Memorandum from Jo Johnstone
1. I am the HIVE Information Officer in
Naples and spend most of my day's listening to worried parents
about various educational issues. This week alone I have had the
following conversations:
— Two RAF personnel posted back
to the UK from Italy in eight weeks—The nearest school has
no available places for their special needs child. There is also
no space at the nursery for there 18 months old daughter. They
have no idea how they are going to get there child into school
as they will arrive just as schools are breaking up for the summer
break.
— Navy Family—As the Foundation
Unit only has one intake per year, their son on returning back
to the UK will be in the year behind his age group, due to his
birthday being in December. In January 2007 he would move into
Foundation Stage 2 if they were in the UK, but in Italy he will
have to wait until September 2007 to move up. He will then return
to the UK facing six months of catching up with children in his
year. On return to the UK they have been told they will only be
able to get him into the school of their choice if they have a
postal address, with some sort of evidence of them owning that
house. They were selling the house, but are now unsure what to
do.
— Army Family—Their son
is at the American School here in Naples, he has two years left
at school and the family are due posting. Due to the American
School being a year behind British Education he will also be playing
catch up to his peers in what are his most important school years.
They also face trying to get him into a British School in the
middle of September.
— Navy Family—The local
school has no places available for the 2006-07 year. The only
way they can get there children into the local school is by the
service wife and children leaving their posting early and starting
the children in school before the 2005-06 year ends. Luckily they
have there own house. If this was an Army/RAF family there would
be less chance of them owning a house in the area of there posting
and would not be able to leave the posting early.
2. These are just a few of the many problems
that seem to arise from being a service family. My personnel experience
of leaving Germany for Italy was that my FS1 child was not taught
the same curriculum in Italy as he was in Germany even though
they are both SCE schools. Jolly Phonics which were taught in
Herford to FS1 children are not taught to FS1 children in Italy.
So if your child was leaves FS1 in Italy for the UK or Germany
then they will be behind other children in their class.
9 May 2006
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