Education plays a foundational role in a teen’s development. As kids age into adolescence, they must spend a significant part of their lives engaged in education to become well-adjusted adults, progressing through the school system (either public, private, or home settings are viable) with minimal disruption.
That being said, life can be dynamic and unpredictable. Before you know it, you and your family might find yourselves facing the decision of whether to stay or start a new life abroad.
In some cases, the latter option is the more favorable one for your future prospects. But even so, such a decision will require you to pack your bags, pause your teen’s schooling and your own work, and relocate to the unfamiliar territory.
Moving in itself is a very challenging activity, requiring months of preparation and coordination with various service providers, both in your current home country and the next one. And having to balance a seamless transition of your teen’s schooling on top of that? It can be downright daunting.
The good news is that there are strategies your family can implement to make the transition smoother for your child. If you want to be as prepared as possible, then read on: this article will give you five essentials you need to know to get your teen’s education on the right track in a new country.
- Learn About Your New Country’s Education System
Every country has a different way of structuring its education system.
For one, the way year levels progress in the new country may not necessarily be the same as how it worked in your child’s previous education system.
For instance, some students may only be required to complete 10 years of formal schooling before progressing to vocational training or tertiary pathways, while other school systems follow a 12-year system that includes senior secondary education as a standard.
While there may be overlaps in subjects and learning, completion of those classes or courses may not be automatically credited in schools in the new country. This means that your teen’s actual educational placement may differ from the one expected in the new country, or they’d need special placement lessons to bring them up to speed with the rest of their batch.
Given this misalignment, it’s essential to get a good idea of your new country’s education system and the graduation pathways an average student is supposed to undergo.
For instance, some countries like the United Kingdom and Singapore follow a national curriculum with standardised exams, while other countries like Finland and Australia allow more flexibility through project-based assessments or subject electives without high-stakes exams.
The guide from Westpac here can give you a better glimpse of what education is like in Australia.
Getting a good grasp of the education system in the country you’re moving to is essential to ensure that you lead your teen down the right pathway. It also teaches your teenager what to focus on and prioritize during their schooling in the new school.
- Vet Schools Within a Reasonable Distance
Another important factor families should consider before choosing a school is the range of available options within a practical distance from home.
Be sure to select a school for your kid that is a reasonable distance away from your home—ideally, no more than 10 kilometres away. This ensures that they won’t spend long, fruitless hours on the road.
If the school has a school bus system, then consider opting into the service so that your teen can be picked up and dropped off at set times. This takes a load off of both of your shoulders (as it removes the need for you to drive your kid to school or have them take public transportation) and helps you adjust to your own work more easily.
Moreover, be sure to select a good school that fits your teen’s needs. A school that’s both close to your home and one with a reputation for quality education is a valuable find.
Gather a list of schools near your area, pick the ones that offer a good blend of education and character formation, and narrow your options to the best one. Reading third-party reviews on Google and hearing what locals have to say is a good strategy to know the top schools near you.
By vetting nearby educational facilities strictly, your kid will benefit from a quality education, and your own life won’t be easily disrupted. This, in turn, makes living in your new place feel more seamless and comfortable for you, your spouse, and your children.
- Check If They’re Accepting Students Mid-Semester
Another thing families should do before enrolling their child in an educational facility is to see if they’re willing to accept them in the first place.
Be sure to phone potential schools and see if they’re willing to take on new students partway through the academic year.
In most cases, they’ll allow special cases to apply and adjust mid-semester. This assumes, of course, that your kid has passed internal assessments, essays, and interviews that show that your teen is mentally fit to handle the current curriculum.
However, in some cases, the schedule is fixed and you’d have to enrol your teen in the following school year.
If you’re enrolling your child at the start of the year, you’ll still have to do the aforementioned assessments and interviews to ensure that you’re academically on par with the rest of the batch. You’ll also be less likely to encounter pushback from the school as the schedule permits them to enrol at this point with the rest of the students.
Some schools can be incredibly selective, so be warned about that before enrolling your teen in them.
That said, as you’ve newly moved to the area, you likely don’t have the liberty of choice and may have to go to any school accepting students. In such cases, just apply to the best option available to your child and consider applying to the “better” one come the next school year.
- Prepare Past School Documents for Enrolment
Most schools will require you to submit a couple of important documents to ensure your intent in enrolling your child on their facility. This is especially true if you’re coming from overseas and have no documents of past schooling in the target country just yet.
Typically, these schools will require you to submit the following documents before you can formally begin the application procedure:
- Child’s passport or ID
- Birth certificate (and proof of relationship with child)
- Language qualifications
- Teen’s visa
- Proof of residence
- Immunisation history
- Emergency contact info
- Medical history
- Disability support (if applicable)
Moreover, schools will also require you to submit documents about your child’s past educational background. This includes their curriculum, academic transcript, grades, recommendation letters, and past conduct assessments.
If these documents are written in a language different from the new country, you may have to submit a translated copy alongside the original copy for verification purposes. As such, before moving to a new country, ensure that you have a copy of all these documents on hand.
In fact, it’s best to start the vetting process in your initial home to ensure that you aren’t leaving anything behind, and that you’ll have the documents ready to go for your child’s new school journey.
- Be Your Teen’s Number One Support System
Adoloscents and teenagers are highly sensitive to uprooting, even if they don’t act like it. This is especially true for families moving from one country to another, adjusting their lifestyle to fit this new normal.
Besides navigating the language and social complexities of a classroom in a foreign land, children will also have to deal with the emotional toll of leaving behind their friends, neighbors, and family from back home.
Naturally, this can evoke negative emotions in your teen, and they may develop a change in mood or behavior as a result of coping with their new surroundings.
In such cases, it’s important to be a steady presence for your teen as you both navigate this new world together. Give them a listening ear and allow them to voice out their concerns and feelings in a safe and judgment-free environment.
If their external environment is affecting them negatively, contact a teacher or counsellor to help them readjust and make it through the school year with a lot less trouble.
The period right after a move is often when your teen feels most unsettled and emotionally vulnerable. Be sure that you meet their emotional needs and help them adjust to this new chapter of their life more actively.
We hope these tips will help you and your family adjust better to the new school environment.
Also read:
How Pets Can Improve Teenage Mental Health
How to Help Your Teen Develop Healthy Hygiene Habits
Image credit: Freepik, DC Studio
