class in Reception (age 5) and another join in the following year - I can’t remember where his home country was but neither had any English at all. Both times the boys were looked after and the children took great pride in caring for them, helping them to learn English and learning some of their language too. They’re 10 now and the boys are completely fluent speakers.

She will be absolutely fine. Will her education be in English, Welsh or a bit of both? She is the perfect age to absorb language like a sponge.
As for the cakes on name day, her school will probably love hearing about this aspect of her culture.
Welcome to the UK - hope your transition is smooth.

She is very young and will pick up language very quickly. Any cakes you take in will be gratefully received no matter the occasion. You might have to be careful regarding allergens and there might be rules on how much sugary stuff can go in - this varies a lot from school to school.

Welcome, OP! I'm sure she will settle in very quickly and surprise you with how quickly she picks up the language, as previous posters have said. If it sets your mind at rest, my younger sister moved abroad when she was 12 and started her new school not knowing that country's language at all, and by the end of the year she was completely fluent. She went on to become a teacher and remains bilingual.

Thanks to you all for the welcome and advise.

We will be living Bridgend, I also wonder if the school will be Welsh and English dialect mix but do not know.

I am hope for genital transition to be offered by the school. My big worry is that cultural and education gap, my child can be shy.

I am look at these and she can do most of this:

uk.ixl.com/maths/reception
Excluding; Subtraction, Addition, Fractions, Time, Graphs and of course UK money.

This is a big deficit as the language is very new to her:
uk.ixl.com/english/reception

It seems to me as a big gap between her peers levels will be presented.

My husband teaches science in a secondary school in Leeds where there are something like 23 different nationalities. Some of the children are joining in year 11 speaking no English whatsoever so I think your child will do fine because they are so young.

@Thebravesisterstates I'm guessing you meant gentle transition ! Genital transition is something quite different!

If she's struggling after 6 months just get some additional tuition. I'm sure it will even out. The most important thing is she's happy and settled.