Applying for private schools: ELC, Primary or Secondary? Plus other questions

I've started researching schools in the area we want to move to. DS3 will be starting prep in 2019. I have no idea about public schools yet, but most of the private schools are ELC - 12. Assuming money was no object (ie, we won lotto), is there any benefit to enrolling a child in a school at 3yo kinder or primary, as opposed to year 7? Would a Montesori program be better for pre-primary? Or just normal kinder?

The schools have some great facilities, so it's tempting, but is there any value to the cost? Reception year at a school like Haileybury is $15k p.a., excluding uniforms etc.

DS is nearly 6 months old, so it's too late to apply for some private schools for primary. I'm just wondering if I should apply for primary for the ones I'm interested in and if we decide to go public, then if we can delay the application to year 7. They all seem to be variations of Christian schools (Anglican etc). We're not Christian or alumni, so that reduces our chances anyway.

At what stage have people gone on schools tours? Before or after submitting applications? I'm wondering if we do school tours this year, with a babe in arms, or if we wait a few years and see what the schools are like at the time.....

Am I overthinking this?

While I'm here, does anyone know of independent, non- religious schools in Bayside Melbourne? Any recommendations?

The schools I'm researching are Haileybury, Cornish, Peninsula, Woodleigh and Mentone. Any feedback on these would be great. What about Catholic schools in the Bayside area?

DH isn't a fan of the idea of private schools or religion, so it's going to be an interesting conversation anyway.

7 years is a long time. Schools can really change in that time. A Principal makes or breaks a school so you could go and see an awesome school and then discover in 5 years time that they have been replaced by an idiot.

I'm the last person who should offer advice about Private schools. I can't wait to get back into the Public system. I'm way too tight to pay a premium for something when I can get a similar or better product at cost price.

Free Schools is very easy reading and makes a number of suggestions about what to look for in a school (regardless of system, although he is biased towards Public).

Isn't Mentone Anglican? My uncles went there eons ago.

Yes. All the ones i'm looking at have a religious affiliation. I dont mind so long as they're not fundamentalist. I'm just interested if there are also any independent schools in the area which are non- religious. I dont think there are.

I just didnt write that paragraph clearly :)

I have heard wonderful things about woodleigh. I would definitely be checking it out if we lived close enough. Ds1 is in grade 1 at a private school. He didn't do the elp there, he just went to the local kinder. Ds2 is currently in the 4yo elp and is loving it. In retrospect I wish we had put ds1 there.

I think you need to clarify what it is you want for your child's education. What things count to you as a family:
onsite facilities and grounds?
range of extra curricular activities?
camps/travel opportunities?
subjects offered/curriculum style?
learning support/ flexibility of learning?
type of people who will be going to the school?
languages taught/immersion programs?
academic outcomes?
class size/school size?
disciplinary approach?

These are going to be different between schools (and I'm not suggesting that private is always better than public).

From my understanding, and gleaning from the experiences of others, I think a nice Montessori pre-school (if you have one nearby - not an option where I am, as an hour is a bit far to drive!) or agreeable conventional pre-school (have those in plentiful supply in my area) and local primary school are more than good enough before embarking on a private secondary education. We've switched to the local Catholic school for size reasons (wanted a small community and the public school is huge compared to where DS spent his first two primary years), but from my own Catholic education the main differences in education (apart from the religious component), was a uniform and relatively small fee structure.
I've got friends who attended their local primary school in the country, a nearby private high school and then went to boarding school in the city from Year 9 and that seemed to work for them.
The structure of education changes in high school, so no matter where they go it's no real advantage to have had the private primary education.
The only system I can think of that seems to benefit from the same primary education is Steiner.
Oh, and DP is very anti-religion, but hasn't fought the Catholic school thing and isn't averse to the idea of the private Catholic high school...so far... ;)

One thing to consider when thinking about ELC and kinder etc - is whether you plan to be working etc. You can go to many ELC's without going to private for primary - and if you are working full-time for example and can find one which suits your philosophies it can be a cheaper/easier way of doing it. Traditional kinder hours tend to be appalling if you are both working 9-5 type jobs. For DS there is one private school close with an ELC that might consider for DS if I was working full-time, but I haven't really investigated it for DD - because is much easier to have one place to go to for both of them.

In terms of academics, the kids who were P-12 at my school (as to 7-12) didn't do any better statistically, as far as I could see.

Ditto for sports, and music.

There also wasn't a noticeable number of people who stuck with particular friends from P-12 either ... friendships came and went and grew and morphed ...

I like the idea of P-6 at public school. It's better grounding, IMHO. I met people in year 7 who had a really, really different concept of money, travel, "normal" etc. Our realities were so very very different.

My kids attend one of the schools you mentioned, L&B. I would very happily recommend the school, including the ELC which is incredible. I will PM you when I get a chance - need to settle the kids and am working tomorrow, PM me if I forget! I have also looked at all of the others you mentioned.

You will find that all the independent schools in the Bayside area have an affiliation to a church (all independent schools, I think, not just Bayside!). Some are more religious than others and that's something to research and consider when looking at each school. None of the schools you have mentioned are fundamentalist, but each will have a component of religious education.

It greatly depends on the school you are looking at with respect to applying/tours etc.

Most schools have enrollment open only the year before kindy but a very select few have waiting lists years before (it isn't like day care where places are scarce).

If you are looking at the Catholic system you'll likely find that whether or not you and DH are Catholic, you will be offered a place provided you are agreeable that your child will be taught Catholic doctrine (I was raised in the Catholic system as a Catholic, my DH is agnostic and I am non-denom Christian. DS is in a Catholic school and we needed to sign a statement acknowledging the Catholic teachings and he came home partaking in Lent masses etc)

There are the elite schools that charge very high fees and generally they are the ones that require a long waiting list. If these are in your consideration, your best bet is to put a call into the school or hop on a website to check out their enrollment criteria and procedures. Whether you are alumni doesn't really matter these days, it's more about making the commitment to meet their fees.

I don't think that you are overthinking things, I think it's wonderful that you are so aware of potential challenges before they are in front of you. This is the best way to manage anything!!

I don't have any input about the schools in your local area (I am a teacher and mum in NSW) but my best advice is to look at all the schools, make contact regarding tours/applications and then wait until the year before to make a firm decision.

A lot of things can change in time and the principal has a lot of influence. That said, if you want the opportunity to choose, you might be asked for a non refundable deposit on application. You can always apply, sit the interview/assessments etc for all schools and then have choice at your fingertips just prior to your DS3 starting kindy.

We did that with our children with the 3 main schools and then we decided in the months leading to kindy based on the schools at that time. A little expense involved, but worth it for choice.

My DD attends one of the elcs you mentioned. We couldn't be happier with it. I have a friend who also teaches at a private school in the area. I will pm you more details when I have a bit more time on my hands x

Have sent you another PM Lionsandbears, sorry it took me a while to reply x