FrankieB

Yes it's called Family Day Care, Bright Futures is a good website to start with as they have an overview of what's available in the area you will be living.

As pp said, your 4 year old will start pre-primary in Feb 2016 and Kindy next February. They are making Kindy compulsory, not sure if it's this year or next. Just be aware that the work done in Nursery in the UK (phonics etc) isn't started here until the end of the Kindy year. Child care isn't too bad if you get a decent rebate but that depends on visa and income. Some places do a '3 year old Kindy' which seems to be more educationally focused than a day nursery and from what I have heard is a better standard.

When you are driving along the freeway and aggressive drivers almost take you out because they can't wait for you to overtake them before they have to get passed the car in front of them, or they drive so far up your rear end you brace yourself waiting for the shunt. You walk through any park and hear parents swearing as if it is normal language. The majority of dog walkers have no consideration for other people/animals. Perth isn't laid back it is full of aggressive and arrogant people (in my experience obviously). However, the beaches and parks are nice before I get laid into by the people yet to make the move. Also on the positive side, you know you are in Perth when you are actually glad to see some rain after months without, and glad to be able to get out of the house without worrying about getting caught in a torrential downpour after a long winter full of them.

As far as I know they don't allow children to start early. I have a child in Kindy and someone in the same situation has just moved from the UK so their child has done almost a full school year in the UK. I have got a child in pre-primary too and you will probably find that your child won't be working at the level they are in the UK until at least midway through the pre-primary year. Next year is the first year that Kindly is compulsory so the work they do is pretty basic - shapes, basic phonics etc. You could pay for somewhere else that has a structured program me to make up the extra days.

Gosnells maybe?

No, the rude and aggressive people I am referring to were Australian. That is my experience, I am merely trying to express a balanced view. Obviously you are entitled to do the same, but please don't shoot me down for mine. It is lived experience.

Like I say, it depends where you come from. If you come from Benefit St then yes you would fit right in and think it was amazing.

I totally agree with what Darren said, we have said pretty much the same thing -it's nice to look at but is vacuous. As for those who have said he can't tell people what they should think - it works both ways, there are a lot of people on here, many who have just come over or not even made the move yet, stating why you MUST come over. It's all down to who you are, where you have come from and what you desire. For me, I never really appreciated the variety available in the UK (including places, culture, food, clothes), let alone Europe. Most places you can drive to here are the same - a beach, shopping Centre and identical houses. Flights are very expensive so you are pretty much stuck unless you have a lot of money. Yes the facilities for kids are great, education not so great, in my opinion. There is no sense of community and the majority of people are rude and agressive. Never before have I experienced parents swearing in the playground, loud enough for kids to hear, or people being verbally attacked for no reason. Like I say, it's all down to personal opinion but no-one should be criticized for expressing their opinion, even if it is something you don't want to hear.

When will they be 3? The choices at 2 are a family day care (childminder) or a nursery. At 3 there are some '3 year old kindys' that are a bit more structured and they can stay there until they start school. They can go as many days as you like if there are spaces. My son has just finished at one, he went for 2 days a week and it cost 75 dollars per day. However with Centrelink benefits we only ended up paying about 30 dollars of it. The cut off for schools is June 30 so if your little one is 3 before then, they will start Kindy at school in Feb 2015.

I have just got a new passport for my daughter and have got the form to inform the IMMI of the change of details. Where can I go to get the bio page of the new passport certified?

Please can someone help as I'm totally clueless when it comes to technology! I am looking for a broadband and home phone package with calls to the UK as cheap as possible and preferably unlimited downloads. I have been looking at vivid wireless for $89 a month but not sure if it would be efficient? Also been looking at Spintel. I'm getting so confused!!

Are you hiring a car? If so you can hire seats with it. That's what we did then bought some from Target, they were only about $60 each.

We are probably going to be looking for childcare for our 3 and 4 year old, full-time until December and then possibly before/after school care and 1/2 days a week for the younger one from February 2014. I've been looking at playgroups but wondered what the going rate is for a childminder? Any words of wisdom would be appreciated. Basically, I need to weigh up which is the best option and how much it would cost us per week. Thanks x

We are in Secret Harbour

Hi Guys Bit of a bizarre first post but we've been in Perth (SOR) for a few months now and my son who is 4 has been asking about going horse riding. I'd like to go to, can anyone recommend somewhere to go just for a one-off to begin with to see if he likes it? Thank you