Adam Caller, founder of leading private tuition provider Tutors International and independent education consultant, has published advice to parents on what to do when trying to plan for schooling abroad.
Adam Caller, founder of leading private tuition provider Tutors International and independent education consultant, has published advice to parents whose arrangements for educating their children at a chosen school abroad don't go as planned.
When parents relocate abroad to start a new job or to be near to family, schooling is an important consideration.
Things that need to be taken into consideration when families relocate include:
• What curricula do the local state or independent schools follow?
• Is the child required to slot into an existing curriculum or will provision be made to continue on their existing path?
• If schooling abroad, will the child need to learn a new language before starting school?
• Will the child be able to fit in with a new culture, make new friends, and maintain their grades at a new school?
• How far away is the school from the new family home and how will transport be arranged?
• What is the provision for special needs education in the school?
“Parents generally try to find the right school for their children when they relocate to another country, but sometimes their options are limited, or things go wrong,” comments Mr Caller.
He continues, “Parents call Tutors International because we’re leaders in global education, whether it’s advising parents on schooling abroad, finding a last minute private tutor to step in to a dire situation, or to discuss plans to home school with a full-time private tutor.”
While Tutors International is often asked to recruit a full-time private tutor at very short notice, Mr Caller cautions parents who may rely on this option: “Finding the right tutor, the very best tutor, is crucial. It makes sense that recruiting the ideal tutor takes time, and the costs of hiring a tutor who may already be employed in a teaching position elsewhere (as most tutors are if the current school term is already underway or fast approaching) can be very high indeed.”
Therefore, Mr Caller urges parents to examine the schooling options in their new location carefully and thoroughly before committing.
“Parents of students that have special educational needs should be particularly aware of the variable provision in the rest of world,” Mr Caller states in his article.
There are options available to families if it doesn’t go as planned, and these include:
• Enrolling the child as planned in the local state or independent school and hiring an after-school tutor to help ease the transition culturally and academically.
• Moving the child to another area to stay with friends or family, where the education provision is more appropriate.
• Keeping the child in the original country at a boarding school, and then spending holidays with the family.
• Hiring a full-time private tutor for home tuition to keep the child on the same educational track, and to support them in and learn from their new environment.
“Some children make the transition to a new school in a new country very well, but others struggle to fit in, or to maintain their grades. In these instances, it’s important that parents know what their options are, and what support is available to them,” concludes Mr Caller.
