Oz Immigrant Visa Stepson Denied English Course

[xerostar]

My wife and stepson were granted Spouse/Immigrant visas and they arrived in Oz 1st September.

I arranged an intensive English course for my wife at TAFE (paid by Govt.)

She is supposed to start next week.

However, now I find that my 8 year old stepson is not eligible for the IEC (Intensive English Course) because his visa is only "temporary".

His visa will only become permanent after he has been in Oz for more than 2 years and after a successful application for the permanent visa. (total 2.75 years)

I can't believe that my son's education has to be "put on hold" for that long because of Govt. Policy.

I have checked the eligibility criteria at:

http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/school_educ...rivals_visa.htm

Sure enough his subclass 309 is not on the list!!

I pleaded with the local area admin guy for the IEC.

He said the school was "anyway full" due to the large number of "refugees" attending at present.

So apparently "refugees" have precedence over genuine "paying" immigrants ..?

I should mention that he was offered a place at a local primary school, however it has a poor reputation for being attended by the toughest kids in the area. Hardly a great start for my little kid who I consider exceptionally bright for his age.

I work full time and if I can't get him a place at a decent school then my wife will have to stay home and look after her boy - that means she misses out on her classes.

Anybody have any ideas of what I could do about this intolerable situation?

[Mighty Mouse]

Rules are rules, no use fighting 'em.

Young Thai kids don't really need formal English lessons to learn English. I'll bet your boy will be speaking the lingo like a true blue Aussie long before your wife becomes proficient in the language.

My mate brought out his two step daughters from Thailand, one sixteen, one eight year old and off they went to school. No English lessons. One year later they can speak very well, read slowly but surely and both can write but spelling is slow. The younger of the two picked it up very quickly.

Kids learn the language from interacting with other kids.

I can't help you with your local primary school but don't deny the children an education just because of the schools poor reputation. Let them be the judge.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Fair is fair. The prime migrant gets assistance which is reasonable, but should a family of (say) 6 all line up at the trough ? IMHO opinion ... NO.

[gburns57au]

I hadnt heard of this before....As far as I knew all new migrants were entitled to 500 hours english tuition....A friend recently told me that there is only one guy in Perth who can hold childrens classes...usually done of a nighttime so they can still attend school. I will try and get the guys name for you, he is out near Subiaco way.

I had a friend in past years whose stepson was allowed to attend english courses in Kalgoorlie...he only attended a few but through the playground he quickly learnt....you will find the other kids will have the patience that as adults we dont have to help him learn.

[gburns57au]

Try Perth Modern .......

[gburns57au]

He is on the same visa as your missus then ???

The 309 visa allows for study except for tertiary education....maybe a trip to your local MP maybe in order...or a call to Immi at the very least to confirm the situation.

Note too he will have to apply for a permanant 445 visa before your wifes permanant visa is determined....cost of $145

[xerostar]

He is on the same visa as your missus then ???

The 309 visa allows for study except for tertiary education....maybe a trip to your local MP maybe in order...or a call to Immi at the very least to confirm the situation.

Note too he will have to apply for a permanant 445 visa before your wifes permanant visa is determined....cost of $145

Thanks for the tips everyone.

I still think that all non-English speaking immigrant children should be given the same opportunities.

However considering the shortage of teachers and the logistics of getting the children to one location it's probably not practical for everyone.

I guess the local primary school will be the most practical solution after all.

If that does not work out, then we will try one of the private schools such as the Catholic college in our neighbourhood.

I've spoken to a few teachers and they all say that he will learn quickly and there really is no need to worry about getting him into a special course.

I'll let you know how things turn out.

[gburns57au]

I was speaking to a teacher last night.....she told me that many schools have ESL teachers on staff and extra tuition can be done at local school level....

Check with your local schools and if they have this then it would be beneficial to enrol the child at that school...

Thanks for the tips everyone.

I still think that all non-English speaking immigrant children should be given the same opportunities.

However considering the shortage of teachers and the logistics of getting the children to one location it's probably not practical for everyone.

I guess the local primary school will be the most practical solution after all.

If that does not work out, then we will try one of the private schools such as the Catholic college in our neighbourhood.

I've spoken to a few teachers and they all say that he will learn quickly and there really is no need to worry about getting him into a special course.

I'll let you know how things turn out.

[gcad]

Anybody have any ideas of what I could do about this intolerable situation?

If I were you, I'd just pay for your stepson's course.

[skippybangkok]

Anybody have any ideas of what I could do about this intolerable situation?

If I were you, I'd just pay for your stepson's course.

Should be thankfull that some poor buggar is paying their taxes so your Mrs. can get a free English course.

[gburns57au]

Anybody have any ideas of what I could do about this intolerable situation?

If I were you, I'd just pay for your stepson's course.

Should be thankfull that some poor buggar is paying their taxes so your Mrs. can get a free English course.

The purpose of the free education is so that the person can get employment and therefore become a good and decent tax paying member of the community...

With two spelling errors in such a short sentence, perhaps you could benefit with more education.

Edited October 22, 2006 by gburns57au

[gburns57au]

Anybody have any ideas of what I could do about this intolerable situation?

If I were you, I'd just pay for your stepson's course.

Thats a very generous offer....I hope that Xerostar takes you up on it.

[skippybangkok]

With two spelling errors in such a short sentence, perhaps you could benefit with more education.

The Lightning Ridge sheep humper has spoken.

Obviously the world revolves around ones ability to spell in English and sheep.

Ok spelling genius, spot the spelling mistakes in this...........

Ik weet niet wat deze grote lul denkt, maar hij denkt dat hij is heel tof ondat hij englse can spreken.... wat een boren lul. Laat ons zien als hij can fouten vinden in deze text.

saya fikir yang si bodoh ini boleh tahu apa saya kata dan boleh jumpa apa-apa kesalahan ejaan

Know 4 more laungues we can do a spelling test if u want.

Edited October 22, 2006 by skippybangkok

[aussiestyle1983]

I would of thought living in Oz where there are millions of native speakers that anyone migrating there would have no problem learning english. Anyway, you could proably teach him yourself, rather than relying on english lessons for only afew hours a week, why dont you just teach him yourself? Teaching English isnt the hardest job in the world and im sure your alot more qualified to teach than some of the teachers here in BKK

And hopefully one day there will be an English course available to him which will further help his English abilities, but untill then, you are gonna have to start from somewhere. The more interaction he has with others and the more tips you can give him, the more it will help. It wont help him by just waiting on the free courses for migrants.

[xerostar]

I've enrolled our boy at the closest government primary school.

He's been there a week now and loving it.

There are many nationalities represented so he doesn't feel like "the odd one out".

He even has an English speaking Thai boy in grade 5 who has promised to look after him.

(It's not the tough school with ESL tutor which is about 4 Km away)

It was the best practical solution for all of us.

I drop my wife at the bus stop at 8 am, (TAFE English course in Perth)

I drop the boy at his school at 8.30 am (start 8.45 am)

and then drive to work, ready to start at 9.00 am

My wife gets home about 1.30 pm.

She walks 15 minutes to the school and brings the boy home at 3.00 pm.

He will start riding his bike to school soon, once he's had a bit more time to settle in and I'm confident of his road safety awareness.

I get home at 5.00pm.

I couldn't have worked out better!

I never said I wasn't prepared to pay for his English tuition, it's just that any other school would

have been inconvenient, simply due to our timetable.

The only one that WOULD have been convenient was the IEC course because they have a school

bus to pick up each child and bring them home afterwards.

BTW my wife is really enthusiastic about her English course at TAFE.

My boy's teacher recommended that I give him some coaching too

- mainly in basic reading. I've been doing that.

Thanks again for all the helpful advice.

[aussiestyle1983]

Good on ya mate!

Im glad you have found a solution that everyone is happy with. Hopefully your step son will be fluent in a year or so

[skippybangkok]

Kids are not a worry. They learn very quickly. Moved to Europe from Oz, did not know a word of dutch, and went to school (highschool) 3 weeks later. Not easy, but when ur young it grows on ya quickly.

I would expect he would learn very quickly with or without tuition

[xerostar]

Just received this email from

Nina Downes

Acting Director

Learning Needs Section

Schools Outcomes Group

"Thank you for your email about your stepson’s school placement and access to schooling.

I apologise for not getting back to you sooner.

The Australian Government’s English as a Second Language New Arrivals (ESL-NA) Programme provides funds to the state and territory government and non-government education authorities to support intensive English language tuition of eligible students. The State and Territory education authorities are responsible for the administration of the ESL-NA programme, including allocating Programme funds to those schools that have eligible newly arrived migrants as students. The education authorities also determine how the Programme’s intensive English language tuition is delivered.

Under the Guidelines for the ESL-NA Programme your stepson’s visa category 309 is not currently accepted as eligible for the education authority to claim ESL-NA funding for him. However, in the May 2006 Federal Budget, the Australian Government announced that eligibility would be extended to young people who enter Australia under the Family Migration Stream, including visa subclass 309. These measures will take effect from 1 January 2007, at which time your stepson will become eligible for funding under the ESL-NA Programme.

Temporary residents who are not eligible for ESL-NA funding may still be enrolled in an intensive English language school or programme but it is a decision for the Western Australian Department of Education and Training (WA DET) regarding whether a place can be offered to your stepson. State and Territory governments provide the great majority of the funding that government schools receive and they are responsible for managing their schools, including prioritising funding allocations. For this reason I suggest you contact the WA DET to discuss your concerns further. You can contact WA DET on (08) 9264 4111 or www.det.wa.edu.au."

[gburns57au]

Good to hear and thanks for the last post....very interesting for me....

[gburns57au]

With two spelling errors in such a short sentence, perhaps you could benefit with more education.

Lets put it this way....

It doesnt matter how many languages you can speak....

You posted a smart a$$ reply and got one back....get over it.

Edited October 23, 2006 by gburns57au

[skippybangkok]

Not a smart ass reply..... a statement of fact. If govt. paying for course, where did this money come from. Donations ?. Cant remember ever being paid to learn Thai..... so i guess if the govt gave me one for free, I should be greatfull.

Still waiting for you spelling corrections on the other 2 languages........ since ur such a self proclaimed educated person, then you should be up to this minor task. Or better still, go back reading your dictionary so you can fault someone elses spelling ( what a nerd ).

[gburns57au]

Should be thankfull that some poor buggar is paying their taxes so your Mrs. can get a free English course.

Not a smart a$$ reply....??? To a sincere question by the OP....

I dont need to correct your efforts in other languages, I never professed to be fluent in other languages...so your whole point is irrelevent.

And as to the quoted comment in this post....I have answered that already.

[skippybangkok]

With two spelling errors in such a short sentence, perhaps you could benefit with more education.

One could conclude from your sentance ( playing a PerryMason lawyer here) that the level of ones education is clearly linked to ones ability to spell ( What correlation factor where u using to make this conclusion, and from which scientific study was the data collected from).

Since the statement was void of linking the level of ones education to the English language specifically , the statement would therefore cover other languages too ? As such, based on your own words, one might believe that you and ur single language compatriots are of a lesser education ? I think they would disagree with you.

Maybe time to better word your sentances too ( and get an education )

Sorry for the alergic reaction, but I have met idiots all my life who claim superiority just cause they can spell their monther tongue well . ( so a Thai who speaks poor English in your exmaple is also inferior and un-educated ).

Smart ass reply ( yep the above is one, admitted ). For a self proclaimed educated person, the written word cannot convey feelings as well as body language / facial expressions. Thats why e-mails / posts can be read in many different ways. The OP said the situation was "intollerable". I am sure he would like it all for free, but some people are entitled to a different oppinion ( unless ur name is Hitler of course. ).

Edited October 24, 2006 by skippybangkok