Want to from Scotland to England - child age 8 this Sept -advice pls?

[tunafortea]

Hello

For various reasons I want to move my child from Scottish Primary school to an English one (prob Northumberland area).

He is 8 end Sept this year. He is 1 year 'behind' in Scotland as he repeated a year. Ed Psy says he is age appro learning wise but I am sure he has dyslexia - this is one of the reasons we want to move.
Addtional support for learning is light years behind up here.

If I moved, would his school file come with him, does anyone know?
I have made complaints about how the school have behaved (he's been badly bullied) and I feel they have put comments in his file re me being 'difficult' and I am keen to leave this behind!

Also any advice re how to apply, do you automatically get a place in catchment? etc

Sorry its a bit long!

thanks

At rising 8 he would be going into year 3, and will be one of the oldest in the year. Year 3 seems here at least when the gloves come off and the serious stuff kicks in (don't tell dd1 (going up this year too) that, she already thinks they should play more). In terms of admissions, unless they are operating a middle school system you will just have to see where there are spaces, or put your name down on a list. Although you usually deal with the school to arrange to see it etc, to get a place you need to apply to the Local Education Authority (LEA). You can go round and look at a number of different schools and choose those you like, but obviously lots of other parents might like them too. I guess unless you move you may find that he doesn't get a place at secondary school with his friends if you live further away.

I don't know about the file, here I think it travels with you, but I don't know about cross border. I would discuss with any school that you plan to apply to that he has been bullied in the past, which is probably partly why you want him to move. Ask if a child did x, y or z what would the school do? Once in if you throw yourself into the school activities etc they will soon make their own minds up.

The best way is to go and look, oh and going into year 3 the infant class size rule no longer applies, so you might be able to appeal to a suitable school even if it already has 30; though of course no guarantees.

Thanks,
3 duracellbunnies

So, he has done P1 (twice) in Scotland and now P2. I understand the curriculum would be different but would it be a huge jump in what they are asking of him to go into an English year 3?

Tricky as not easily comparable, but, eg, he has not started times tables yet, and started cursive writing but has gone back to printing as it is easier for him. He is brill at ICT and has fab general knowledge, but as I say, prob dyslexic. In my area they don't diagnose or help until age 11 (roughly).
Is there earlier intervention in England?

I'm not an expert on the curriculum, but yr 3 will be the 4th year at school, as they have completed Reception, yr 1 and yr 2. It is VERY unusual for a child to be able to be out of year group, or repeat a year, so if he struggles he will still stay with that year group from now on. My dd knows 2, 5, 10 tables solidly and would have a good go at 3 +4 times tables. She is still printing a lot as she had difficulties, but she is moving towards cursive writing now.

In terms of dyslexia, I'm not sure that the diagnosis would be much different in England, we have had support for dd, and they do assess and give extra help (usually with a teaching assistant) for those who need it. The extent of any help though I am sure varies from school to school. You really need to discuss the needs with the individual schools.