Very anxious mum, Please HELP...Vendee area

[beani]

Hi Beani

First off, sit down with a nice cuppa and relax.. ok? It is NOT as complicated as some would make out... I enrolled both my girls in about 10 minutes and its really not hard.

...my daughter is will be six in the January.  Likely she will be in Grande Maternelle, the last year in the first of the 3 'cycles' of primary school. She will be with the little ones and will be socialising and learning how to write her name, etc. They start learning to read in CP, Cours Prepatoire, the first year of the Second cycle of Primary, which will come for her next September. So if she is in UK Reception or year one now she will be ahead of the kids because she will understand what reading is all about. The cycles are flexible and she will likely get extra help with the French language.

...'livret de famille' im told I need this, what is it, where do I get it from? YOU and your daughter will NOT have a livret, it is only given to French families at birth. Birth Certificate and your daughter's passport will be fine, most likely, ask at the Mayor's office.

...'certificat d' inscription' help - again...This is sometimes needed, sometimes not. Go into the Mairie with proof of residence, EDF bill or your dossier from the Notaire (By the way... The Mairie is the Mayor's office, the building, in other words... the Maire is the Mayor. Thats the difference.)

...Im told we need to see the 'marie' Is this the mayor? They give out the certificates. Ours just smiled and sent us around directly to the school.

...I have just read about insurance, what is it for and approx how much does it cost? You can get this directly from the school, usually at reduced cost, you can shop around the first week, just ask at the school.

...I have read that you should apply before the june for the following year? what does this mean? We applied in June for this September, this is necessary so they know numbers, how many teachers to employ etc. Just let the school know as soon as YOU know.

...Also, my daughter has had her up to date jabs, all except the MMR, is this a problem? It might be, yes. You might be able to get a French Doctor to write a waiver, then you won't need it. Don't forget, you also need the Tuberculosis jab, required here in France, unless you have afore-mentioned waiver.

I would like to kindly suggest you carefully assess the money situation, France is NOT cheap.

Any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Kind regards, keep the faith

[beani]

hi, I have tried to reply to the person above, but my original posting has gone and it wont let me e-mail you,

just to say, many thanks for your help, you make it seem simple!

Do the mayors speak english?

[Val_2]

[quote]hi, I have tried to reply to the person above, but my original posting has gone and it wont let me e-mail you, just to say, many thanks for your help, you make it seem simple! Do the mayors speak e...[/quote]

If you plan to live in France, then you should not expect the local population to speak english. You will be thought more highly of,if you try and speak french and with the current anti-brit enclave feelings in many areas now,it may well go against you if you become another of those who think they don't need to learn french. This is not an antagonistic reply, purely fact that France is a foreign country with a foreign language which you will have to speak to survive here.

[Russethouse]

beani, It may be worth posting in the Western France forum too, you may find other forum members close to you who might be able give you local info on all sorts of things as well as the viability of Gites in your area and the market for the other type of work you mentioned in another section of the forum.

Good Luck