Relocating from Australia to England - question about schooling for 4 and 6 yr olds

[snaggle100]

Hello,
We are looking to relocate from Australia back to England around Christmas time due to my husbands work. However I am worried about the schooling aspect for our children.

My daughter is attending Prep (first year of school, think this is called reception in England). She started in Feb 2013. Her birthday is mid September. I believe if she would have gone to school in the UK she would have started in Sept 2012 (so she is already 6 months behind the UK schooling system).

My son is 4. His birthday is in Feb. Due to the way the educational system works in Australia, he would not have attended Prep (1st year of school) until Feb 2015. He would have been a few days of being 6 years old. Even though he is 4 he is in 3 year old kinder. When we return to the UK he will not have even attended 4 year old kinder.

I am wondering what would be the normal practice with regards to what school year my son would go into, is there an option to keep them back a year. I would be very uncomfortable with him going into his first school year (think its called reception) without him even doing his 4 year old kinder year? I would not say at the moment that he is school ready.

Appreciate any thoughts and insight.

Kind regards,
Vicki

I am afraid that the state system is not very flexible, if it was I would have kept back my August born DS a year. It is sometimes possible- you would need to discuss it with the individual school.

You won't be able to keep then back a year.

But I suspect our reception is more like 4 year old kinder than like prep.

They spend most of the day playing in reception.

Either way, they'll both catch up quickly.

The other thing is that receptionist part of what is called early years foundation stage, effectively a continuation of nursery years into school. Reception is almost entirely free play with constant free flow to outdoor play in most settings. DS1 has just finished reception and very very little formal sit down work is done, although a bit of structure was introduced at the end of the year.
I'm not sure what 4 year old kinder would be like but it may not be that different. There is no expectation on knowledge other than self care skills.

So, AbbyR1973, your DS1 didn't learn to read or use correct letter formation to write, learn to add, take away, double numbers etc etc and his end of year report did not reflect the knowledge and skills he acquired during his reception year? If absolutely all he learned were 'self care skills' then you have been mightily short changed by his school!!

My daughter has just finished reception (she has just turned 5 so a young one in her year), and whilst I agree that a large element of the year involved play, development of social skills etc, there was certainly formal learning as well. Each day commenced with a letters and sounds session (phonics learning etc.) and later in the day they would do numeracy work or ICT. Consequently my daughter has finished reception with a really good level of reading (and fairly good writing) and the ability to add/subtract at a basic level. In terms of what she could do before she started reception, she was able to write her name and some basic words (i.e cat) and was able to count quite well and recognize her numbers. I also agree that you probably wouldn't be able to keep your son back a year - sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear x

If your DD will be 7 in Sept, she will be going into Year 2 here this Sept and be one of the oldest in the year. If she is 6 in Sept, she'll be going into Yr 1. (first year is reception, then year 1, etc)

As your DS will be 5 in Feb, he will be going into Reception this September. Whilst you can't put him down a year (assuming you are going for state schools; essentially that doesn't happen here in the State system unless the child is severely developmentally delayed, though private schools are more flexible) he doesn't have to be in education until the term after he turns 5, so with a Feb birthday you could hold him back until the summer term which starts after Easter. I wouldn't personally, as there will be loads of other kids there younger than him and who won't have had any pre-school experience, but you could.

Reception is play based at all state schools, it's not all sitting in lines at desks at all, so it's a gentle introduction to school life.

My ds starting Reception this September. He was 4 in June. He cannot read and his writing consists of a very wonky first letter of his name.
I have been told this is absolutely not a worry. He enjoys being read to and looking at picture books. He can count on his fingers and enjoys recognising door numbers.
Reception is about learning through play. I am sure some will start the term writing their full name and reading. This is my second child and I have learnt that all tends to even out and stressing or comparing to other children pointless.
Please don't worry and good luck with your move.

Darl- I meant the expectation of knowledge at entry to reception to reassure OP. DS1 could do more than self-care skills when he started as it happens but there is no expectation that a child should already know letters/numbers etc. I felt reception was very cunning as they managed to extend DS who already had quite advanced skills without him ever actually realising he was working or in fact doing anything other than playing! He had a wonderful, stimulating year
I suspect year 1 might come as a bit of a shock!!

My dgs was also 4 in February.He has been in a nursery class for a year [half days] and will go full time in Reception in September.He knows all the letters and can read cvc words.He can count to 20 and recognise numbers.He can write his name and some other random words-his best effort was to write boom boom on a picture of waves [without help].I think there will be a range of abilities in reception and your ds will not be behind at all.maybe you could start working with your dd now and try to help her with the basics.There are lots of appropriate reading and work books on Amazon-go for the Jolly Phonics series if possible and don't worry they will be fine.

I don't know why people are coming onto this thread to show off that their dc can read a bit, write their name, count well etc before they even started year R, that isn't going to help op is it .

op - the school system is not flexible in terms of which year your dc is put in. It is flexible in terms of dealing with different experiences and abilities. From what I have seen 'normal' at entry will include scribbling, no reading and some counting in the wrong order to reading fluently, writing legibly and doing basic maths. The scale is huge so there really is no need to worry. The scale is still pretty big in year 1, with the gap gradually getting smaller.

You can't avoid putting him in by Easter at the latest - but you can pick a school that will be supportive. State schools here vary in terms of size, age range and ethos, maybe a small nurturing environment will suit best rather than a pushy results focused one?
Locally some of our schools are aged 4-7, some aged 4-9 and some 4-11. Many have an attached nursery class for 3-4 year olds.
I'd recommend that you look at ofsted reports for the schools you are considering but also look at the school's website, you may find that it tells you more about the kind of school it is than the formal report.
Fwiw i recently taught an Aussie girl, came over at 7 so had two years less schooling and within a year was comfortably mid class in terms of ability, she was ready to learn (and delightful).

Hello all,
Thank you very much for your input. My son knows his ABC's and can count 1-20. We have started with phonics but he would have no idea how to read or write basic words. He can write his name but thats about all he is interested in doing. He would not have a clue with maths.

Its interesting - I had not heard about the summer term, holding him to easter, although I do see some issues with this. We are thinking state school but would consider private if it was best for him.

At the moment because we are not sure where we will be based its hard to really start looking into individual schools. I had heard though that we had better be prepared to be knocked back from schools are the majority will be full and we may have to appeal for a place? Anyone any insight on this?

Kind regards and really appreciate your responses

:)

It really depends what part of the country you are moving to, there have been many comments on here from people in london boroughs with a 400m catchment, other areas vary greatly - mine attend a school in the midlands 5 miles from home and got straight in with no appeal. There's also a bit of luck involved in whether it's a high or low birthrate year, mine wouldn't have got in the previous year. Schools with good reputations locally tend to get full quicker, some schools, particularly some rural ones, are never full. I guess until you know where you are going it's hard to predict. Each area has a local authority in charge of admissions, eg for a city/town/borough and they will be able to advise you how many places there are free.