Changing primary school mid-year

[Starlightsparkle]

I have an interview for my daughter at a private primary school. The place would be from term 2 this year. My daughter is currently in grade 3 at a public school and doing really well. She loves school, reading and has a good group of friends. Without going into my reasons for moving her schools now, I was just wondering if anyone else had changed their children's primary school mid year in grade 3/4, how the child coped with the change and any advice you have on making the transition as smooth as possible.

[BH-KatiesMum]

quite a few have come mid year to our school - and to be honest I am not sure it is any different to starting at hte beginning of the year.

a new school is fairly daunting, but most kids tend to adjust ok. Some obviously take longer than others but certainly at our school all the kids make an effort with new kids to help them adjust

[Yogis Mumma]

From a teacher's perspective, I find kids really resilient when they change schools. Kids find new students exciting and I'm sure your daughter will be given a buddy to help her settle in.

Academically, I wouldn't be concerned because programs start anew at the beginning of each term anyway. Just communicate honestly about your daughter's abilities and it'll probably take a couple of weeks for the teacher to see where your daughter is at.

Make the change exciting. There'll be new uniform and shoes etc to get (I assume). Might be able to buy some accessories in the same colour as the school's colours?

Just remember, as the parent you'll probably feel more anxious than your daughter (don't let her see this). Good luck with the school move xx

[BabyG4]

My 3 daughters who were in grade 1,2&4 all changed schools in term 2 last year when we moved states. Yes, it can be tough when they miss their friends but kids are so resilient. They adjust to change so quickly! Best thing is to make sure she's prepared, go to the school early, meet some of the kids who will be in her class and be her 'buddy' whilst she adjusts. The best thing the girls school did was actually have kids waiting for my girls on their first day of school, straight away they were off and settled.

[Stretched]

We moved interstate when DD was in grade 1 at the Easter holidays break. I had the opportunity to take her for a half day at her new school in the last week of term 1, which helped as she's quite anxious. I had to be there so it meant I could also learn some names and see what was the same/different from her last school and talk about those during the holidays.

It was a school with 3 classes at every year level, so if she'd started in Jan some in her class may not have realised she was new since they shuffle the classes around each year.

DD made friends quickly but the first week or so there was a bit of "I had no one to play with today".

She moved again at the start of grade 3, but this time to a smaller country school (150 kids) and I couldn't see a big difference between that and moving her after 1 term.