Retired Aussie teacher. There is a curriculum pre schools and schools have to follow from 3 years old. Her info isn’t very comprehensive or even correct. Cost is also going to depend on your residence status, and school is some places is required until 17. But that can include trade training. States operate their own education departments but there is a national curriculum. Most states follow it to varying degrees from loosely to closely.
Her info is specifically for foreigners coming to Australia, she makes that clear at the start. That's what her channel is for. Thats why she isn't talking about child care subsidies/rebates, because foreigners aren't getting it.
Being a British citizen part of the commonwealth you might qualify for some subsidies and Government schools are free as far as I remember you should ok. I was talking to a Phillipines man and I was shocked to hear he had to pay a lot for his child.
@@cathbrown215Used to be free not anymore ! Haven’t been free for yonks, my sons 24 & we paid $735 for primary school & $1400 throughout high school in 2 states.
Ex- childcare worker here. There is a huge amount of programming and activities plus free play for children including for individual children for centre accreditation. The standards are quite high
standards are very high, but they do need to check carefully. Check the food, resources and parents ned to spend some time there orienting their children, the more the better so that can see more of the day to day happenings and get to know the educators a bit more. Good centres will welcom families in to spend time at the centre, and be a part of their community.
Your right about there being lots of programming in the schools these days. I got out of the main stream teaching a while ago because of all the indoctrination going on.
Compare education to the present and past. Old military teaching.... learning how to build and defend yourself V's the current culture of don't learn those skills.
You have to be careful watching people from outside of Australia explaining major things. They often only have a very basic understanding of what happens. Do your research for the state you wish to reside in and go to the government sites to get accurate info. There are many forms of help for the average Joe. There are a lot of middle-class families that the system is designed to help. I do enjoy your videos and how alike our countries are in what we say and like.
Having some personal experience of the Australian education system, (both first hand and via our three children) including private and public schools, I found the video to be well researched and accurate while making it clear each State has variations and that you need to do your own research. And, for what it’s worth, the presenter lives in Australia and learnt English ahead of completing a Masters Degree at an Australian University - I’m impressed.
I work at a Kindergarten in Japan, and it is intense like Malaysia. My grandson goes to kindergarten in Sydney and I think there they have a better balance of learning, play and social skills.
"kindergarten" also means different things in different places. Eg, I live in Queensland where "kindergarten" is the year before school starts, so children are 3.5-4.5 when they start. It is generally part time (4-5 days a fortnight) although some places offer full-time programs, although the government only funds part-time. And while it does use a curriculum it's nearly entirely play-based. School starts the next year, which we call Prep, and I believe prep is what many other states call kindergarten.
Matt, let me just say that friends of mine lived in Malaysia for a few years. When they returned home to Oz.. the level of knowledge the kids had was truly impressive. Regarding education in Australia, each state decides on the education policies individually, and there are differences. However, overall, either public or private schools, we are very fortunate. If you moved here, most schools have wonderful open playing grounds and a combination of small or large schools. It's a good environment.
Public schools are great. It’s parenting that makes the difference, every single time. Public schools are tolerant, accepting, diverse and open minded.
@@kerryryan5116 whilst there is a national curriculum, it is up to the states to incorporate it, as each state is in charge of its own education system. As such how closely it is followed varies by state. Each state will issue its own curriculum guidance. So in actuality, it is up to the states.
The problem with most people who have gone through that intensive learning framework is that they're smart enough to remember what they're taught, but not smart enough to question it.
Thanks for mentioning that. It has been going for decades now, providing a unique and invaluable service. Way back in the 50's and 60's, there was an associated service to give children from far western NSW a week at Manly, a famous Sydney beachside suburb. I don't know if that's still going, nor any costs involved.
@BradSimmonds-j7o you can enrol in those schools even from intown. It is a perfect way to home school for non teachers. Assessment and planning is done by teachers at the school and the home tutor delivers the sessions and does some formative assessment.All materials and resources are delivered to you at home.
My kids loved pre-school, singing, being read books , art, playing etc. to socialise them from 3 I never used Day-care. They attended public schools and did well.
Same here. The best decision my ex and I ever made was to both go half-time (I know not many people can swing this) on the Wednesday afternoon when we were both working my dad came over and looked after his granddaughter. He loved it and it was not too much for him, just one afternoon per week.
Did the same, refused FIFO, found a good paying mining job locally that allowed me to be home every night and only worked 7 Days/fortnight, tied in with the ex-missus aligning a permanent casual job to cover the days when I was at work........ managed a good income, had at least one parent at home 24/7, never put in daycare once, every weekend off as a full family and never missed a single day of their lives ❤ It's heartbreaking the division of parent/kids time these days with life so difficult that kids barely see their parents because they have to both spend so much time away working just to put food on the table 😢
@@docbob3030 Hey mate, I understand your pain re breaking up and kids. It's the worst. On the positive you and your ex gave them an excellent start by both being there for them. The early years are the most important and it sounds like you made the most of them.
Her info is not correct. Australia has a national curriculum which is taught in ...every...state in the country. This has been in for years to ensure to meet the needs of a mobile work force. It’s from kindergarten all the way to year 12.
Teacher here. The Australian Curriculum is only compulsory to Year 10. NSW, VIC, and Queensland chose to have their own curriculum in 11 and 12. SA have a modified AC. As far as I know WA, TAS and ACT are the only states using the ACARA version.
Childcare is heavily subsidised by the Government. Its quite affordable. Kindergarten is about to be free and compulsory in some states from 3 years old. Public school is effectively free. Private school comes at a cost, most are associated with Catholic/Christian education and the fees vary. Private catholic primary can be as little as little as $2k a year, and additional children come with significant discounts. Secondary probably starts at about $6K a year.
Term 1 Feb 1 to Easter/April, then 2 week break. Then end April to end June for term 2, 2 week break. Term 3 July to end September, 2 week break. October to Mid December, 5 week break (few days/weeks variance depending on school). Catholic schools are still private.
Bias opinion, but I rekn you'll find private (religious or other) out perform public schools. I'm certain the data will suggest that both attendance levels, behavioral standards and educational outcomes etc. rate higher. There is also heaps of them.
@@brodiemarston849 Canberra has senior secondary. Yr 11 & 12 is called college and separate. She’s possibly in Cbr. We also have a few Early childhood schools that are private childcare integrated with a govt preschool and K - 2
Sort of but actually Primary is kindy or prep (depending on which state or territory) to yr 6. Secondary yes 7-12 however Canberra has senior secondary. Yr 11 & 12 is called college and a separate school. We also have a few Early childhood schools that are private childcare integrated with a govt preschool and K - 2
the government kindergarten I used to live near did lots of activities - they grew and harvested their vegetables, had lots of equipment inside and outside to play on. they did singing, had stories read to the children. they did lots of art things. Occasions they had well supervised excursions where they visited places. They had some fish in a big tank that they looked after. They sometimes made things and then ate what they created. All the children seemed very happy. NO uniforms at that kindergarten that was near me. Whereas the more expensive private schools do run programs for children under 5 - they do have uniforms - and eventually go on to grade one at the same private school. We worked out that we could afford a private education. I appreciated the very small classes in the private school they attended - as opposed to a much bigger number of students in each classroom in the government schools. I also appreciated how diligent the private schools were in giving extra support to any student who was falling behind in primary schools - and that continued for any student who needed it - and no extra fees were added to cover the cost of that extra one on one tutoring, where needed. Also the students were consistently respectful, courteous and well mannered - any time a parent was at the private school the students were so polite to any parents - including addressing the mother or father as "good morning mrs ******". Or "good afternoon Mr ******" In a much bigger government school it is likely than students would not know which adult was a parent of .."who?"
Just wanted to comment on NSW system. I have actually used both community based preschool and private preschool. Both were very good and my children attended until they turned 5. Started Kindergarten the February after turning 5 at local public school (they went to 3 different schools due to work changes) all were very similar and my children had no trouble going from one to another as the curriculum was similar. When my eldest turned 9 we homeschooled her so her educational needs could be met (a personalised programme set up and taught by me according to state curriculum standards and was monitored yearly). My son moved to catholic school (age 6). Our fees were on the lower scale as it was a outer suburb of Sydney. All up including uniforms was $3000 a year which we paid in installments. My son completed primary school through that system (age 11). When high school came around he moved to local catholic high school. These fees jumped and the uniform was more expensive our annual fees and uniform came to just under $6000 including camps and other expenses. We also experienced financial difficulties and had our fees waived for 3 terms with no need to pay back, we are also not catholic. Catholic schools do have to admit a certain number of non-catholics but you must sign that you will respect their faith. Year 9 (age 14) my son was registered for Distance Education, this was provided through online services and was brilliant as he could work at his own pace. He continued this until end of Year 10. This did have a cost as you needed to be online but was only about $500 same as local public school no school uniform needed. Year 11 & 12 was done at a regional public highschool and it was great. School fees were not compulsory but cost for some subjects where such as food tech and tafe accredited courses. The uniform was also very easy polo shirts with school badge and black shorts and enclosed shoes. I spent approx $500 on school uniforms over the 2 years. I have found the various school systems in Australia to be very good. Love to see you move to Australia.
Societies entire structure is geared into getting both parents to work because that way the repayment capacity of loans is higher meaning more can be charged for housing. Childcare is the most essential part of this system as it allows parents to outsource their parenting freeing up time to repay home mortgages. Australia in a nutshell.
Each State likes to be different. Holidays - School has 4 terms. Holidays 2 weeks at Easter, 2 weeks in June/July/ and 2weeks Sept. Xmas Holidays are from mid December to end January /beginning February. so 6 weeks. Private school /boarding schools (we have boarding schools because of the remote kids usually do Senior school away from home) has fees.
Traditionally schools were once infants (K-Y2) & Primary (Y3-Y6) in separate parts of the school. But progress meant schools were combined in some very old school you will see separate entrances for boys & girls in the brickwork. I remember Crown St Public School was built this way & it is a very old school from 1850 or so. As our population has grown schools have added more school rooms. My old school (Est 1899) has reused all the old classrooms, making the old principal's office into a Preschool & the oldest classrooms moved back into use.
Yes the childcare cost about $150 per day, however that is full fees, which not many people pay… The government give families a percentage (CCS) based on their income, and this reduces the parents gap fee (amount they pay out of pocket) to as low as $20 a day for some families.
While private school is more expensive in oz it's worth it. I went to public school class sizes were less controlled, learning less consistent and teacher turn over high. Private schools usually have better resources and facilities because they have more money. While daycare is expensive as a former daycare worker the standard is high.
Family Day Care is usually run by local community members in their own homes, and they may take up to 6 children from different families. So, they can get the benefit of exposure to other children. Sometimes this is done by grandparents, who care for their own grandchildren and a few others to be eligible for the subsidy.
If you want your child to continue learning mandarin you can gi to 'Chinese school' on a Saturday morning. 2 of my grandchildren are half Korean. They went to s Korean family daycare (language immersion) and alternating with kindergarten/preschool as they got closer to 5. They now go to Korean school on a Sat morning. They are both ( at 4and7) completely bilingual. They have to be becos their Korean grandparents don't speak English . All my grandchildren go to state schools. Quality of education depends on the behaviour of the children which depends on demographics.
I went to family daycare, so our Nanny ran a daycare out of her home, paying per hour was way cheaper as she cared for me and my 3 siblings together, did school pick-up and drop off as it continued well into Primary/highschool. Apparently it was the cheapest option for multiple siblings
My son went to family day care. So much better than a centre, and where I live we have centres that are 150+ a day, but depending on your wage and how much you work you get ccs.
@@CeasefireNow2024 I had to read the comment twice. She never said SHE didn’t pay it, not at any point. Are you saying in general people who don’t or can’t pay it are stingy? Sounds like you’re coming from a place of privilege and obviously not a teacher. Teachers would never say derogatory things about families who can’t pay their fees, Schools understand the individual circumstances of families who have children in their care and this would never cross their minds. In fact, quite the opposite is true, if families can’t pay for uniforms or excursions or even lunches, they are the first to dip their hands in their pockets to help. I was a teacher and I have bought pens, lunches, payed for excursions many times, any teacher will do that when they know families are feeling the pinch. Never once do we consider them stingy or poor parents, we consider they need a bit of help at this point in time for whatever reason, whether it’s employment related, family loss, illness or any of the myriad of reasons people sometimes can’t pay their bills. A bit of sensitivity please!
@@CeasefireNow2024The purpose of those back to school payments when brought in was to provide for items like uniforms, school shoes, devices and stationery needed for school to alleviate financial pressures on families. They were and are still not intended to go directly to the school. The principle of free compulsory and secular education goes back to the 19th Century in Australia. No family has an obligation to pay for school, especially if they are struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.
@@MsJubjubbird ‘leaned on’? Not where I come from. And, not in the schools where I have taught. I am sorry you felt compelled or intimidated to pay it. The money does go to important projects that benefits the kids as well as directly impacting their learning and maybe your school was too enthusiastic about that. I don’t know. I worked in regions that weren’t affluent and families did experience struggles so that never happened to them. Even so, parents did try to pay when they could as they knew it was going to benefit their kids. If you can afford to pay a very low fee that is subsidised, you should, no question. When I put my kids through school, there wasn’t even a question in my mind about paying it or not paying it. When excursion notes came home with a breakdown of the costs, I payed it, no questions were raised in my mind. If school uniform prices went up, I gave them what they needed and buying the uniforms through the school was always cheaper than buying them at stores like Lowes. If I were to not pay when I was easily capable of doing so, then the word for not paying it, wouldn’t be stingy.
Remember, Australia is in the southern hemisphere, so the seasons are the opposite of the northern hemisphere, and as such, setting a year/schooling system/ holidays to the northern hemispheres' system doesn't work for our seasons, like it does for the northern hemispheres' summer. So we operate on a calendar year, as the end of the year falls with our summer - hence our summer, new year, main holidays, events and Christmas and end of schooling - all occur during summer - to take advantage of summer. Otherwise we would have our main holidays in the middle of winter. And we would have to have a different Christmas date just for our southern hemisphere. Also our Christmas school break is roughly x6 weeks - with x3 fortnightly breaks, spread across the remainder of the year, making x4 school terms. Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. + / - days for difference between states/territories and public/private schools.
Agree that she isn't fully informed. Family day care is in the carers home, not your home. Maximum of 5 children and heavily regulated. High schools run from Yr7 to Y12 as a single school, with a few exceptions. She needs to be here longer or research more
If you are looking at education in Australia, and aren't a permanent resident, my understanding is that if you go with the public education system, then you will have to pay the overseas prices which depending on the private school that you choose would be pretty similar in costs (the same way that overseas students pay way more than locals at Uni). Otherwise it depends on the school you are looking at for what subjects they offer, extra curriculars etc.
To answer your question about kindergarten. It is mostly play-based learning. It's preparing children for school. Learning to listen, sit on a mat, sharing group spaces, spontaneous and planned activities and follows an Early Years curriculum. It's usually 1 year prior to starting schooling. In my state first year of school is called reception. Other states it's called 'Prep'. Preschool and kindy/kindergarten is used to describe that first year prior to school. The video says they are private, most kindys are government ran.
🇦🇺🏝️🐨🦘 From Magnetic Island 🏝️ Queensland 😘 I grew up in the UK, had my family in Australia ❤ Both my boys went to multiple schools ( Defence Family) in different states 👍 Fantastic free education 😊 Magnetic Island 🏝️ Queensland Australia 👍
As a 24 year old who grew up in Melbourne, these were my experiences. Kids start primary school at 5 or sometimes even 4 if they turn 5 before the end of april in that calendar year. Theres 7 years of schooling in primary school (prep - yr 6). High school runs from yr 7 - 12 with the last 2 years being the most important for university applications. In terms of holidays theres the 6 week summer holiday which she mentioned that usually runs between mid december to end of january, and then 3 2-week breaks within the year to separate the 4 school terms. Unless your child requires special help with learning or you're super eager for them to network and participate in a bunch of in school extracurriculars, imo private schools arent worth it for primary school education as you can save money and put them in activities for a lot cheaper and the curriculum in both schools is similar and slow. However, a lot of the popular private schools may have a waitlist so people generally just go in whenever they can. You probably wont expect a lot of homework from a primary school aged child, maybe a worksheet or 2 a week unless they have a project to work on. This may be outdated though as it has been a while since i was that age. Private school for secondary education may be worth it as they generally have better teachers. However, they can be elitist and sometimes kids come out of it and into uni being a bit spoon fed in terms of acquiring information on their own. Many kids can still thrive in a public school, so if you can get into a good public school for secondary i would say thats good enough but everyone has their own opinions
The school fee depends on your employment status and as a working visa school fees are mandatory and end up being more expensive depending on the visa and if you’re apart of the UN or not. The first 2 years are the most expensive for families moving to Australia but after that point you then can apply for residency which makes education cheaper
Primary school is 7 years - Prep (Kindi) to Yr6. Secondary school is 6 years - Yr7 to Yr12. There is no "Senior secondary school". The senior phase of learning is all part of secondary education. From 15yrs old there is greater flexibility in school attendance, with VET becoming an option as part of your program. Also, from 15-17yrs old you need to be either earning or learning, so you may choose to work rather than attend school.
4:13 when i was a nipper in NSW we had kindergarten which i went to before i started school, daycare basically. Then infants school which encompassed preschool (now known as prep) first year and second year. You then went to primary school for years 3 to 6 then high school until year 12. They have combined infants school and primary together. Prep is an intro year to ease kids into the school process. They learn basic letters, numbers, shapes, colours, etc.
The variations in the name is due to the size of the country. I attended school in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. All different and all have their strengths and weaknesses.
When we moved from UK to Oz, the school tested me before I was put into a class. Though I was 9yo (Yr 5) the tests showed I was Y10 (age 15) in English/comprehension. I had some issues in maths though as the curriculum differed a bit.
International students can enrol in public schools, but their parents must pay for it. It costs between $14,000 to $18,000 per year depending if they are in primary or high school. The cost may vary from state to state.
As long as you’re living in a pretty average area, public schools are fine, I put my daughter in a private school for 2 years, but that was because they had a creative arts program that was better than any public primary school in Australia, I moved us to the catchment area for a (Public) senior college in Canberra for the same reason.
Main school holidays are in Summer, usually mid dec - end jan/early feb. The year is then split up in to 4 terms of approximately 10 weeks, with two weeks of holidays between each.
We sent our sons to an excellent public school for their Primary years here in Melbourne. We opted for Private school for years 7 to 12, which was perfect for them although expensive.
Smart move - I look at my old high school & wonder how we survived. My cousin went to a Christian School which was a waste of money as he bummed out of TAFE. He could have gone with me & a younger neighbour but his family spent all this money. NOW - I would never send anyone to my old high school but would select the Private School.
I went to public school in Queensland, Brisbane 2000-2012 and it was laid out like this. preschool grade 1-2 lower junior grade 3-6 upper junior grade 7-9 middle school grade 10-12 senior school They were all on the same campus with different times for attendance. cant remember all of them, but I know senior school was from 7:15am to 1:00pm. Uniforms were also very strict, like private school strict, tie, knee high socks, the lot. Pretty sure they even went as far as to force school backpacks the year I left.
All schooling is subsidised. Govt schools get the most funding for the worst outcomes. Low-fee non-govt schools are funded at a lower level but get better results.
It's callendar year because our summer is Dec-Jan so these are main summer holidays which equates to summer holidays in June-July in Northern hemisphere.
It's school holidays now and there is a lot of alternative schooling options, which is good. Before and afternoon care, while they are in primary school. Childcare centres are expensive, so depends on your income. Kindy is optional, but good for getting children ready for Prep, which includes set routine but not as involved as your son is doing there. The High Schools goes to year 12. I don't know of any public schools, that finish before year 12. Not all schools are zoned either. It would be great for you and your family to live here.
It really does depend on whether you send your kids to public school or a private school or an alternative school. They can all be quite different in their approaches. 🥰
My son goes to a small, not for profit, non religious private school. All in (including stationary, uniforms, camps etc) it costs about $6500 per year averaged out across years 7 to 12. He's thriving. The best thing though is to go to open days or book a tour with the schools in the area you want to live in.
My Grandson and Granddaughter, both went to an Independent Secondary School. They did have too pay for excursions and uniforms etc, but there weren’t any school fees and the schools population was a lot smaller than public schools and there was a lot more diversity because they also had Music and Acting studies plus all the Sporting Activities. I should say we live in Perth and I think every state has its own curriculum and we are a much smaller population than The East Coast but they both did great and my youngest Granddaughter has got her Uni degree in Secondary School History Teaching and my Grandson is married and works in the Portable Housing Industry. My eldest Granddaughter went to a really good Secondary Public School, and she works in the Prison’s Department. She’s worked her way up from a Prison Officer to now working in the Office as 2nd in charge. I am hugely proud of them all and I think the schools they went to have helped them to become great people. Also with Daycare and Kindergarten especially here in Perth are fairly are a lot cheaper than what the lady said, as the Government has fairly chunky subsidies for little kids.🇦🇺😘
My 2 siblings and I went to western suburbs private schools. Someone asked my dad if he would recommend it, he said, " I wish I had just bought them a house each".
There’s one entire segment of education she completely omitted - the coaching colleges or tuition centres. As she said, most kids will go to their local public school - however there is an exception to this rule in NSW and to a lesser extent in other states - and that is certain public schools are “selective schools”, and enrolment places are offered after the kids sit an optional “selective schools exam” in year 6. To prepare for this exam, many parents, especially East Asian and South Asian parents, will send their kids to these tuition centres out of their own pocket. Naturally this means that these selective schools have a higher percentage of non-Anglo kids, often close to 90% of students. These schools dominate the top 20, and routinely rank in the top 50 schools in the state, which is why there is such strong competition to secure a place. So to have the best education for your children , the choices are usually ( in no particular order) 1. Selective schools (needs good results to get in) 2. Tier one private schools (the most expensive option) 3. Tier two and faith based private schools (still expensive but more affordable) 4. Move to an area with a good local school (usually in affluent areas) 5. Attend your local school where you are. (Highly dependent on the educational aspirations of the local area)
Australian Children at primary and secondary school get about 6 weeks of holidays between December and January/February and 3 periods of holidays of about 2 weeks which divide up the school year into terms
There are public schools (free) that are selective high schools. From top 3% or higher, on entrance exam or top of primary school. These schools offer similar education to top private schools but are free. There were about 7 in Sydney 30 years ago.
My best friend was an in home carer for a family. She loved it & it helped her pay for her continuing education in special needs childcare. I believe the reason for the differing terms is distance. Before the last 60-ish years it was difficult to communicate interstate because everything is so far apart. The big break is the summer holidays but it coincides with the Christmas break.
There's no difference if you choose public or private schools in education quality...the money goes into the extra activities the school offers (that you technically already paid for even if you don't use it). The education that matters is either uni or trade school. In Australia a tradesman gets paid well....very well once fully qualified and usually isnt stuck with enormous education debt. But it all depends on what career path they choose.
It depends on what zone you live in. Local areas with good high schools can add about 10% onto housing prices just because people want their kids to be eligible to go to that public high school. Private schools to have tools to attract better teachers, the class sizes are smaller, the discipline is more rigid, there is more monitoring of individual students, there are often more cocurriculars available at no extra cost and they might have access to better facilities- like maybe pools for swimming lessons, photography studios, better science equipment, musical instruments etc.. The only criticism I have of some private schools is they don't always expose kids to socioeconomic diversity and solving problems on their own.
Children start public school at the age of 5 in NSW if you turn 5 before July and start the following year if you turn 5 in the later part of the year. School is mostly free but some schools ask for a small donation to help cover costs. Plus there is the purchase of books and stationary. I think your son would be ahead of class. However they do start to learn to read, simple math and a range of social studies at this age. They get homework but it’s not very hard.
This is an extremely broad overview here in Western Australia the first (non mandatory) year of regular school is called Kindy, and is 5 full days a fortnight. It's either done with half days or 2 days one week and 3 days the next, repeat. This is for kids who are 4 by the 1st of July. Then the first year of mandatory schooling is called pre-primary and after that is years 1-6 for primary school and 7-12 for high school. My kids are in public school and it's worked very well. My oldest has done a special program at the primary school level for the gifted and talented that's apparently only available here in WA and is going into the gifted and talented program in high school as well. He'll be going to public school for that as well, because it's actually better that the private school with outcomes because of the small class size. My middle child will likely follow my oldest through those programs, as he's also showing to be very bright.
Best to choose a regional city, WA has great options. Tax policy changes depending on govt, but not as much as US & UK, you can chose more intence school if you want, no phones allowed in most schools.
Here in Australia an au pair or nanny is usually someone a rich person would have. Family day care is an individual who has child care qualifications and does the caring in their home with around 6 children max. Alot of families prefer this as opposed to large childcare centres with lots of children and carer. It's usually a similar price to a childcare centre, but has a family/home feel to it. Kindergarten is learning through play with a bit of structure to get the child ready for school. The first year of school is usually play based too, depending on the school. The difference in names for year levels is due to the states having the control over education decisions. Australia is a very large place and quite different regulations in each state. Catholic and private schools are generally looked at as a better education compared to public schools. Saying that it can depend on the size or funding of that private school. All private schools are religious based but not necessarily catholic.
My daughter graduated 2 years ago from school. She was schooled from kindergarten to year 8 in NSW. Kindergarten to year 6 was in a public school. It was a great school. But we wanted private for high school. So, year 6 to year 8, she attended a Catholic school. Then we decided we wanted to experience a new state, so we moved to QLD, and from year 9 to year 12, she was home schooled through a faith private school.
Your getting a very limited view as to what is actually available. You would be advised to get real info from an Aussie childhood education expert. We are very fortunate to have a well funded public education system in Oz. My whole family have been publicly educated and I'm very happy with the outcome. I don't believe that religious schools should be promoted as they lack diversity and waste too much time on scripture studies. The person on this video maybe slightly biased as she comes from a catholic dominated country.
Family day care is in the carers home. You use to be able to find child care places that incorporated kindergarten. Don’t know if they still do. Her information isn’t necessarily correct. Steiner schools are another option. I think other people have covered a lot of other points I’d be only raising again. Private schools only if you have the $’s to spend.
What she says about the years of classes. Usually children go to Kindergarten at 4 years to 5 years old. It is compulsory to go to school for primary school and secondary until 15 years of age. Primary is from preparatory, then one to six grades....so that is 7 years. High school is in years, year seven to year 12. It does cost money, around $70-$80, but if there are financial difficulties, it is free. Private schools are very expensive, as she says. But the standard of teaching is not much different, as the teachers all go to the same Universities. However, the extra curricular at the private has so much more. I taught at the Primary Schools and thought the standard of teaching and curriculum was high. However, because they are trying to foster pro-active learning, and be encouraged to be a self-learner, the behaviour is sometimes hard to control for the teacher. I taught in Vietnam, and that was so easy.....no talking, but they were very passive and it was difficult to get them to be pro-active and take part in discussions. for example, I was trying to teach them English as a second language. It was very interesting. Thank you for your videos and I hope you are enjoying living in Malaysia. I went there for 2 weeks, but the Chinese lady who promised me a job for teaching, didn't follow through with her promise. Fortunately, Kuala Lumpur is not far from Melbourne, Australia. Cheers Elizabeth p.s. love your Skottish accent.
You can in NSW leave school after year 10 but you have to be going to TAFE if you do or have an apprenticeship. Other than this high school students go from year 7 to year 12. Primary is from kindergarten to year 6. Free education is called public school and private schools are very expensive. We couldn’t afford the fees. However the school they go to often depends on the area you live so you would need to be living in the area if you go public. I personally think the schools are quite good. I’m a grandparent now so we are into round two wth the grandchildren.
I’ll simplify as much as possible for the state of New South Wales. Day care - ages 6months to 5/6yrs Primary- ages 5/6 kindergarten to yr6 High school - yr7 - yr 12. Compulsory A child can leave after yr 10 providingthey have full time employment/ Apprenticeship.
In South Australia, I went to kindergarten then infant school(grades 1 & 2); primary school was grades 3 to 7, and high school was grades 8 to 12. That was the 50's and 60's. Then they had Early Learning Centres(replaced kindergarten), the Junior Primary(generally grades 1 to 3); then Primary(grades 4 to 6), which is followed by Junior High(grades 7 to 9) then Senior High(grades 10 to 12). Starting around 2020, public schools began to copy private schools; now Primary(1 to 6) and High(7 to 1) schools are now colleges.
Although there is a national curriculum, under the Australian Constitution each state government has the responsibility for providing education to children within that state. It is why you need to research education in the state in which you are considering living. It's also why there is different terminology and different starting ages of compulsory education from state to state. Here in Western Australia education becomes compulsory from the year in which your child turns 5 years and 6 months and is compulsory until the end of the year in which they turn 17 years and 6 months or turn 18 (whichever comes first). The first compulsory grade is Pre-primary (and is full time schooling) but there is also a Kindergarten program available in state schools which is not compulsory and is part time for younger children. Kindergarten and pre-primary are play based, though structured to introduce phonics, numeracy, etc., with explicit instruction included, as it leads into grade 1. School holidays start and finish dates vary slightly from state to state but work on the same basic premise of 4 terms, with the first 3 terms having a 2 week holiday break after each term but the longer school holidays for Christmas/summer, of around 6 weeks, start at the completion of term 4. School reports are provided to parents at the end of term 2 and term 4 (end of semester 1 and semester 2). Be aware that like other countries, Australia's travel costs skyrocket during school holidays periods and you need to be aware of the differences between the states as it may mean week 2 of your holiday in another state may suddenly cost twice the price of week 1 because the school holidays in the state you are visiting start that second week you are there. Accredited child care centres, for young children under the compulsory school age, are also expected to provide structured play based curriculum, required to have a qualified teacher in charge of that. Using only accredited child care providers allows parents to access government subsidies (if parental income meets eligibility criteria). There is a myriad of private/independent schools also available, having to meet the state government's curriculum and other requirements (such as teacher registration, etc.) - not all religious based but some based upon educational philosophies such as Steiner, Montessori, etc.
"under the Australian Constitution each state government has the responsibility for providing education to children within that state" - perhaps you could set out the constitutional provision by direct quotation. I'm not aware of any.
Hi, I'm a grandmother in Australia. Both my children are in their 30s now and went to public schools, which are free. We never had a problem with public education. If you have a child who is interested in learning, the child will learn anywhere. Public schools here have similar end results as private schools, academically. Both my kids got into their first choice of Sydney universities after finishing the last year, year 12. Why pay all that money to a private school if you don't have to. Especially, if you are an atheist like myself, or an agnostic like you, do you want your children's brain infested with religious claptrap? Investigations of Catholic Schools a few years ago uncovered A LOT of child abuse cases. I wouldn't touch a Catholic school with a 10ft pole.
First bit on early childcare you do definitely can get Giv assistance. Also they have ‘Homebase Care’, these are registered ppl who care for 1 to sometimes 4 ish children in their home. I have 2 sons. 1 went to Kindy, the other Homebase care. Both were brilliant
I went to schooling the blue mountains in the 80s. Different syllabus back then. It was alot of Australian poetry and novels, classical 3 R's, history and aboriginal history. Plus we had outside survival studies. Camping, cooking, and survival training with aboriginal elders out in the wilderness learning to hunt and fish and identify edible native plants and How to cook; as well as drills on bushfires, cyclones, floods, draughts, first aid on dangerous animals etc etc. It was an intense but brilliant childhood. All this in primary school so we were hardened and ready for highschool.
My primary school was free but before or after school care was $2/day. Highschool was a boarding school and i got a full scholarship. That school was $30k per year plus uniform. To get a scholarship you have to take multiple exams and auditions.
In Australia the individual States and territories are primarily responsible for their own education system, and it has been that way from way before Federation so it is reasonable that significant differences in subjects taught and terminology will exist between each State's system. The Federal government administration does have some oversight over the State's concerning education but this is probably more to do with setting and maintaining minimum standards that the schools in general should reach rather than setting out in detail any curriculum. The Federal government's education department is mainly responsible for universities, and thus as many students do eventually feed into these universities, often in a different state to their former education there is an increased pressure on many of the more elite schools and even public schools to have at least the last two years of high school taught from a somewhat common range of subjects with similar testing and pass marks for Australia wide comparison purposes. Also as many the Australian Universities have developed a reputation among foreign students for providing relevant and highly sought after qualifications which these foreign students or their families are generally prepared to pay dearly for, Australian Universities tend to provide all students including Australians with a rather high class of tuition and related educational facilities and services that can be in demand in many other countries.
The reason for the differences between the states is that education is a state not federal responsibility. There are standards that must be satisfied that are set by the feds.
The first options they covered (childcare/home help) are for single working parents or families where both parents want to work. Hence the cost, as it's a private service. Once the kids reach kindy age, that's government provided.
School systems vary from state to state. Individual schools can vary within a state. You need to do your research depending on where you intend to live.
You can send your kids to “daycare” from babies up to school age (some start at 4 and some up to 6). Daycare is just like babysitting really. There are commercial daycares, daycare chains, home daycares. They start early from around 8 and finish late from around 5-6. I never used daycare because it seemed overcrowded and like a babysitting service, perhaps less standards in general/ less ‘professional’ in that there are no university requirements - it’s more care based rather than education based. Then there are preschools and community preschools. They generally have a learning program and a set day program - it’s geared towards school readiness. There are educations - with at least one at university level. Some community preschools are so brilliant. My daughter went to 3 really great ones. Lots of very modern outdoor enrichment. Mostly play based learning but set activities and light school readiness. It’s important to know the directors intentions and get intel on the “program” and make sure you like it. Obviously (generally) the more cosmo the area the more modern the facility and program. These usually run from 9-3 (like our school hours). Usually you have to be 3-4 before you can attend. Usually the government has subsidies for the kids to attend the year prior to school (massive benefits/ obvious benefits to having kids attend the year before school). Some kids do 1,2,3,3,5 days. It’s usually recommended to do 3 or more days the year prior to starting school. Over the years as government heads change subsidies do too… so there has been subsidies for all child care but I guess you’d have to keep up to date on that. Even with the subsidies when my girl was little - the monthly bill was more than a cheap private school!! It gets very expensive. Especially for the good community preschools. Personally - I don’t agree with daycare. But thoroughly agree with community preschooling. Just my opinion. I realise we don’t live in an ideal world so I don’t judge! My opinion is based on the needs of the child separate to the family situation they are in. Lots of mums are not as fortunate as I was - I had saved a lot of money from working too much haha and had a partner with a good income - so I could afford to be a FTAHM. Lots of mums can’t. So daycare is needed for them. And in some cases daycare has more enrichment than what some kids can get at home. So it’s not all bad. But in an ideal world our very little ones should be growing a secure attachment with their primary carer/ carers 😔 so I find it upsetting to see very little ones in care. Not judging - life can be tricky - but that doesn’t negate the fact that their attachment needs will suffer. And I’m allowed to find that upsetting. My emotion is separate to my intellect. I would research and visit all of the facilities that interest you/ book in a tour and ask what a day looks like, whether they have a program and what that looks like. And a bunch of questions. Find the very best one in your area and go with that one. I don’t mind the idea on home daycare if you find a good one. Often a little more personal. But also some people more interested in the money than the kids 😔 so really need to get in there and make the judgement and ask the questions - face to face. So you can properly suss it out. A quick Google the average daycare/ community preschool day rates in your area for 2025 should give you an idea. I think with the subsidies we were still out of pocket around $45$aud per day. For the year before school and full fee before that… I think.
Sayfol international school in Malaysia has an ex pat Principal who trained and taught in New Zealand, taught in the uk and has been in Malaysia quite a while. Check it out.
I taught in public schools for 22 years. A few years ago I moved to a private school* I don't have kids, but if I did I would NEVER send them to a private school. The sense of entitlement, snobbery and bullying from both students, parents and even some staff is disturbing.. * I moved for a promotion and higher salary. I didn't think it would be all that different, but I'm seriously disillusioned. I hate going to work and am considering moving back to the public sector when my contract is over.
I’m a pom I have lived here in Western Australia for 22 years, the public school system here is very good, they also have a gates system here ( Gifted and talented students) which is good if you have a bright kid, also what she did not say is that it can cost around 600 to a thousand dollars to send you kid to school aside from uniforms you have to pay for a school list every year which covers everything from text books pens and pencils calculators and even boxes off tissues to blow your kids nose lol
She also missed the Montessori Schools. These have a very good reputation and allow children to go at their own pace and those that may not fit in, for what ever reason. Have met the principal and children of these schools - and they are VERY intelligent and well adjusted.
In regards to Kindergarten in Victoria, my 4 year old daughter started Kinder last year at age 2 years 8 months, because she started so early we qualified for a 3rd year of Kinder next year so by the time she hits Primary school in 2026 she will have completed 3 years of Kinder. As for cost, absolutely nothing, our program is completely funded by the state government and it’s currently for 3 days per week 5 hours per day. The sort of activity they get up to are basic reading and writing, arts and crafts, kids safety and playtime amongst other things, the social aspect is invaluable because my daughter is an only child and needs that interaction. We further teach her spelling, reading and writing, math etc. at home, I would say given her current progress she will be able to write basic sentences, perform basic addition and subtraction and read simple children’s books before she hits the school system.
Basically, you leave the UK in first form in September and arrive in third form starting late January, skipping a year is because our education system is very poor, no 2nd language, school nurse, PE, hot lunches and "free" education or home work. It's bargain basement here...😢😮
Firstly, glad to hear you are thinking of moving to Australia. Our Education system is generally very good. To throw a spanner in the works (sorry), my 17 year old daughter attends an Independent School that is a State Government School, without the high costs of private Independent Schools. It is a School for high achievers in Math, Physics, Science, and Technology. Something for everyone in Australia.
I've used family daycare, standard daycare, independent kindergarten programs, and been eligible for in home care. My youngest is in standard daycare, and it's $120 a day - I pay $11 with subsidies. I tried for in home care when I was shift worker, but there were so many hoops to jump through that it was nearly impossible to get, so I changed jobs. Kindy services are free in QLD for children who are 3.5 - 5. No homework. It's a play based introduction to the school routine. They learn to write their name at the end of the year. Private vs Public. It is what you're aligned with. We go to the 2nd best primary school in our area - it's public. The best is private and the best school in the state. But compared to other primary schools tgat cost 20k a year per kid it's a total waste. We'll do private for highschool in a faith based school for about 8k per year based on the kid strengths.
You also have to consider public schools are zone based. Meaning you have to live near the school to be able to go there. Those suburbs are highly sought after and not cheap to live in.
My kids finished public school a few years ago in a regional area. I feel they were taught a lot less than when I was at school, especially regarding English, science, geography and history. Their primary school only had around 200 kids and they always had combined classes of different years which I wasn't a fan of.
The first thing you should do is decide what state or territory you want to live. Then you can do all the research in that state etc. The best way to look at Australia is that each state runs its own affairs, that's why there are different rules and regulations etc. As for schools, there are many good govt schools and i don't think it necessary to pay the exorbitant private school fees.
2:42 dunno what she’s talking about. We had two options kindergarten which used to be public, and daycare which was private, i’m guessing the terms are interchangeable now. I’ve never seen in home care, but for $35 an hour i’d be paying the nanny more than i am earning.
I grew up in public schools. When I became a teenager, private Christian community schools began to be developed in the 1980's (at least so in Adelaide). My father abandoned us when I was 11, so there was no way we could be sent to the private Christian community schools (& they can be split between parent-run, and leadership-run re decision-making). We weren't ever going to go to Catholic, Anglican or Lutheran private schools re costs, etc. Halfway through high school, I had to move schools as a result of my mum being forced to sell our house, thus buying a house in a cheaper area. I was in culture shock going from a strict public school, with a ling history, uniforms, etc to moving to a school that was newish (my area was newish), wirh no uniforms (they donnow, though), with open plans not individual classrooms, the behaviour was shocking & disruptive. I'd been in a school where students were divided into classrooms by academic levels, but in my new school, everyone was in together, so bad behaviour dumbed down the teaching. The dress, the language, etc were shocking. It was a culture shock indeed. I hated my new school. However, when I became a teacher (in my 40's), I spend 3yrs relief-teaching. I didn't like the public schools re poor behaviour (& of course we have some excellent & exclusive public schools, especially those based on music or maths/science, etc). I worked (as a relief teacher) in various Catholic school (when working for an agency). I also trained in the whole range of school types as a student teacher - ie Christian (twice), Lutheran, country, public, but Christian was my favourite (& the country one was also a Christian one, which was fun). But my favourite by far was working in Christian community schools - the behaviour, education, etc waa by far better. Plus, we didn't teach "woke agendas" as taught by public schools. Also, you need to know that for decades, the Federal Govt has been pouring money into private schools, at the expense of public schools. Plus being newer, the building, facilities, etc are better (in general). Some public schools are run down - but not all are. In the Christian schools (ie evangelical Protestants), some allow kids of atheists there (but with understanding of our culture), Budhhists, Catholics, even an Indian Sihk, but the majority remain church kids from church families... to keep the Christian culture. As for privats schools, there's also Jewish & Islamic ones. Whether private or public - I'm not sure - there's also Montessori schools (ie a complete different form of education, involving textile education, etc). There's also Home-schooling - a catchment of families follow a set curriculum, meet regularly for "excursions" together for fhe children, etc. I'm no longer a teacher (for health reasons, and now have cancer, anyway). I still prefer Christian community schools, and yet even in these, there's a range. Of all the schools I've been to, even the Principal (Head Master) makes a big difference in schools , good & bad. I've been working at schools when a change in Principals occurs, and I've seen dramatic changes (for good & for bad). Anyway, I thought I'd say more, because there's more than just "Catholic" schools when it comes to Christian/Private schools. Also, schools are run in the calendar year because of when our summer falls (Dec-Feb). And, our summers are HOT. The weather in the Southern Hemisphere is opposite to the Northern Hemisphere. To us, having school in the calendar year makes sense. However, that means that the end of everything happens all at once in December. And March is a very busy time, too, towards the start of school, and other activities. Anyway, all the best. You've got lots of decisions to make.
Private schools are full of kids whose parents invest in education, during the school years your children will have a broader education and have friends whose parents are reasonably wealthy, but it doesn’t guarantee better jobs etc. my kids had both and there is good and bad in each. In public schools kids experience the real world where hard work has rewards but they can slip through the cracks if your not on top of it. Regardless, my experience is if you get involved then your kids will be ok.
Retired Aussie teacher. There is a curriculum pre schools and schools have to follow from 3 years old. Her info isn’t very comprehensive or even correct. Cost is also going to depend on your residence status, and school is some places is required until 17. But that can include trade training. States operate their own education departments but there is a national curriculum. Most states follow it to varying degrees from loosely to closely.
Her info is specifically for foreigners coming to Australia, she makes that clear at the start. That's what her channel is for. Thats why she isn't talking about child care subsidies/rebates, because foreigners aren't getting it.
Being a British citizen part of the commonwealth you might qualify for some subsidies and Government schools are free as far as I remember you should ok. I was talking to a Phillipines man and I was shocked to hear he had to pay a lot for his child.
@@PBMS123 her information about schooling is still inaccurate.
@@cathbrown215Used to be free not anymore ! Haven’t been free for yonks, my sons 24 & we paid $735 for primary school & $1400 throughout high school in 2 states.
Ex- childcare worker here. There is a huge amount of programming and activities plus free play for children including for individual children for centre accreditation. The standards are quite high
standards are very high, but they do need to check carefully. Check the food, resources and parents ned to spend some time there orienting their children, the more the better so that can see more of the day to day happenings and get to know the educators a bit more. Good centres will welcom families in to spend time at the centre, and be a part of their community.
Your right about there being lots of programming in the schools these days. I got out of the main stream teaching a while ago because of all the indoctrination going on.
Compare education to the present and past. Old military teaching.... learning how to build and defend yourself V's the current culture of don't learn those skills.
You have to be careful watching people from outside of Australia explaining major things. They often only have a very basic understanding of what happens. Do your research for the state you wish to reside in and go to the government sites to get accurate info. There are many forms of help for the average Joe. There are a lot of middle-class families that the system is designed to help. I do enjoy your videos and how alike our countries are in what we say and like.
She was clueless.
Having some personal experience of the Australian education system, (both first hand and via our three children) including private and public schools, I found the video to be well researched and accurate while making it clear each State has variations and that you need to do your own research.
And, for what it’s worth, the presenter lives in Australia and learnt English ahead of completing a Masters Degree at an Australian University - I’m impressed.
Evolution being taught to a 7yr old by a foreign mig. didn't stir much confidence. especially in a chris.......Damn!
@@JB-lx8cw Yep!
@@JB-lx8cw
half of what she says in her videos are rubbish
no idea where she gets her info from
I work at a Kindergarten in Japan, and it is intense like Malaysia. My grandson goes to kindergarten in Sydney and I think there they have a better balance of learning, play and social skills.
"kindergarten" also means different things in different places. Eg, I live in Queensland where "kindergarten" is the year before school starts, so children are 3.5-4.5 when they start. It is generally part time (4-5 days a fortnight) although some places offer full-time programs, although the government only funds part-time. And while it does use a curriculum it's nearly entirely play-based. School starts the next year, which we call Prep, and I believe prep is what many other states call kindergarten.
Matt, let me just say that friends of mine lived in Malaysia for a few years. When they returned home to Oz.. the level of knowledge the kids had was truly impressive. Regarding education in Australia, each state decides on the education policies individually, and there are differences. However, overall, either public or private schools, we are very fortunate. If you moved here, most schools have wonderful open playing grounds and a combination of small or large schools. It's a good environment.
Homeschooling is on the rise for a radon in Aussie schools. Ask parents why. It’s not all roses like you’re making out!
Grooming books for a start.
Public schools are great. It’s parenting that makes the difference, every single time. Public schools are tolerant, accepting, diverse and open minded.
Julie...Australia has a National curriculum and..is..not...controlled by the State!
@@kerryryan5116 whilst there is a national curriculum, it is up to the states to incorporate it, as each state is in charge of its own education system. As such how closely it is followed varies by state. Each state will issue its own curriculum guidance. So in actuality, it is up to the states.
The problem with most people who have gone through that intensive learning framework is that they're smart enough to remember what they're taught, but not smart enough to question it.
She didn't talk about the "School of the Air" for kids in country and remote areas of Australia.
Thanks for mentioning that. It has been going for decades now, providing a unique and invaluable service. Way back in the 50's and 60's, there was an associated service to give children from far western NSW a week at Manly, a famous Sydney beachside suburb. I don't know if that's still going, nor any costs involved.
Because she didn't grow up here and has had no reason to need to learn about it.
@BradSimmonds-j7o you can enrol in those schools even from intown. It is a perfect way to home school for non teachers. Assessment and planning is done by teachers at the school and the home tutor delivers the sessions and does some formative assessment.All materials and resources are delivered to you at home.
My kids loved pre-school, singing, being read books , art, playing etc. to socialise them from 3 I never used Day-care. They attended public schools and did well.
Same here. The best decision my ex and I ever made was to both go half-time (I know not many people can swing this) on the Wednesday afternoon when we were both working my dad came over and looked after his granddaughter. He loved it and it was not too much for him, just one afternoon per week.
@@EL_Duderino68Great that you made this work. It’s the ideal model for families.
Did the same, refused FIFO, found a good paying mining job locally that allowed me to be home every night and only worked 7 Days/fortnight, tied in with the ex-missus aligning a permanent casual job to cover the days when I was at work........ managed a good income, had at least one parent at home 24/7, never put in daycare once, every weekend off as a full family and never missed a single day of their lives ❤
It's heartbreaking the division of parent/kids time these days with life so difficult that kids barely see their parents because they have to both spend so much time away working just to put food on the table 😢
@@docbob3030 Hey mate, I understand your pain re breaking up and kids. It's the worst.
On the positive you and your ex gave them an excellent start by both being there for them. The early years are the most important and it sounds like you made the most of them.
This woman is Brazilian so her perception will not match your expectations. Very Brit is looking for little Britain.
Her info is not correct. Australia has a national curriculum which is taught in ...every...state in the country. This has been in for years to ensure to meet the needs of a mobile work force. It’s from kindergarten all the way to year 12.
Teacher here. The Australian Curriculum is only compulsory to Year 10. NSW, VIC, and Queensland chose to have their own curriculum in 11 and 12. SA have a modified AC. As far as I know WA, TAS and ACT are the only states using the ACARA version.
Childcare is heavily subsidised by the Government. Its quite affordable. Kindergarten is about to be free and compulsory in some states from 3 years old. Public school is effectively free. Private school comes at a cost, most are associated with Catholic/Christian education and the fees vary. Private catholic primary can be as little as little as $2k a year, and additional children come with significant discounts. Secondary probably starts at about $6K a year.
Also no senior secondary, Its all year 7 to 12. Some schools might have different campuses but there is no breakdown.
Term 1 Feb 1 to Easter/April, then 2 week break. Then end April to end June for term 2, 2 week break. Term 3 July to end September, 2 week break. October to Mid December, 5 week break (few days/weeks variance depending on school). Catholic schools are still private.
Bias opinion, but I rekn you'll find private (religious or other) out perform public schools. I'm certain the data will suggest that both attendance levels, behavioral standards and educational outcomes etc. rate higher. There is also heaps of them.
@@brodiemarston849 Canberra has senior secondary. Yr 11 & 12 is called college and separate. She’s possibly in Cbr. We also have a few Early childhood schools that are private childcare integrated with a govt preschool and K - 2
Schools are run by states, so each is run differently hence the different names for preschool programs
Preschool is different from state infant & primary schools.
It’s called primary 1-6 then high school 7-12. No one here calls it senior secondary school.
Sort of but actually Primary is kindy or prep (depending on which state or territory) to yr 6. Secondary yes 7-12 however Canberra has senior secondary. Yr 11 & 12 is called college and a separate school. We also have a few Early childhood schools that are private childcare integrated with a govt preschool and K - 2
Some schools do although most don't. She's not wrong.
the government kindergarten I used to live near did lots of activities - they grew and harvested their vegetables, had lots of equipment inside and outside to play on. they did singing, had stories read to the children. they did lots of art things. Occasions they had well supervised excursions where they visited places. They had some fish in a big tank that they looked after. They sometimes made things and then ate what they created. All the children seemed very happy. NO uniforms at that kindergarten that was near me.
Whereas the more expensive private schools do run programs for children under 5 - they do have uniforms - and eventually go on to grade one at the same private school.
We worked out that we could afford a private education. I appreciated the very small classes in the private school they attended - as opposed to a much bigger number of students in each classroom in the government schools. I also appreciated how diligent the private schools were in giving extra support to any student who was falling behind in primary schools - and that continued for any student who needed it - and no extra fees were added to cover the cost of that extra one on one tutoring, where needed. Also the students were consistently respectful, courteous and well mannered - any time a parent was at the private school the students were so polite to any parents - including addressing the mother or father as "good morning mrs ******". Or "good afternoon Mr ******"
In a much bigger government school it is likely than students would not know which adult was a parent of .."who?"
The school holidays are organised so that the main holiday is in summer although sometimes the weather doesn't playball.
Just wanted to comment on NSW system. I have actually used both community based preschool and private preschool. Both were very good and my children attended until they turned 5. Started Kindergarten the February after turning 5 at local public school (they went to 3 different schools due to work changes) all were very similar and my children had no trouble going from one to another as the curriculum was similar. When my eldest turned 9 we homeschooled her so her educational needs could be met (a personalised programme set up and taught by me according to state curriculum standards and was monitored yearly). My son moved to catholic school (age 6). Our fees were on the lower scale as it was a outer suburb of Sydney. All up including uniforms was $3000 a year which we paid in installments. My son completed primary school through that system (age 11). When high school came around he moved to local catholic high school. These fees jumped and the uniform was more expensive our annual fees and uniform came to just under $6000 including camps and other expenses. We also experienced financial difficulties and had our fees waived for 3 terms with no need to pay back, we are also not catholic. Catholic schools do have to admit a certain number of non-catholics but you must sign that you will respect their faith. Year 9 (age 14) my son was registered for Distance Education, this was provided through online services and was brilliant as he could work at his own pace. He continued this until end of Year 10. This did have a cost as you needed to be online but was only about $500 same as local public school no school uniform needed. Year 11 & 12 was done at a regional public highschool and it was great. School fees were not compulsory but cost for some subjects where such as food tech and tafe accredited courses. The uniform was also very easy polo shirts with school badge and black shorts and enclosed shoes. I spent approx $500 on school uniforms over the 2 years. I have found the various school systems in Australia to be very good. Love to see you move to Australia.
Societies entire structure is geared into getting both parents to work because that way the repayment capacity of loans is higher meaning more can be charged for housing. Childcare is the most essential part of this system as it allows parents to outsource their parenting freeing up time to repay home mortgages. Australia in a nutshell.
Each State likes to be different. Holidays - School has 4 terms. Holidays 2 weeks at Easter, 2 weeks in June/July/ and 2weeks Sept. Xmas Holidays are from mid December to end January /beginning February. so 6 weeks. Private school /boarding schools (we have boarding schools because of the remote kids usually do Senior school away from home) has fees.
summer holidays goes for about 6 to 8 weeks (keep in mind summer is in december to february)
Traditionally schools were once infants (K-Y2) & Primary (Y3-Y6) in separate parts of the school. But progress meant schools were combined in some very old school you will see separate entrances for boys & girls in the brickwork. I remember Crown St Public School was built this way & it is a very old school from 1850 or so. As our population has grown schools have added more school rooms. My old school (Est 1899) has reused all the old classrooms, making the old principal's office into a Preschool & the oldest classrooms moved back into use.
Yes the childcare cost about $150 per day, however that is full fees, which not many people pay…
The government give families a percentage (CCS) based on their income, and this reduces the parents gap fee (amount they pay out of pocket) to as low as $20 a day for some families.
While private school is more expensive in oz it's worth it. I went to public school class sizes were less controlled, learning less consistent and teacher turn over high. Private schools usually have better resources and facilities because they have more money. While daycare is expensive as a former daycare worker the standard is high.
Family Day Care is usually run by local community members in their own homes, and they may take up to 6 children from different families. So, they can get the benefit of exposure to other children. Sometimes this is done by grandparents, who care for their own grandchildren and a few others to be eligible for the subsidy.
If you want your child to continue learning mandarin you can gi to 'Chinese school' on a Saturday morning. 2 of my grandchildren are half Korean. They went to s Korean family daycare (language immersion) and alternating with kindergarten/preschool as they got closer to 5. They now go to Korean school on a Sat morning. They are both ( at 4and7) completely bilingual. They have to be becos their Korean grandparents don't speak English .
All my grandchildren go to state schools. Quality of education depends on the behaviour of the children which depends on demographics.
I went to family daycare, so our Nanny ran a daycare out of her home, paying per hour was way cheaper as she cared for me and my 3 siblings together, did school pick-up and drop off as it continued well into Primary/highschool. Apparently it was the cheapest option for multiple siblings
My son went to family day care. So much better than a centre, and where I live we have centres that are 150+ a day, but depending on your wage and how much you work you get ccs.
Dont have to pay the Anuall Fee Btw. You can just ignore it, no repercussions. its more a requested donation.
The government provides Aussies with a parenting payment so a $400 fee for public school sounds doable. Why be so stingy.
@@CeasefireNow2024 I had to read the comment twice. She never said SHE didn’t pay it, not at any point. Are you saying in general people who don’t or can’t pay it are stingy? Sounds like you’re coming from a place of privilege and obviously not a teacher. Teachers would never say derogatory things about families who can’t pay their fees, Schools understand the individual circumstances of families who have children in their care and this would never cross their minds. In fact, quite the opposite is true, if families can’t pay for uniforms or excursions or even lunches, they are the first to dip their hands in their pockets to help. I was a teacher and I have bought pens, lunches, payed for excursions many times, any teacher will do that when they know families are feeling the pinch. Never once do we consider them stingy or poor parents, we consider they need a bit of help at this point in time for whatever reason, whether it’s employment related, family loss, illness or any of the myriad of reasons people sometimes can’t pay their bills. A bit of sensitivity please!
@@CeasefireNow2024The purpose of those back to school payments when brought in was to provide for items like uniforms, school shoes, devices and stationery needed for school to alleviate financial pressures on families. They were and are still not intended to go directly to the school. The principle of free compulsory and secular education goes back to the 19th Century in Australia. No family has an obligation to pay for school, especially if they are struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.
Yea. It's a recommended fee and if the school knows you can afford it you will be leaned on to pay it.
@@MsJubjubbird ‘leaned on’? Not where I come from. And, not in the schools where I have taught. I am sorry you felt compelled or intimidated to pay it. The money does go to important projects that benefits the kids as well as directly impacting their learning and maybe your school was too enthusiastic about that. I don’t know. I worked in regions that weren’t affluent and families did experience struggles so that never happened to them. Even so, parents did try to pay when they could as they knew it was going to benefit their kids. If you can afford to pay a very low fee that is subsidised, you should, no question. When I put my kids through school, there wasn’t even a question in my mind about paying it or not paying it. When excursion notes came home with a breakdown of the costs, I payed it, no questions were raised in my mind. If school uniform prices went up, I gave them what they needed and buying the uniforms through the school was always cheaper than buying them at stores like Lowes. If I were to not pay when I was easily capable of doing so, then the word for not paying it, wouldn’t be stingy.
Remember, Australia is in the southern hemisphere, so the seasons are the opposite of the northern hemisphere, and as such, setting a year/schooling system/ holidays to the northern hemispheres' system doesn't work for our seasons, like it does for the northern hemispheres' summer. So we operate on a calendar year, as the end of the year falls with our summer - hence our summer, new year, main holidays, events and Christmas and end of schooling - all occur during summer - to take advantage of summer. Otherwise we would have our main holidays in the middle of winter. And we would have to have a different Christmas date just for our southern hemisphere. Also our Christmas school break is roughly x6 weeks - with x3 fortnightly breaks, spread across the remainder of the year, making x4 school terms. Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. + / - days for difference between states/territories and public/private schools.
Agree that she isn't fully informed.
Family day care is in the carers home, not your home. Maximum of 5 children and heavily regulated.
High schools run from Yr7 to Y12 as a single school, with a few exceptions.
She needs to be here longer or research more
If you are looking at education in Australia, and aren't a permanent resident, my understanding is that if you go with the public education system, then you will have to pay the overseas prices which depending on the private school that you choose would be pretty similar in costs (the same way that overseas students pay way more than locals at Uni). Otherwise it depends on the school you are looking at for what subjects they offer, extra curriculars etc.
To answer your question about kindergarten. It is mostly play-based learning. It's preparing children for school. Learning to listen, sit on a mat, sharing group spaces, spontaneous and planned activities and follows an Early Years curriculum. It's usually 1 year prior to starting schooling. In my state first year of school is called reception. Other states it's called 'Prep'.
Preschool and kindy/kindergarten is used to describe that first year prior to school. The video says they are private, most kindys are government ran.
🇦🇺🏝️🐨🦘 From Magnetic Island 🏝️ Queensland 😘 I grew up in the UK, had my family in Australia ❤
Both my boys went to multiple schools ( Defence Family) in different states 👍
Fantastic free education 😊
Magnetic Island 🏝️ Queensland Australia 👍
As a 24 year old who grew up in Melbourne, these were my experiences.
Kids start primary school at 5 or sometimes even 4 if they turn 5 before the end of april in that calendar year. Theres 7 years of schooling in primary school (prep - yr 6). High school runs from yr 7 - 12 with the last 2 years being the most important for university applications.
In terms of holidays theres the 6 week summer holiday which she mentioned that usually runs between mid december to end of january, and then 3 2-week breaks within the year to separate the 4 school terms.
Unless your child requires special help with learning or you're super eager for them to network and participate in a bunch of in school extracurriculars, imo private schools arent worth it for primary school education as you can save money and put them in activities for a lot cheaper and the curriculum in both schools is similar and slow. However, a lot of the popular private schools may have a waitlist so people generally just go in whenever they can.
You probably wont expect a lot of homework from a primary school aged child, maybe a worksheet or 2 a week unless they have a project to work on. This may be outdated though as it has been a while since i was that age.
Private school for secondary education may be worth it as they generally have better teachers. However, they can be elitist and sometimes kids come out of it and into uni being a bit spoon fed in terms of acquiring information on their own. Many kids can still thrive in a public school, so if you can get into a good public school for secondary i would say thats good enough but everyone has their own opinions
The school fee depends on your employment status and as a working visa school fees are mandatory and end up being more expensive depending on the visa and if you’re apart of the UN or not. The first 2 years are the most expensive for families moving to Australia but after that point you then can apply for residency which makes education cheaper
Primary school is 7 years - Prep (Kindi) to Yr6. Secondary school is 6 years - Yr7 to Yr12. There is no "Senior secondary school". The senior phase of learning is all part of secondary education. From 15yrs old there is greater flexibility in school attendance, with VET becoming an option as part of your program. Also, from 15-17yrs old you need to be either earning or learning, so you may choose to work rather than attend school.
4:13 when i was a nipper in NSW we had kindergarten which i went to before i started school, daycare basically.
Then infants school which encompassed preschool (now known as prep) first year and second year. You then went to primary school for years 3 to 6 then high school until year 12.
They have combined infants school and primary together. Prep is an intro year to ease kids into the school process. They learn basic letters, numbers, shapes, colours, etc.
The variations in the name is due to the size of the country. I attended school in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. All different and all have their strengths and weaknesses.
When we moved from UK to Oz, the school tested me before I was put into a class. Though I was 9yo (Yr 5) the tests showed I was Y10 (age 15) in English/comprehension. I had some issues in maths though as the curriculum differed a bit.
Doesn't surprise me
International students can enrol in public schools, but their parents must pay for it. It costs between $14,000 to $18,000 per year depending if they are in primary or high school. The cost may vary from state to state.
As long as you’re living in a pretty average area, public schools are fine, I put my daughter in a private school for 2 years, but that was because they had a creative arts program that was better than any public primary school in Australia, I moved us to the catchment area for a (Public) senior college in Canberra for the same reason.
My daughter goes to a independent high school in western Australia which also has agriculture classes and its compulsory to do up to year 12.
Main school holidays are in Summer, usually mid dec - end jan/early feb. The year is then split up in to 4 terms of approximately 10 weeks, with two weeks of holidays between each.
We sent our sons to an excellent public school for their Primary years here in Melbourne. We opted for Private school for years 7 to 12, which was perfect for them although expensive.
Smart move - I look at my old high school & wonder how we survived. My cousin went to a Christian School which was a waste of money as he bummed out of TAFE. He could have gone with me & a younger neighbour but his family spent all this money. NOW - I would never send anyone to my old high school but would select the Private School.
I went to public school in Queensland, Brisbane 2000-2012 and it was laid out like this.
preschool
grade 1-2 lower junior
grade 3-6 upper junior
grade 7-9 middle school
grade 10-12 senior school
They were all on the same campus with different times for attendance. cant remember all of them, but I know senior school was from 7:15am to 1:00pm. Uniforms were also very strict, like private school strict, tie, knee high socks, the lot. Pretty sure they even went as far as to force school backpacks the year I left.
Its not just Catholic schools that are subsidised. Protestant schools also..
All schooling is subsidised. Govt schools get the most funding for the worst outcomes. Low-fee non-govt schools are funded at a lower level but get better results.
It's callendar year because our summer is Dec-Jan so these are main summer holidays which equates to summer holidays in June-July in Northern hemisphere.
It's school holidays now and there is a lot of alternative schooling options, which is good. Before and afternoon care, while they are in primary school. Childcare centres are expensive, so depends on your income. Kindy is optional, but good for getting children ready for Prep, which includes set routine but not as involved as your son is doing there. The High Schools goes to year 12. I don't know of any public schools, that finish before year 12. Not all schools are zoned either. It would be great for you and your family to live here.
It really does depend on whether you send your kids to public school or a private school or an alternative school. They can all be quite different in their approaches. 🥰
My son goes to a small, not for profit, non religious private school. All in (including stationary, uniforms, camps etc) it costs about $6500 per year averaged out across years 7 to 12. He's thriving. The best thing though is to go to open days or book a tour with the schools in the area you want to live in.
My Grandson and Granddaughter, both went to an Independent Secondary School. They did have too pay for excursions and uniforms etc, but there weren’t any school fees and the schools population was a lot smaller than public schools and there was a lot more diversity because they also had Music and Acting studies plus all the Sporting Activities. I should say we live in Perth and I think every state has its own curriculum and we are a much smaller population than The East Coast but they both did great and my youngest Granddaughter has got her Uni degree in Secondary School History Teaching and my Grandson is married and works in the Portable Housing Industry. My eldest Granddaughter went to a really good Secondary Public School, and she works in the Prison’s Department. She’s worked her way up from a Prison Officer to now working in the Office as 2nd in charge. I am hugely proud of them all and I think the schools they went to have helped them to become great people. Also with Daycare and Kindergarten especially here in Perth are fairly are a lot cheaper than what the lady said, as the Government has fairly chunky subsidies for little kids.🇦🇺😘
My 2 siblings and I went to western suburbs private schools. Someone asked my dad if he would recommend it, he said, " I wish I had just bought them a house each".
There’s one entire segment of education she completely omitted - the coaching colleges or tuition centres.
As she said, most kids will go to their local public school - however there is an exception to this rule in NSW and to a lesser extent in other states - and that is certain public schools are “selective schools”, and enrolment places are offered after the kids sit an optional “selective schools exam” in year 6.
To prepare for this exam, many parents, especially East Asian and South Asian parents, will send their kids to these tuition centres out of their own pocket.
Naturally this means that these selective schools have a higher percentage of non-Anglo kids, often close to 90% of students.
These schools dominate the top 20, and routinely rank in the top 50 schools in the state, which is why there is such strong competition to secure a place.
So to have the best education for your children , the choices are usually ( in no particular order)
1. Selective schools (needs good results to get in)
2. Tier one private schools (the most expensive option)
3. Tier two and faith based private schools (still expensive but more affordable)
4. Move to an area with a good local school (usually in affluent areas)
5. Attend your local school where you are. (Highly dependent on the educational aspirations of the local area)
Australian Children at primary and secondary school get about 6 weeks of holidays between December and January/February and 3 periods of holidays of about 2 weeks which divide up the school year into terms
There are public schools (free) that are selective high schools. From top 3% or higher, on entrance exam or top of primary school. These schools offer similar education to top private schools but are free. There were about 7 in Sydney 30 years ago.
December January is summer holidays in Australia
The cost is based on age because of the adult child ratio. 3 babies per adult. Subsidies vary by state
I am an Australian and 1 of my aunts was actually nanny when she was younger
It’s a balance … learning cones in many ways , done with play, song, activities to reach the skill each individual child needs
My best friend was an in home carer for a family. She loved it & it helped her pay for her continuing education in special needs childcare. I believe the reason for the differing terms is distance. Before the last 60-ish years it was difficult to communicate interstate because everything is so far apart. The big break is the summer holidays but it coincides with the Christmas break.
There's no difference if you choose public or private schools in education quality...the money goes into the extra activities the school offers (that you technically already paid for even if you don't use it). The education that matters is either uni or trade school.
In Australia a tradesman gets paid well....very well once fully qualified and usually isnt stuck with enormous education debt.
But it all depends on what career path they choose.
It depends on what zone you live in. Local areas with good high schools can add about 10% onto housing prices just because people want their kids to be eligible to go to that public high school. Private schools to have tools to attract better teachers, the class sizes are smaller, the discipline is more rigid, there is more monitoring of individual students, there are often more cocurriculars available at no extra cost and they might have access to better facilities- like maybe pools for swimming lessons, photography studios, better science equipment, musical instruments etc.. The only criticism I have of some private schools is they don't always expose kids to socioeconomic diversity and solving problems on their own.
Children start public school at the age of 5 in NSW if you turn 5 before July and start the following year if you turn 5 in the later part of the year. School is mostly free but some schools ask for a small donation to help cover costs. Plus there is the purchase of books and stationary. I think your son would be ahead of class. However they do start to learn to read, simple math and a range of social studies at this age. They get homework but it’s not very hard.
This is an extremely broad overview here in Western Australia the first (non mandatory) year of regular school is called Kindy, and is 5 full days a fortnight. It's either done with half days or 2 days one week and 3 days the next, repeat. This is for kids who are 4 by the 1st of July. Then the first year of mandatory schooling is called pre-primary and after that is years 1-6 for primary school and 7-12 for high school.
My kids are in public school and it's worked very well. My oldest has done a special program at the primary school level for the gifted and talented that's apparently only available here in WA and is going into the gifted and talented program in high school as well. He'll be going to public school for that as well, because it's actually better that the private school with outcomes because of the small class size. My middle child will likely follow my oldest through those programs, as he's also showing to be very bright.
There is also home school for kids that I have experienced as well so there is more than just 2 types of school.
In Queensland, it's compulsory to attend school from Prep to Yr 10 (4/5yo to 15/16yo)
Primary School - Prep to Yr 6
High School - Yr 7 to Yr 12
Xmas is in the middle of summer!
We get our long holidays at Christmas (because that’s our summer) with 3 other sets of 2 week holidays during the year.
Best to choose a regional city, WA has great options.
Tax policy changes depending on govt, but not as much as US & UK, you can chose more intence school if you want, no phones allowed in most schools.
Here in Australia an au pair or nanny is usually someone a rich person would have. Family day care is an individual who has child care qualifications and does the caring in their home with around 6 children max. Alot of families prefer this as opposed to large childcare centres with lots of children and carer. It's usually a similar price to a childcare centre, but has a family/home feel to it. Kindergarten is learning through play with a bit of structure to get the child ready for school. The first year of school is usually play based too, depending on the school.
The difference in names for year levels is due to the states having the control over education decisions. Australia is a very large place and quite different regulations in each state.
Catholic and private schools are generally looked at as a better education compared to public schools. Saying that it can depend on the size or funding of that private school. All private schools are religious based but not necessarily catholic.
My daughter graduated 2 years ago from school. She was schooled from kindergarten to year 8 in NSW. Kindergarten to year 6 was in a public school. It was a great school. But we wanted private for high school. So, year 6 to year 8, she attended a Catholic school. Then we decided we wanted to experience a new state, so we moved to QLD, and from year 9 to year 12, she was home schooled through a faith private school.
The end of the year is our summer, it's just coincidental that our summer holidays allow us to line up with the calendar year.
Your getting a very limited view as to what is actually available. You would be advised to get real info from an Aussie childhood education expert. We are very fortunate to have a well funded public education system in Oz. My whole family have been publicly educated and I'm very happy with the outcome. I don't believe that religious schools should be promoted as they lack diversity and waste too much time on scripture studies. The person on this video maybe slightly biased as she comes from a catholic dominated country.
Family day care is in the carers home. You use to be able to find child care places that incorporated kindergarten. Don’t know if they still do. Her information isn’t necessarily correct. Steiner schools are another option. I think other people have covered a lot of other points I’d be only raising again. Private schools only if you have the $’s to spend.
What she says about the years of classes. Usually children go to Kindergarten at 4 years to 5 years old. It is compulsory to go to school for primary school and secondary until 15 years of age. Primary is from preparatory, then one to six grades....so that is 7 years. High school is in years, year seven to year 12. It does cost money, around $70-$80, but if there are financial difficulties, it is free. Private schools are very expensive, as she says. But the standard of teaching is not much different, as the teachers all go to the same Universities. However, the extra curricular at the private has so much more. I taught at the Primary Schools and thought the standard of teaching and curriculum was high. However, because they are trying to foster pro-active learning, and be encouraged to be a self-learner, the behaviour is sometimes hard to control for the teacher. I taught in Vietnam, and that was so easy.....no talking, but they were very passive and it was difficult to get them to be pro-active and take part in discussions. for example, I was trying to teach them English as a second language. It was very interesting. Thank you for your videos and I hope you are enjoying living in Malaysia. I went there for 2 weeks, but the Chinese lady who promised me a job for teaching, didn't follow through with her promise. Fortunately, Kuala Lumpur is not far from Melbourne, Australia. Cheers Elizabeth
p.s. love your Skottish accent.
You can in NSW leave school after year 10 but you have to be going to TAFE if you do or have an apprenticeship. Other than this high school students go from year 7 to year 12. Primary is from kindergarten to year 6. Free education is called public school and private schools are very expensive. We couldn’t afford the fees. However the school they go to often depends on the area you live so you would need to be living in the area if you go public. I personally think the schools are quite good. I’m a grandparent now so we are into round two wth the grandchildren.
I’ll simplify as much as possible for the state of New South Wales.
Day care - ages 6months to 5/6yrs
Primary- ages 5/6 kindergarten to yr6
High school - yr7 - yr 12. Compulsory
A child can leave after yr 10 providingthey have full time employment/ Apprenticeship.
In South Australia, I went to kindergarten then infant school(grades 1 & 2); primary school was grades 3 to 7, and high school was grades 8 to 12. That was the 50's and 60's. Then they had Early Learning Centres(replaced kindergarten), the Junior Primary(generally grades 1 to 3); then Primary(grades 4 to 6), which is followed by Junior High(grades 7 to 9) then Senior High(grades 10 to 12). Starting around 2020, public schools began to copy private schools; now Primary(1 to 6) and High(7 to 1) schools are now colleges.
We use to have Religious Instruction in Primary School, I believe it was a 30 to 40 minute class on a Wednesday afternoon.
Although there is a national curriculum, under the Australian Constitution each state government has the responsibility for providing education to children within that state. It is why you need to research education in the state in which you are considering living. It's also why there is different terminology and different starting ages of compulsory education from state to state. Here in Western Australia education becomes compulsory from the year in which your child turns 5 years and 6 months and is compulsory until the end of the year in which they turn 17 years and 6 months or turn 18 (whichever comes first). The first compulsory grade is Pre-primary (and is full time schooling) but there is also a Kindergarten program available in state schools which is not compulsory and is part time for younger children. Kindergarten and pre-primary are play based, though structured to introduce phonics, numeracy, etc., with explicit instruction included, as it leads into grade 1. School holidays start and finish dates vary slightly from state to state but work on the same basic premise of 4 terms, with the first 3 terms having a 2 week holiday break after each term but the longer school holidays for Christmas/summer, of around 6 weeks, start at the completion of term 4. School reports are provided to parents at the end of term 2 and term 4 (end of semester 1 and semester 2). Be aware that like other countries, Australia's travel costs skyrocket during school holidays periods and you need to be aware of the differences between the states as it may mean week 2 of your holiday in another state may suddenly cost twice the price of week 1 because the school holidays in the state you are visiting start that second week you are there.
Accredited child care centres, for young children under the compulsory school age, are also expected to provide structured play based curriculum, required to have a qualified teacher in charge of that. Using only accredited child care providers allows parents to access government subsidies (if parental income meets eligibility criteria).
There is a myriad of private/independent schools also available, having to meet the state government's curriculum and other requirements (such as teacher registration, etc.) - not all religious based but some based upon educational philosophies such as Steiner, Montessori, etc.
"under the Australian Constitution each state government has the responsibility for providing education to children within that state" - perhaps you could set out the constitutional provision by direct quotation. I'm not aware of any.
You can apply for a childcare rebate depending on your income
8:30 school year Jan to Dec. It's because we are in the southern hemisphere!
Hi, I'm a grandmother in Australia. Both my children are in their 30s now and went to public schools, which are free. We never had a problem with public education. If you have a child who is interested in learning, the child will learn anywhere. Public schools here have similar end results as private schools, academically. Both my kids got into their first choice of Sydney universities after finishing the last year, year 12.
Why pay all that money to a private school if you don't have to. Especially, if you are an atheist like myself, or an agnostic like you, do you want your children's brain infested with religious claptrap?
Investigations of Catholic Schools a few years ago uncovered A LOT of child abuse cases. I wouldn't touch a Catholic school with a 10ft pole.
First bit on early childcare you do definitely can get Giv assistance. Also they have ‘Homebase Care’, these are registered ppl who care for 1 to sometimes 4 ish children in their home. I have 2 sons. 1 went to Kindy, the other Homebase care. Both were brilliant
Oh I got a lot of Gov assistance so didn’t pay that much. With Homebase Care, the kids can be there all day
I went to schooling the blue mountains in the 80s. Different syllabus back then. It was alot of Australian poetry and novels, classical 3 R's, history and aboriginal history. Plus we had outside survival studies. Camping, cooking, and survival training with aboriginal elders out in the wilderness learning to hunt and fish and identify edible native plants and How to cook; as well as drills on bushfires, cyclones, floods, draughts, first aid on dangerous animals etc etc. It was an intense but brilliant childhood. All this in primary school so we were hardened and ready for highschool.
My primary school was free but before or after school care was $2/day. Highschool was a boarding school and i got a full scholarship. That school was $30k per year plus uniform. To get a scholarship you have to take multiple exams and auditions.
In Australia the individual States and territories are primarily responsible for their own education system, and it has been that way from way before Federation so it is reasonable that significant differences in subjects taught and terminology will exist between each State's system. The Federal government administration does have some oversight over the State's concerning education but this is probably more to do with setting and maintaining minimum standards that the schools in general should reach rather than setting out in detail any curriculum. The Federal government's education department is mainly responsible for universities, and thus as many students do eventually feed into these universities, often in a different state to their former education there is an increased pressure on many of the more elite schools and even public schools to have at least the last two years of high school taught from a somewhat common range of subjects with similar testing and pass marks for Australia wide comparison purposes. Also as many the Australian Universities have developed a reputation among foreign students for providing relevant and highly sought after qualifications which these foreign students or their families are generally prepared to pay dearly for, Australian Universities tend to provide all students including Australians with a rather high class of tuition and related educational facilities and services that can be in demand in many other countries.
Christmas holidays is Summer holiday in Australia and it's the longest school holiday
The reason for the differences between the states is that education is a state not federal responsibility. There are standards that must be satisfied that are set by the feds.
The first options they covered (childcare/home help) are for single working parents or families where both parents want to work. Hence the cost, as it's a private service.
Once the kids reach kindy age, that's government provided.
School systems vary from state to state. Individual schools can vary within a state. You need to do your research depending on where you intend to live.
You can send your kids to “daycare” from babies up to school age (some start at 4 and some up to 6). Daycare is just like babysitting really.
There are commercial daycares, daycare chains, home daycares. They start early from around 8 and finish late from around 5-6.
I never used daycare because it seemed overcrowded and like a babysitting service, perhaps less standards in general/ less ‘professional’ in that there are no university requirements - it’s more care based rather than education based.
Then there are preschools and community preschools. They generally have a learning program and a set day program - it’s geared towards school readiness. There are educations - with at least one at university level.
Some community preschools are so brilliant. My daughter went to 3 really great ones. Lots of very modern outdoor enrichment. Mostly play based learning but set activities and light school readiness.
It’s important to know the directors intentions and get intel on the “program” and make sure you like it.
Obviously (generally) the more cosmo the area the more modern the facility and program.
These usually run from 9-3 (like our school hours). Usually you have to be 3-4 before you can attend.
Usually the government has subsidies for the kids to attend the year prior to school (massive benefits/ obvious benefits to having kids attend the year before school).
Some kids do 1,2,3,3,5 days. It’s usually recommended to do 3 or more days the year prior to starting school.
Over the years as government heads change subsidies do too… so there has been subsidies for all child care but I guess you’d have to keep up to date on that.
Even with the subsidies when my girl was little - the monthly bill was more than a cheap private school!!
It gets very expensive. Especially for the good community preschools.
Personally - I don’t agree with daycare. But thoroughly agree with community preschooling. Just my opinion. I realise we don’t live in an ideal world so I don’t judge! My opinion is based on the needs of the child separate to the family situation they are in.
Lots of mums are not as fortunate as I was - I had saved a lot of money from working too much haha and had a partner with a good income - so I could afford to be a FTAHM. Lots of mums can’t. So daycare is needed for them.
And in some cases daycare has more enrichment than what some kids can get at home. So it’s not all bad.
But in an ideal world our very little ones should be growing a secure attachment with their primary carer/ carers 😔 so I find it upsetting to see very little ones in care. Not judging - life can be tricky - but that doesn’t negate the fact that their attachment needs will suffer. And I’m allowed to find that upsetting. My emotion is separate to my intellect.
I would research and visit all of the facilities that interest you/ book in a tour and ask what a day looks like, whether they have a program and what that looks like. And a bunch of questions. Find the very best one in your area and go with that one.
I don’t mind the idea on home daycare if you find a good one. Often a little more personal. But also some people more interested in the money than the kids 😔 so really need to get in there and make the judgement and ask the questions - face to face. So you can properly suss it out.
A quick Google the average daycare/ community preschool day rates in your area for 2025 should give you an idea.
I think with the subsidies we were still out of pocket around $45$aud per day. For the year before school and full fee before that… I think.
Sayfol international school in Malaysia has an ex pat Principal who trained and taught in New Zealand, taught in the uk and has been in Malaysia quite a while. Check it out.
I taught in public schools for 22 years. A few years ago I moved to a private school* I don't have kids, but if I did I would NEVER send them to a private school. The sense of entitlement, snobbery and bullying from both students, parents and even some staff is disturbing..
* I moved for a promotion and higher salary. I didn't think it would be all that different, but I'm seriously disillusioned. I hate going to work and am considering moving back to the public sector when my contract is over.
I’m a pom I have lived here in Western Australia for 22 years, the public school system here is very good, they also have a gates system here ( Gifted and talented students) which is good if you have a bright kid, also what she did not say is that it can cost around 600 to a thousand dollars to send you kid to school aside from uniforms you have to pay for a school list every year which covers everything from text books pens and pencils calculators and even boxes off tissues to blow your kids nose lol
She also missed the Montessori Schools. These have a very good reputation and allow children to go at their own pace and those that may not fit in, for what ever reason. Have met the principal and children of these schools - and they are VERY intelligent and well adjusted.
In regards to Kindergarten in Victoria, my 4 year old daughter started Kinder last year at age 2 years 8 months, because she started so early we qualified for a 3rd year of Kinder next year so by the time she hits Primary school in 2026 she will have completed 3 years of Kinder. As for cost, absolutely nothing, our program is completely funded by the state government and it’s currently for 3 days per week 5 hours per day. The sort of activity they get up to are basic reading and writing, arts and crafts, kids safety and playtime amongst other things, the social aspect is invaluable because my daughter is an only child and needs that interaction. We further teach her spelling, reading and writing, math etc. at home, I would say given her current progress she will be able to write basic sentences, perform basic addition and subtraction and read simple children’s books before she hits the school system.
Basically, you leave the UK in first form in September and arrive in third form starting late January, skipping a year is because our education system is very poor, no 2nd language, school nurse, PE, hot lunches and "free" education or home work. It's bargain basement here...😢😮
Firstly, glad to hear you are thinking of moving to Australia. Our Education system is generally very good. To throw a spanner in the works (sorry), my 17 year old daughter attends an Independent School that is a State Government School, without the high costs of private Independent Schools. It is a School for high achievers in Math, Physics, Science, and Technology. Something for everyone in Australia.
I've used family daycare, standard daycare, independent kindergarten programs, and been eligible for in home care. My youngest is in standard daycare, and it's $120 a day - I pay $11 with subsidies. I tried for in home care when I was shift worker, but there were so many hoops to jump through that it was nearly impossible to get, so I changed jobs. Kindy services are free in QLD for children who are 3.5 - 5. No homework. It's a play based introduction to the school routine. They learn to write their name at the end of the year.
Private vs Public. It is what you're aligned with. We go to the 2nd best primary school in our area - it's public. The best is private and the best school in the state. But compared to other primary schools tgat cost 20k a year per kid it's a total waste. We'll do private for highschool in a faith based school for about 8k per year based on the kid strengths.
You also have to consider public schools are zone based. Meaning you have to live near the school to be able to go there. Those suburbs are highly sought after and not cheap to live in.
My kids finished public school a few years ago in a regional area. I feel they were taught a lot less than when I was at school, especially regarding English, science, geography and history. Their primary school only had around 200 kids and they always had combined classes of different years which I wasn't a fan of.
The first thing you should do is decide what state or territory you want to live. Then you can do all the research in that state etc. The best way to look at Australia is that each state runs its own affairs, that's why there are different rules and regulations etc. As for schools, there are many good govt schools and i don't think it necessary to pay the exorbitant private school fees.
Just pick the right suburbs! If you’re buying a house a good school can increase housing prices.
2:42 dunno what she’s talking about. We had two options kindergarten which used to be public, and daycare which was private, i’m guessing the terms are interchangeable now. I’ve never seen in home care, but for $35 an hour i’d be paying the nanny more than i am earning.
Child care and kindy costs would be driven by staff hiring cost (high and rising) property costs and insurance.
Daycare is very expensive. The one near my place wanted to charge about half my pay for a full week.
I grew up in public schools. When I became a teenager, private Christian community schools began to be developed in the 1980's (at least so in Adelaide). My father abandoned us when I was 11, so there was no way we could be sent to the private Christian community schools (& they can be split between parent-run, and leadership-run re decision-making). We weren't ever going to go to Catholic, Anglican or Lutheran private schools re costs, etc. Halfway through high school, I had to move schools as a result of my mum being forced to sell our house, thus buying a house in a cheaper area. I was in culture shock going from a strict public school, with a ling history, uniforms, etc to moving to a school that was newish (my area was newish), wirh no uniforms (they donnow, though), with open plans not individual classrooms, the behaviour was shocking & disruptive. I'd been in a school where students were divided into classrooms by academic levels, but in my new school, everyone was in together, so bad behaviour dumbed down the teaching. The dress, the language, etc were shocking. It was a culture shock indeed. I hated my new school.
However, when I became a teacher (in my 40's), I spend 3yrs relief-teaching. I didn't like the public schools re poor behaviour (& of course we have some excellent & exclusive public schools, especially those based on music or maths/science, etc).
I worked (as a relief teacher) in various Catholic school (when working for an agency). I also trained in the whole range of school types as a student teacher - ie Christian (twice), Lutheran, country, public, but Christian was my favourite (& the country one was also a Christian one, which was fun).
But my favourite by far was working in Christian community schools - the behaviour, education, etc waa by far better. Plus, we didn't teach "woke agendas" as taught by public schools.
Also, you need to know that for decades, the Federal Govt has been pouring money into private schools, at the expense of public schools. Plus being newer, the building, facilities, etc are better (in general). Some public schools are run down - but not all are.
In the Christian schools (ie evangelical Protestants), some allow kids of atheists there (but with understanding of our culture), Budhhists, Catholics, even an Indian Sihk, but the majority remain church kids from church families... to keep the Christian culture.
As for privats schools, there's also Jewish & Islamic ones. Whether private or public - I'm not sure - there's also Montessori schools (ie a complete different form of education, involving textile education, etc).
There's also Home-schooling - a catchment of families follow a set curriculum, meet regularly for "excursions" together for fhe children, etc.
I'm no longer a teacher (for health reasons, and now have cancer, anyway). I still prefer Christian community schools, and yet even in these, there's a range. Of all the schools I've been to, even the Principal (Head Master) makes a big difference in schools , good & bad. I've been working at schools when a change in Principals occurs, and I've seen dramatic changes (for good & for bad).
Anyway, I thought I'd say more, because there's more than just "Catholic" schools when it comes to Christian/Private schools.
Also, schools are run in the calendar year because of when our summer falls (Dec-Feb). And, our summers are HOT. The weather in the Southern Hemisphere is opposite to the Northern Hemisphere. To us, having school in the calendar year makes sense. However, that means that the end of everything happens all at once in December. And March is a very busy time, too, towards the start of school, and other activities.
Anyway, all the best. You've got lots of decisions to make.
Private schools are full of kids whose parents invest in education, during the school years your children will have a broader education and have friends whose parents are reasonably wealthy, but it doesn’t guarantee better jobs etc. my kids had both and there is good and bad in each. In public schools kids experience the real world where hard work has rewards but they can slip through the cracks if your not on top of it. Regardless, my experience is if you get involved then your kids will be ok.