In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Found this link in forum but there are others if you just use the search at the top.
[URL="http://italymag.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=4&highlight=school"]http://italymag.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=4&highlight=school[/URL]
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
sorry to disagree but our son went to school two days after we arrived here...long before residency...
residency,,, when you apply as soon as they accept your papers is a fact of life here ...ie once you apply tyou are basically resident...how long they take to process the papers depends on the commune...but the fact they accept your appilication and you are within the rules means you are in fact a resident..... if you think about it italians have to change residency quite often ...buy a house 50 meteres down the rioad and if its in another commune they have to apply to be resident.... if they all had to wait six months the children would suffer... the other thing is you do not have to be resident in the commune you send the children to school....
in fact parents in our locale have different expectations to us... its a thing you have to do...we live in a rural situation...all the parents love the local schools... when you start talking to say proffesionals they would never send their children to these schools ...they send them into the nearest towns...why...becuse they are better in terms of facilities and progression...
we started our son off in the local school...but after a year he is now in a town school...next year at 11 he will attend the media in the same town... one of the best in the region... the rest of the village children will attend the local school in our commune... their parents did and their parents before them... and the problem for us is their parents all work in factories and expect their children to do the same... and there is nothing wrong with these expectations...but we did not move here to follow that route or indeed for our son to be limited on choice...
the other thing is that there is no substantial or indeed any control here over things like bullying and such... your children are expected to stand up for themselves.... in general it works... i think most of us survived in that way... however there are no controls over contact between adults and children... and if that is a worry then you should consider it in your thoughts... and there is a strong suggestion to all at school and their parents to conform to national religion progression...so if you dont follow those your child might well feel left out...
ie i refuse to let my son attend classes for his first holy communion...they run for a long time here...upwards of a year.... and they are often left alone with priests...from a catholic up bringing myself in ireland and england.... i would never leave any child of mine alone with any representative of that faith... put it down to personal experience and the recurring thoughts of innumerable priests trying to kiss you on the lips... or any of the children i happened to go to schoool with .... saying that.. i survived... as did most of them
apart from all the above... i think schools here are good in a way that schools used to be good in england...three r mentality.... and repetition... and not a lot of formal rules.... but in a sense i think this works well and provides your child with a certain grit and determination to get on with their own lives.... if you believe in that way of doing things italian scholols are the best... if you think the sort of nanny no responsability and rules for everything way of england is the best...youll have to stay there
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
While it is true that once you apply for residency at the comune you are esentially considered a resident, what takes time and normally is a requirement (they sometimes let this slide if they know you have applied and are waiting for the actual piece of paper) is a PdiS.
School registration ends either at the end of January or the end of February for the following September so you should get your ducks in order before then. Call up the comune and ask for the ufficio d'istruzione and they will tell you where to go to get the paperwork to fill out.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
as an eu citizen we have the right of residency and the right to stay in any country within the eu.... i have never had a permesso di whats it...in fact the police when i went to the whatever office told me to go away they had enough to do with all the eastern europeans and to stop wasting their time....
as regards school and the registrations ...are you saying that if an italian family moves outside the month of februry or january their child cannot start school until the next january or february... our son was registered and started school in december...first school...second school was registered and started school in september...
.... there might be rules and regulations.... but we do not seem to have followed any.... and i know others that have moved or changed schools...italian ..mid term...
another thing is that small rural schools and indeed town schools desperately require the funding your child brings with them ...so around here any new pupil seems to be welcome...in fact some schools might well have to combine classes unless extra pupils are added....
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Hi there
We got our kids into school in San Michele S. We went to see the headmistress and she welcomed us with open arms. We thought it was going to be harder than it actually was. Lauren is 5 and she goes to like a nursery as they don't officailly have to go to school till they're 6 years. She can go from 8am till 12 or 8 am till 4pm and stay for a meal. which costs 1e50 a day.
Our house is in the country and so we have to sort transport with the school bus through the local commune.
Hope this helps
Gill
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
John, you are lucky that you have had an easy time of it and have not had to deal with a PdiS BUT it is a requirement, even for EU citizens. ([url]http://europa.eu.int/youreurope/nav/en/citizens/factsheets/it/residencerights/retired/en.html[/url]) Just because it was easy for you does not mean that it is the same in other places in Italy or that it would be easy for anyone else.
And yes, you can enroll your children in schools mid term BUT they may have no space. This happened to 3 different families in Florence this year. They all figured they would wait until they arrived and then from there. They all arrived between June and August. There was not a single space in any public school. They had to go Catholic Private.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Yes changing schools in Italy is a problem for Italians. My friend was going to move to Tuscany (didn't though) and the school didn't want to take her till the following September, My daughter wasn't allowed to start school till September, not because of the residency but also because they didn't want to upset the teachers programme! I know but this is what the system of the school is/was
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
.... i have often argued the merits of the province of Teramo... one of the easiest and most friendly places in Italy.... i can only say that i am even happier with my choice after reading the difficulties in other areas... however i think wherever you happen to be.... outside most probably of popular meccas like florence ....if you are adaptable things tend to be able to be worked out.... essential is a perfect command of italian and a good grasp of the system .... a sense of humour and a good variety of powerful italian friends.... and life should then be easy...
i forgot to say about the small local rural school.... they treated our son wonderfully and the choice of this school was to help him in an environment of a class of ten to pick up italian easily... i would regard a school like this as the best way for those of you with children that are young enough to go to in a very unthreatening friendly and caring environment.... as soon as they have picked up enough italian get them into a city/town school... its all very well parents moving to remote parts of italy... and living out their lives there... but you are placing a limitation on your children if you go too native ... and the small rural schools are not well regarded here in the higher education institutes
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Good to hear your views about schools for kids - we are moving to Sicily for 8 months and our 2 daughters will go to school and our small son to nursery. They only have a basic grasp of Italian but we are hoping they will pick it up in aobut 3 to 4 months - is this realistic ?
Any advice welcomed !
Jasmine
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
depends on how happy they are... and you...
children need a lot of support and they have to feel comfortable...it took a year for our son to stop talking about his friends in england.... but in a sense if you are only staying for eight months this will be less of a problem for you...
the thing with children is they love to communicate and they can hardly help themselves in picking up and soaking up the local language... as long as they are happy to be where they are.... and i dont think your expectations in timescale are un realistic... but a lot will depend on you and the amount of help and support you can give.... whatever it will be a good learning experience and hopefully a pleasant one...good luck
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
We've been here about 7 months and my daughter is not fluent but gets by very well. She gets a support assistant to help her, this is mostly explaining grammer and expanding vacab (2hr a week). My daughter is 7. My son is 3, 4 next month and sings fluently in Italian but speaching hasn't come so quickly. He understand but prefers to speak in English. Strangely enough though tends to speak in Italian when just waking up, perhaps he is dreaming in Italian? I have also noticed my son know when he can't get away with English and will then speak Italian. Its very interesting, from an academic point of view, watching how they learn and what they learn. I have had no concerns about them at all.
PS we have just visited England for the first time since arriving. We went into a shop and asked for some directions. As we were leaving my son said to me doesn't she speak really good English?
We approached the school all my friends children when to. Had to be resident first for the children attend though. That takes about 6 months. Worth noting though that school as you mean it doesn't start till 6, prior to that its scuola materna which is more like nursery.