Adelaide - School Viewing Protocol?!

[Minks]

We are coming to Adelaide in June / July on "holiday" and I would like to have a look at some of the primary schools I have put down as possibilities for our kids. (anything can look good on the net!)

Do we need to make an appointment to view the schools and have a walk around or is it acceptable to just arrive? (the schools I have looked at are all public schools thus far)

We aren't able to make any final admission requests as yet as we don't have a rental etc (we will only be moving over permanently at the end of the year) but our choice of suburb / area will depend largely on whether the school fits with our children's needs.

I have no doubt that I will have more questions relating to specific schools once I have a point of reference to work from!

[RYLC]

You will need to make an appointment. You can't just turn up as that would be considered rude at best and a child safety issue at worst. The schools can't allow strangers to just wander around, staff are busy and you will not get off on the right foot with the school. Also remember that schools will be closed during the holidays if they are the same dates as here so there might not be anybody around to see you.

"our choice of suburb / area will depend largely on whether the school fits with our children's needs"

This is a needle in a haystack question. You need to have some idea of suburbs you are looking at as there are hundreds of schools. This would be like somebody saying hey I'm moving to Durban and need some advice on schools for my kids. We have no idea on suburbs but need something that will fit our kids needs. Without some idea of suburb, what would your answer be to somebody moving to Durban? Not having a go at you but lots of people ask this question without narrowing down the search area and then don't get very helpful replies.

Do your kids have special needs as that would narrow the search. Are you looking for a small school, public or private? Where are you planning on staying when you first arrive as that will give an area to look in? What sort of work does main earner do as that will also give an idea of suburbs?

[Robbie_P]

Yup. agreed RYLC...

I think its would be great if you could narrow down the areas you want to live in, that would save you heaps of time in your search for a school.

What i have found in my 4 years of living in Australia, if you living in a decent suburb, generally you will have access to a decent public school.

In terms of where you want to live... if you not sure of suburbs, you could even narrow it down to living in the East, West, South or North... but you can only make that call once you have been here i recon.

So until you have been to Adelaide and you get a feel of where you would like to live, i wouldnt put too much focus on finding a school yet, unless you have you heart set on a particular school, then choosign a suburb will be easy.

[Minks]

Thanks for your replies RYLC and Robbie_P.

I kinda guessed that I would need to make an appointment but wanted to double check.

RYLC - I have done some research on school terms and we will have about a week before schools break up once we arrive so will try to fit in a few of the schools I have looked at on the net (if they can accommodate us).

As for the "needle in a haystack" question... It was more of a statement or clarity on where we're at, as opposed to a question.

Robbie_P I think your advice is best... I won't get ahead of myself until we have set our feet on the ground and got a feel for where we want to live!

[ABC123]

Hi Minks, we are pretty much in the same position as you in that we will be making our way over in June on an LSD trip. You are one step further in that you know which city you will be settling in - we still can't decide. Even though this is the case, we still wanted to visit some schools in Adelaide to get an idea of what is on offer. I know those people that haven't moved with school aged kids probably won't understand, but our children really are our first concern and we want to try and find the best possible fit for them. It may seem to some people that our questions are silly or irrelevant, but I feel the whole purpose of this forum is that we feel able to ask, even if the questions might seem absolutely pointless to those there already.

We have also done our research and will be in Adelaide for their last week of school before the holidays, and then we move onto Perth for their final week. I will give you an idea of some of the research we have done. I considered the fact that my children are currently in a PYP school and are thriving (it also helps that I am a PYP teacher so very passionate about the programme). We also came to the conclusion that we would probably have to go with public schools initially. Considering the line of work that my husband is in, and the fact that as a teacher I probably won't find work very soon, we then looked at possible suburbs that we could afford to live in and I narrowed our search down to a handful of schools. The two PYP schools that I looked at were Stradbroke Primary in Rostrevor, and Belair Primary in Belair. We have also looked at Flagstaff Hill as a possibility and so will be researching the schools in that area as well. Any feedback is welcome.

I know that some people might see it as a waste of time for us to look at schools when we don't even know where we will be settling, but for us it is all part of the process of learning about this new country and looking at the variety of possibilities. And obviously as a teacher, any insight into the schooling there would be helpful to me.

Looking forward to your updated posts on your experiences!

[Sunnyskies]

I can understand as it was a major concern for us. However, we did struggle to get public schools to respond. In truth none did and the attitude I encountered was pretty much if you are in our catchment we will take you and if not probably not. If you don't like it go to the private system. i found catholic primary schools happy to meet you and show you around and private schools depending on whether they had space for that year level or if you were looking for a high school.

Best option for public schools is to simply arrive at reception and say you are looking at a house in the neighborhood and would like to see the local school. Before arriving I would also have a good look at the website so you know a bit about the school and do your homework on a site like myschool or bettereducation. If you don't like them online you are unlikely to like them in the flesh and visiting schools is very time consuming so be targeted.

[RYLC]

It's not that some questions are silly it's just that they are so open ended that it is impossible to answer. For newbies doing their research, it would really help if you put in more detail rather than "which schools in Adelaide would be good for my kids". Something like: we are looking for a public school in the western suburbs near the beach as that's where we would like to settle. Our kids are really bright (or have dyslexia etc) and so a gifted program or extra reading support are important to us. Then we have some info to work with.

If you're coming on an LSD, have no idea about suburbs and just want to visit a couple of schools for a general look see, then tell us where you'll be staying so that we can suggest schools that are close by. Again info about children's ages and any special requirements would be helpful in answering.

ABC123 you have been able to niche down your requirements to a PYP school which really helps to make a shortlist. This has also given you a suburb shortlist which will make answering your questions much more targeted.

You can also get a good feel for a school by reading their weekly newsletters on their website.

[rozellem]

Ok, Google says a pyp school is not as dodgy as it sounds, but the primary school stage of the IB program. In NSW you will be hard pressed to find a state school doing IB. Maybe search here: http://www.resaust.com.au/?p=4_4#List%20of%20Schools%20in%20Australia%20offering%20the%20IB%20by%20State

[Sunnyskies]

Lol, I see RYLC said don't just arrive at reception and there I said just rock up.

Ok, so maybe the approach to take is to pop in on day 1 for the selected school and ask if you can be shown around. Be prepared to be bounced to a day a few days later if necessary.

But as said before work out for yourself whether the school you have looked at offers what you want for your child. The states differ as to what additional services are offered at a school and if your child has a special need you must disclose or the school cannot ask for the right resources from the state. But if your child is just the average to above average child, you will get the standard service offered.

Having said that I had a bit to say to my daughters school (she moved there in January from a private school in Melbourne and was in extension programmes) as she had moved to a state school (her choice) in Brisbane.

When we first tried to speak to the 2 schools close to us, I was given a very much no worries mate answer. I couldn't get her into the school with the better Naplan results (they ignored the emails, the special application and me arriving in their reception). So she landed up in the "lesser" school. I walked away from my very "casual" chat with her teacher rolling my eyes and saying what a mistake to send her there, and they obviously don't give a continental, and if I could have moved her I would have. I then then went back 6 weeks later for my parent teacher. What a difference. We had 40minutes with the teacher, he had done a whole lot of assessments with the kids, worked out exactly what her capability is and was pushing her with a view to pushing her harder. He worked out my11 year old has 14 year old comprehension and reading ability and 13 year old maths and he was saying that she is coasting and he wanted to push her harder. Sure the school looks a bit scrappy, he works in shorts and she never has homework cause she finishes it at school but he is getting results out of her.

What am I saying, I think essentially it's don't over think it. What you see may not be what you get.