Well we are definately relocating back.....but not till December or next april!!

I am looking for advice as to what to do with our eldest, she is only 4 so legally she doesn't have to start school until next year (summer term) and we have a space for her in a fantastic uk school....my question is whether to start her in school here and move her either December or April or whether to keep her at pre-school until we move. I realise that this will mean in her year group she will be slightly behind but the school aren't concerned and I think that its not uncommon for children to start at different points through the year.
She is quite sensitive and starting "big" school is going to unsettle her anyway so is it better to keep her oves to a minimum and risk her being slightly behind (although i'm not sure they will learn too much in that period anyway) or start her somewhere here then move her???

:-)

If it was me I would start her at school ,you never know your plans might not happen to the timescale that you anticipate and then she would still have to start school and possibly only have a couple of weeks/months there before having to move to another school. If you think she will have trouble after your move in settling in a new school it could be even harder for her if she has not had the same experiences of schooling that other children in her year will have had. It will be a new school but the routine of going to school and participating in all that is involved with school attendance will be something that she will already be familiar with so, IMHO, it would be less traumatic than trying to deal with a new house, a new location and on top of all those changes having to deal with going to school for the first time.

Although it may appear that children starting in Reception (Foundation) classes aren't learning much they are in fact learning a huge amount :) We can normally always tell the children that haven't gone to pre-school mainly because they aren't so far advanced with their socialisation skills as children who have been going to some form of pre-school.
Children are very adaptable and I am sure she will take the changes all in her stride :)

Would moving school in the first academic year be as bad as I am worrying it will be?

I was a sensitive child (speech impediment etc) and moved from Devon to north Scotland when I was 4 and had started school. Trust me, children take this sort of upheaval in their stride - after two or three weeks the 'old life' is virtually forgotten. She'll take her lead from you and accept whatever happens.

I think parents can find starting school far more traumatic than children do :) My brother's youngest daughter started school and then, after two terms, moved to Wales. Not only did she start a new school but it was a welsh speaking school and she spoke no welsh at all. She coped brilliantly - children just get on with situations whereas parents see all the difficulties and potential pitfalls.

It is not uncommon for children to switch schools in their first year of schooling. Sometimes parents move to new areas, family circumstances change and now and again parents haven't been able to start their child at their preferred school and then a place comes up later so they move them to that school. The children all settle in well and take it in their stride. I think the younger the child the easier it is to adapt to change.

My eldest had to change school a few times when she first started school. I worried myself sick over it but she coped just fine. In fact I think it may have helped her. She's almost 15 now and copes very well with meeting groups of new people. She's been doing work experience the last two weks and had no problem settling into a new environment :-)
I'd also say that if you do decide to stick to playschool then don't worry about your daughter falling behind. She will very very quickly make up any lost ground. It could even be beneficial. In some countries children don't start school until they are much older (7/8) and yet are academically equal (or above?) to UK children by the time they leave junior school. Good luck :-)

I strted my son's in private nursery aged 3 (single parent years ago!!) they moved at 5 to primary no problems. Kids are really adaptable, its a new adventure. Ben loved it all, Sam as a 3 year old used to make me cry on leaving him every morning (sod) and he was fine when I had gone, he just knew how to pull at my heart strings.
Think of it as acclimatising, pre school you are there main stay in life, at around 7 you are surplanted by the "best friend" i think their main attachements to other kids is a bit older than your poppet will when you move, so dont make problems for yourself, you will be surprised, pleasently Im sure.

I went to 5 (?) schools before I was 11 ;-) I went to the first when I was 4 1/2 years old and I didn't want to go. I still remember it when I think about it (OMG!!!) That was over 40 years ago :-) If your daughter is ready to go to school, and I mean ready to move on to somethng bigger and better, then let her go. If she is still very babyish then I would keep her in pre-school for a bit longer. I would give this advise regardless of whether you are moving or not. Starting school can be very traumatic if you aren't ready for it. My son walked into his classroom and didn't look back. He didn't want to come home either :-D That's the kind of start you want.

Thanks for all the advice :-)

We have decided to start her in the "big" school over here as she is definately ready for more challenges and as much as she loves her pre-school I think she needs more now in terms of learning new things. I made the mistake of talking about it yesterday with oh when I thought the kids were out of earshot and she heard and promptly burst into tears because she wants to start "big" school!!!!

I changed schools in primary which I don't remeber too much about and changed again for secondary when I was 14 and I hated it, perhaps that is why I worry so much about it. My oh says she will adapt and moves within the whole of primary are generally fine but agress that we need to be settled for secondary....my dad thinks that people that move around generally are more interesting and as has been posted they mix better with new people (although i'm sure it has been said to stop me worrying!)

Thanks Guys I really appreciate the advice

:-)

Yay....glad you made a decision you're happy with :-) I'm sure your daughter will love big school ;-)

I changed primary school a couple of times, and even went to an English school abroad for a while, and it didn't phase me at all :-)

Glad she's happy to start big school :-)

I went to Primary Schools in England, Australia and Northern Ireland, so the education systems were all different. I managed fine, in fact I think I would say that it broadened my horizons ( ;-) ) so your OH is correct in that way. I'm more willing (and able?) to see the other side of anyones story than a lot of people I know that have stayed in one place all their lives, but I could just be generalizing :-D Oh, I finished off my school years in Scotland........... yet another system...... :-)

The other advantage of her starting big school is that she'll be busy and occupied whilst you arrange the move.

We found with our two kids, who moved in the last years of primary, that it was the thinking about it and talking about it that was more unsettling.  Once we moved they just got stuck in, and loved it.  Both now say it was the best thing we ever did.  Also it turns out that my son wasn't looking forward to being stuck with Chris ***** for the rest of his school life!!  He never said a word at the time...

Good luck