We are moving to Switzerland 15 of August. Our house tenancy starts from that date. My partner and father of the children is already in Switzerland, me and children still in England. Because schools in switzerland start 22 of August im worry that we will not have enough time to register them and have all the papers back before the school starts. Can my partner register them right now without them being yet in switzerland?
how school enrollment works? You register children in commune and then they decide wich school child will attend?

Yes. you can make them aware

just make sure you find a nice village with a good school!

Absolutely. You partner should contact the Commune/Gemeinde (local authorities) nearest to your domicile and have them place your children to a local school. He might need some documentation with him, let him ask at the Commune first. He could also see their teachers and ask if there is anything they should be getting ready for, since they will miss 3wks of school.

When we arrived and registered, we got a letter from our community inviting us to the school to discuss the placement of our children. All very simple and easy. Our kids had a week or so of freedom before they were placed. As you have little (but not "no") choice, it's very simple.

We were in the same situation last year. As soon as we knew where we would be living, we got in touch with the local Schulamtwho made us appointments to get the kids tested (just to make sure that they were going into the correct grade) and to look around the school/meet teachers. It was all pretty easy and pain free! All paperwork was done and dusted before we even moved and the kids felt reassured knowing where they were going.

Tests for kids - are they doing them everywhere? My kids will be in Switzerland in the middle of August so how would they do the test. Do you need to go for it to school or some other place? When we come there still going to be summer holidays so my kids will not be able to see school and teachers before they actually start it. I hope it all will be easy and pain free for us as well. At the moment I'm quite nervous.

You'd be surprised - when we moved over during the Easter holidays, my son's future class teacher was emailing me before to say hi and then met us in the classroom during the hols, so he could meet her and get the lie of the land. Soooo helpful.

There will definitely be at least admin staff in for a week or so before school starts, so I'm sure you'll all be able to go and have a tour and see the relevant classrooms.

And no, we didn't take any tests - would have been pointless for my totally non-French speaking kids. The usual rule of thumb for our local school is to put them into the right grade during primary, and to drop them back a grade during middle school/ transition cycle. Secondary kids (12 upwards) go into the nearby town for an intensive French 'welcome' class before being streamed.

__________________
'Chance favours only the prepared mind.'

My wife and I are in a similar position albeit with a child in Kindergarten but we contacted the local Germinde and they enrolled him no problem. The one thing I would say is do it sooner rather than later as once the summer holidays start it might be hard to get someone to provide you with the necessary information.

FYI - This was a kindergarten in a small town just out side Basel, hope this helps

Every commune/gemeinde seems to work a little differently, in my experience, but you cannot go wrong giving advance notice and let them decide how they want to handle it.

There is an application form in all cases, and you will need to provide a photo.

The birthdate will be used to determine which class they will be placed in, but there can be exceptions to this.

As you will discover, children do need what might appear to be some unusual things to bring with them to school. Ask for a list rather than leaving this to the last minute. These items may include the following:

PE Kit (shorts, t-shirt and non marking running shoes)
indoor shoes for the classroom (these are left at school and the shoes they were outside and left outside the classroom door
bathing suit and towel (some schools offer swimming classes)
knapsack
school supplies (coloured pencils, etc)

Outdoor clothing so they can walk to school in all weather, initially they may need a rainjacket, rainboots and an umbrella. On nicer days, a sun hat.

Try not to worry, kids will sense this and this makes them more anxious. Look at it as an adventure. Start reading up on healthy snacks to take to school and involve the kids in your research. Teachers are quick to note which moms send healthy snacks.

__________________