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?

The only one I can think of that should be easily available are Tuc crackers. The others I’m not too sure there are English/Welsh equivalents. You can get things like Bounty, which is coconut covered in chocolate.

Don’t worry too much about reading/ phonics or even speaking the language.
One of my sons couldn’t do phonics in reception, or read until 2 years later (age 7). By 8 (so 3 years later) he had completely caught up. There will be other children in your daughters class who can’t read or do phonics yet.
it is not at all unusual for children from other countries to join uk primary schools at 5/6/7 unable to speak English. In my experience they can make friends immediately, hold basic conversations within a month or two and are fluent within a year!

Not variations but very similar sounding products:

Arizonky - Expanded dried rice puffed in colours

These sound similar to "Rainbow drops", they may be similar enough.

Koko - Coconut bits with chocolate outer

Look for a "Bounty Bar"

You can get these in most supermarkets:

Tuc - salt cracker (not cheese)

The big supermarkets do have an international food section, Asda is Cardiff has a huge range but I am sure your local Tesco will too. Worth shopping around to see what you can find that is familiar.

So, some mixed results here:
Kavenky - similar wafers available in Tesco/ continental shops
Margot - nothing similar that I found
Arizonky - plain available occasionally from continental shops. Puffed rice (rice krispies) is different
Koko - similar to Bounty / supermarket own ranges taste similar
Tuc - widely available :)
Chocolate and peanut butter spread - seen it in continental shop in the striped option.

Worth checking if the school is "Welsh medium". pstatswales.gov.wales/Catalogue/Education-and-Skills/Schools-and-Teachers/Schools-Census/Pupil-Level-Annual-School-Census/Schools/schools-by-localauthorityregion-welshmediumtype

We had a relative whose job took him to live and buy a house on Anglesey in Wales and when he married his English wife could not get a teaching job there in any school because she could not speak nor teach in Welsh. Many parts of Wales however have primary schools using English as the first language so it is unlikely to be an issue.

@Xenia She’s moving to Bridgend not Anglesey. It’s not an Island and lots of jobs available.

Welsh medium school will be fine, if that is where you end up. There are loads of resources and support to learn welsh. My ds started a welsh medium school aged 9 and was fluent in 12 months. English widely spoken in the school as well. Welsh language and culture is wonderful. Re jobs there will be work in and around Bridgend and nearly all will not need welsh, teaching in some areas is slightly different especially in primary schools but less so in secondary schools.

Arizonky puffed rice looks interesting, I've never seen anything that looks like it. It's not a sweet is it, rainbow drops are sweets. What is it used for?

Sorry. I have nothing against the Welsh language and I even started learning Scottish Gaelic at one point. I just meant check before she starts (in case it is a surprise) some Welsh schools are taught completely in Welsh, not English. I had not noticed the Bridgend reference.

I hope it all goes well.

My 5 year old is shy about asking to use the toilet at school and the teachers ask her to make a T sign with her hands.

Its true that children learn language very quickly, especially in school.

The major supermarkets have world foods sections which include Eastern European foods so hopefully you will be able to get some things if you are feeling homesick. Sainsburys, Tesco and Asda all do as far as I know. But I’m sure you will enjoy exploring all the UK foods you get to try as well. Hope your move goes well.

you will find many useful and enjoyable items in aldi or lidl shops.
don't worry, your move is an exciting adventure, especially for your daughter.
brigend is not a welsh-speaking area.
lessons will be in english, and welsh will be included in the curriculum, mostly songs in the early years.
maybe she could sing a song from her home country on her name day.
they love hearing about other cultures.
you will be able to discuss any concerns with her teacher.

She will be absolutely fine! Welcome to the UK!

We use it for making rice ball snacks my daughter loves it.

We have Tesco and LiDL here but search online shows different options of food for Wales market. I am looking forward for the changes this will bring. Knowing other supermarkets have Eastern Europe foods in a small selection is a relief, import prices are very high.

A Great big thank you to those here, you have made me full of relief !

They have Lidl in Bridgend! As well as all the major supermarkets.

Yes Tesco and Lidl stores same, but content of products sold inside differ from here. I have been searching on website to see what to bring as a home comfort.
We also have different stores to.

I am having success at teaching my daughter some words, she understands and can say "toilet" ("T" sounding like "Ch", but she will be understood) and "help" right now. This is very basic but may give some confidence to her when she starts.

I am sure it will be fine.
By the way on this point "to see what to bring as a home comfort." It is illegal to bring many foods into the UK from abroad and you can be fined at air ports and ports for doing so so do check the approved list first. www.gov.uk/bringing-food-into-great-britain

The ones you are not allowed to bring in are things like fish, meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds.

A very important reminder to me, thank you. I am mostly focusing on candy. I will check double before we leave for final departure but I also think rice will be okay because we (by meaning Slovakia) are in EU.

www.pacey.org.uk/Pacey/media/Website-files/school%20ready/SST-Physical-Development-Factsheet.pdf

This a good sheet to help you gauge if her skills are on track, she sounds fine but I don't think you've mentioned if she can dress herself without help, including her shoes?
You will want to start a bedtime routine as soon as you can becasue it will help with her tiredness after school.

She is not able to do shoestrings tying but can dress most herself, she has the ability to do a zip only recently, and sock make her frustrate but she can do with time. We are working on knife and fork and recognise of her name when written. She is doing very good at tracing the letters.
Toilet she is very independent in the area but needs help currently after defecating, she can do but gets the frustration around it like with socks and knife.
Lots of skills she is learn for our moving day so I am proud of her, she is making a great amount of progress.

To people asking (Sorry I am forget who it was) My husband and myself have jobs already so no need to look, we are translate and liaison for a company.

Hi OP, firstly, I am sure you will be welcomed with open arms. I am in South Wales, my children are in a multi-cultural school (it's a state school, it just happens to be in an area where there are many families from different nations.) In my childrens school, name day cakes would be welcomed for the classmates, and it would be seen as an opportunity to talk about a different culture. On Chinese New Year for example, the Chinese children tend to bring in red envelopes with a foil-covered chocolate coin for each of their classmates and their teachers, on Eid the children have an Eid party in school, there are Christmas activities, and Easter, on birthdays most children bring in either cupcakes or small individual packs of sweets like haribo to share out with their class etc.

If your child is in an English-language school, which is most of them unless you actively choose a welsh language school, then they will learn mostly in English, but they will also study Welsh in the same way they might study French/ Spanish etc in a school in England. They will learn welsh songs and traditions as well.

The school day in my county is roughly 8:45 to 3pm, with a morning outdoor playtime and a lunchtime break which will also usually include outdoor play. Schools here are generally happy to help with things like toileting when it is clear that parents are working on it as well, and again with cultery etc- our school help where it is needed. My youngest is in Year 1 and will be 6 this academic year so is a similar age to your child- the curriculum is not focused on traditional 'sit down at a desk' schooling until year 2 onwards, a lot of his learning is still play based, they spend time at desks in small groups but also spend time sitting on the carpet, playing with topic-themed toys etc.

Something I have remembered. A friend moved to Spain with her little boy, the family spoke English at home and obviously the children learned Spanish at school.

My friend would ask her little boy what he had done at school and he would shrug, but he would speak to my friends younger brother in Spanish and tell him what had happened.

She said it was like he was too tired to translate.

It might not happen with your little girl but it could.

With Tesco they tend to stock food where there is local demand, so when I lived in London my local Tesco had a Kosher aisle, where I live now there isn't, but there is Halal food.

I am feeling so welcome and reassured even before i set my feet into the UK.

I am amusing myself at the same things re-titled in the UK, Algida Nogger is name called Walls Feast even same logo.