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?

Oh, I mean gentle transition yes. 😳
🤣 Is embarrassing first mistake to make.

My daughter started school at four without any English and she got on great.

Cakes and donuts probably won’t be allowed as parents are very picky about sugar/unhealthy food and also there are allergy issues to be very careful about. You can definitely speak with the school about another way to celebrate your cultural traditions. I’m sure the school would be very happy.

Your daughter will be behind, yes. But she will catch up! Can you start teaching her some simple phonics and numbers and let her start learning to write? You can print her some nice worksheets on the internet! Try a website like Twinkl to download some free teaching resources for her.

I’m a teacher so if you want to message me (I work abroad and also teach children English) I can try and help you find something simple but which will give her some knowledge to catch up a bit 😊

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

Welsh isn't a dialect of English, it is a totally different language. But don't let that put you off.

Lots of schools have children who don't speak English (or Welsh) at home.

For younger children they are sometimes given a "survival language ring" or similar with pictures so if the child wants the toilet they show the teacher the toilet picture.

www.axcultures.com/resources/79-resources/81-survival-language-key-ring

If there is another child in the class that speaks the same language as your daughter (I'm guessing Slovak) she will probably be 'buddied' with that child.

This can be for the entire school day if they are a similar age, or just for playtimes / breaks eg if the other child is 10.

If there isn't another child with the same language then they may still buddy her with either another child who is an immigrant as they have similar experiences, or with a child the teacher feels is nurturing.

Welcome to mumsnet and to the UK.

Vitajte: )

Try not to worry, as others have said, she will be fine. They will assess her and there will be things you can work through with her to help her along but she will catch up.

Customs and traditions will take a bit longer (both ways) - speak to the school about nameday (meniny). As an aside, a lot of schools are ‘healthy schools’ so sweets etc are not allowed.

If you are religious and will be joining a church, there may be others from SR that you can connect with.

I would advise bringing whatever she loves most treat-wise (obvs permitted by customs) - you can buy a lot here (eg horalky, milka) but not everything (Mila) and it may help if she’s a bit homesick.

It is a lovely part of the world and she’ll have seaside on her doorstep.

DM me if you have questions or just want a chat about it all x

There are local schools that will be Welsh language focused or English language focused (there's usually at least one of each type).
You can choose which school to enrol her in, but I would find out before you enrol her if your preference is English!
Even in the English medium school they will still have Welsh lessons if she wanted to learn.
Also welcome to Wales. 😊

Croeso i Gymru - Welcome to Wales

Wales is very relaxed. My kids took cakes on their Birthdays until Covid and if a child in the school has a severe nut allergy then you may be asked not to bring anything with nuts.

Don’t worry about the language, that will come as will making friends etc. As a mum offer to help out with the school events and just ask how things are done, parties, raffles, school play, everyone always welcomes people who are friendly.

Depending on the school, it could be Welsh Medium (All teaching is in Welsh) or English but Welsh will be taught in class and things like singing or nursery rhymes and numbers can be in Welsh. Don’t worry about this too much and choose the school that is the best fit for your child and where they will be happiest.

Physical punishment is illegal in Wales so any form of smacking or hitting is not allowed. Any body smacking children will be sent on a reeducation course.

Expect your children to dress in red (all kids wear a Welsh Rugby Top - usually from Tesco’s) paint dragons and do any daffodil or leek craft or costume on St. David’s Day.

Support Wales in the Rugby.

Welcome to wales! Do not worry about the education gap as in Wales learning at age 5 is very much play based, so learning through play rather than strict lessons. Your dd will have to learn welsh at some point as all children in Wales do, however at her age she will pick up the basics quickly so I would not worry. I am sure you will get lots of support and she will be fine. good luck!

I’d ask school about cakes due to allergies. They might prefer not .

Do not worry we have had kids who speak no English (same with their parents) and the kids have caught up very quickly and make friends etc.

Our school says no to sweets and cakes being brought in for birthdays etc mostly due to allergies within the school. They asked that a book be signed by the child and brought in if people still wanted to do something.

I don't know about kids, but we moved to Wales and the people are SO friendly! They are TOO friendly, if that's possible, so it's hard to walk down the street or pop into a shop without someone wanting a chat. You'll be fine OP.

Welcome! I know it's worrying, but I expect your daughter will cope well with the move. It's a good age to learn new things and make new friends.

I teach English to children of this age and would recommend 'English for Everyone Junior Beginner's Course' (Dorling Kindersley) if you can get a copy. There's an app and audio online here: www.dkefe.com/junior/en-gb/welcome to help.

Different schools have different rules about bringing in cakes etc so this will depend on her school. They would probably love the opportunity to teach about name days though!

My 6 year old daughter had a girl from the Ukraine join her class last year. She spoke no English at all when she started but now understands everything and speaks English pretty well. Your daughter will learn quickly and will definitely not be punished for not understanding or for finding the work difficult while she is learning the language.

Thanks so much to all of you! I am reassured that my daughter will have a way to communicate until she catch up. It is a big change for us as a whole family. Knowing she will be probably buddied to a child with similar circumstance is reassuring.

I have some caution about trying to teach my child the English alphabet phonics, we do English at higher years in school here but I fear my pronunciation of English phonetics is not so great, W sound is hard for example.

Tinitiny thank you. I did not think about the adjustment of treats, that is a good tip. Are you live in Wales, was it hard to adjust to Welsh way of life?

Welcome to the UK! Croeso! Very good advice from the others about English and Welsh stream schools - English schools will be the best choice for your daughter as it's a second language. Have you heard of Alphablocks and Numberblocks TV shows? If you watch those in English she can be learning the language as well as picking up some numeracy and phonics basics. But don't worry too much - she'll catch up with the rest of the class in no time!

Welsh people are very welcoming to foreign nationalitues (not so much the English haha).

Welcome OP!

Your little girl will soon pick it up as a 5 year old and she will have a lovely Welsh accent too!

Reception is very play based. There is a huge range of developmental stages - from some children who can read a bit already and are "school ready" - ready to sit still and learn - to those who need extra help just to be able to sit still and say they need to go to the toilet and how to hold a pencil.

Your little one will do fine, there will be Welsh kids in her class who are at beginning of their learning and development.

My kids had two little Polish boys in their class - they picked up English in no time (in the most perfect Cumbrian accents) they've returnd to Poland now but some kids have been out to visit them and they all play Fortnite online together - gaming knows no borders!

Don't worry about the language or her educational level all the children will all be at different levels and similar levels by the time the school levels are up. Most classes have teaching assistants to help anyone struggling anyway. And as for welsh speaking there will be more that don't speak welsh than do in Bridgend

Also we send in sweets on our children's birthday in our school and do different celebrations for lots of different cultures

She will be fine. Various children joined my children’s classes in early years speaking little to no English and picked it up quickly. Recently they have seemed to use iPads at first to help communicate.

Personally I would probably look to go to an English language school rather than Welsh otherwise she will have to learn two languages as she grows with English out of school. I would start with English then pick up Welsh.

Check with her teachers before sending in treats as approach varies - our current school won’t let you take good for sharing/giving out in due to allergies and this is quite common.

The school will have experience helping children with little English

And hand the donuts/ cakes out at the end of the day just outside the school gate/ entrance and you're golden. Many schools don't allow it in the classrooms any more but double check with the individual school first

@Thebravesisterstates I do not live in Wales (about 2 hours away from where you will be) and moved here before children so it is a bit different.
I just know what I missed :)

Tinitiny I value the input about what treats from home you missed.

Am I correct that reception grade in school the children will be expected to go from 9am to 3pm, 6 hours?
Seems so long for 5 year olds, here grade 1 it is 8am until 12:30pm.