Shocked at how strict the Brit system is compared to Japan!

[bristolsushi]

I have been living in Japan for 10 years. My DD who just turned 5 three months ago goes to a Japanese kindergarten. DH is Japanese. While DD is bilingual, English is weaker as she doesn't have any English speaking friends nearby. So since DD was 4 I have been teaching DD to read and write. Nothing serious... Just 15 mins 2-3 times a week- basically for fun. Have always assumed DD will go to an international school when she is nearly 7 cos japanese primary schools are just suicidally crazy/intensive. But due to circumstances,since last September, there is a possibility of relocation back to the uk sometime this year (actual date not decided... 6 - 9 months later maybe). Now, having checked the brit system, I realize formal schooling starts from 5!! Having read some threads on here, kids should have advanced reading and writing skills, know their maths, have SATs exams, loads of homework, tutoring etc. gosh.... And I thought japan was bad!! So over the winter holidays I bought Year 1 workbooks to do with DD and really upped the reading and writing. DD doesn't know what's hit her with all this new studying thing!! I feel quite overwhelmed now as I feel I need to teach the KS1 curriculum all by myself. I'm not a teacher and don't know if im doing the right thing. I even bought ORT books for the first time ( having no idea what they were until now!) and DD is at level 3... but it seems kids aged 5 in uk are around level 6-7? knowing DD is already weak in English makes me think she really won't cope at all. In Japan, 5 and 6 yr olds are still playing in the sand pit!!no formal education at all. In a big panic!!

If your child has just turned 5 you are looking at the wrong year - she would be in Reception, not year one, so not doing KS1 at all, rather finishing Early Years Foundation. At the end of reception I would estimate that a solid performer would be doing basic reading (not much beyond simple "The cat sat etc"), writing their name and the letters and starting to write simple CVCs, counting with meaning to 20 and doing simple sums below 10 (but not necessarily faultlessly).
Exams start much later, even in the pushiest London independents.
Don't panic!!!!

To go into Reception your child just needs to be able to look after their own physical needs. Eg:

Hang their coat on their hook (recognising their name is useful)
Go to the toilet unaided
Eat unaided
Dress and undress themselves

Any reading and writing skills will be a bonus, but not essential.

Japan has relatively informal kindergarten, but then a MASSIVE jump in formality in Grade 1 (equivalent to Year 2) in the UK. Suddenly they are sitting in rows, with a textbook for every subject that comes home daily.

The UK system starts with the formal learning from 4 (that is the equivalent of "nenchu" or mid-year kindergarten in Japan) and the formality level increases veeeery gradually. Look at a British primary school class with 6-12yos in it, and then look at an elementary school in Japan with exactly the same aged kids. The Japanese school's classrooms will be a LOT more formal. I remember going into my 9yo niece's classroom during a visit to the UK and thinking, it's crazy in here--the nonstop chatter, the sitting clustered around tables, the poster-making, the classroom with distractions all over it. The Japanese classes at the same age look like early-secondary-school age classroom in an "academic" school.

It is a matter of personal preference which one thinks is less of a shock to a child's system. ;)

Bear in mind that once a Japanese child can read kana they can access all children's books and the whole curriculum (due to furigana over the top of the kanji in kids' books). And learning kana takes a few months at most. So the Japanese education system can afford to wait till 6yo to learn to read and write. With English, they take 2-3 YEARS to get really fluent at reading and writing. There is a need for an earlier start.

Mary, this thread is five years old. The OP's child is probably about the go to secondary school now!

Hi bristolsushi

I am Chinese and my DH is English, we lived in China for 5 years and moved back to the UK when my DS1 was 5 and he went in Year 1 straight away. By then he barely understand teacher's instructions and only recognize a few letters. My DH spent a lot of times reading with him. He picked up English very quickly and got level 3s across the board by the end of year two. He is in Year 6 the moment and has been offered a place in one of the top selective secondary schools in Northwest. Sadly but true, he does not speak Chinese anymore. :(

Depending on where you will be living in the UK have you considered sending her to a Japanese school?