When to move with 7 year old

[katenollie]

Couple of questions if I might...  Thanks

 

We're planning on moving to Perth but want to plan it round our daughters schooling.  Those that have made the move, would you say its best to come in UK summer holidays or wait till xmas and start the Oz school year.

 

How do you choose a school and apply especially if you want littlen to start school as soon as possible?  

 

Are there any websites out there that can give info on whether a school is good or bad?  Back here we can check ofsted reports etc.  Is there something similar for Perth?

 

Thanks for your help

 

 

[Cleowag]

Hi,

We came in Sept a few years ago with a five year old. He’d had the six week school holidays in the uk but then due to us having to find a rental and then school holidays falling here in Sept, he missed about 12 weeks school by then and we were all climbing the walls! So bear in mind that when you come, you’ll have to take into account when the next school hols fall here as you can’t enrol at a school until you have a permanent address. The summer break here is probably a good time as then your daughter would be starting a new school year with the rest of them.

In terms of finding a school, if you live in the catchment, you are guaranteed a place. 

There is a website but I can’t quite remember the name, if I can find it I’ll let you know. I think Rossmoyne who is a moderator on this site is very knowledgeable in the education area so hopefully she may offer some advice.

If you look at NAPLAN results for the schools here, it’s an indication of how they fare academically in year 3 and 5 but it’s not like Ofsted in terms of the overall indication of the school. Hope this helps!

[ali]

We moved with an 11 and 7 year old and decided that we wanted the children to start the whole school year - so arrived in January for a Feb start.  This was 11 years ago and at that stage year 7 was the last year of Primary school so that was important for our 11 year old to get a whole year in before another change.  

Have a look on myschool - which gives you some indication of schools but to be honest like any school in the UK the feel of the school is probably one of your best indicators - not all children are academic and you want to achieve an all round balance.