I'm not French.
What do I need to know about LCS?
LCS is a French international school accredited by the Agence pour l'enseignement français à l'étranger (AEFE)/ Agency for French Education Abroad. The AEFE programme is set up to welcome French, foreign and local students. AEFE schools allow all students to acquire a mastery of the French language along with the local, plus a 3rd foreign language in a multicultural approach with compliance to local regulations . When you sign up for an AEFE education, you're choosing to open a new world of opportunity for your child. You're choosing bilingualism - French and the local language, you're embracing another culture, you're developing cross-culture social skills, and you're creating the ability to move around the world and know your child can follow the same curriculum.
The AEFE has two missions and the second one is why this multi-cultural opportunity exists:
i) assurer un service éducatif pour les Français de l’étranger et, par là-même, soutenir la présence française dans le monde,
ii) contribuer au rayonnement de la langue et de la culture françaises par la scolarisation d'élèves étrangers dans les établissements de l’EFE et, ainsi, être un levier majeur de la diplomatie culturelle et d’influence de la France.
It's all about sharing the French, culture and language; and to achieve that, Lycée Condorcet is a French school in Australia. It is not like other schools; and that can sometimes be a shock. This page exists to explain some of the things that differ from what you might expect, and some of the rationales for those differences.
What is Different?
The School Calendar is different with a long holiday in August
The calendar lines up with the French northern hemisphere rhythm with some adaptation to the NSW rhythm to allow some holidays to align. The key difference is a 5-6 week break in July/August. A July/August holiday is de rigueur in France and most of Europe, so for people hoping to catch up with families, it's essential.
Yes, it's cold here in July if you're not going away; but all Australian schools have a two-week break in winter. On the bright side the timing gaps mean that flights anywhere are cheaper and you get a good long break to try something new.
The LCS school calendar adheres to the AEFE calendar guidelines and PALS representatives participate in the annual school discussion for calendar preparation which is aimed at providing a balanced of learning and rest for the children while ensuring we align with all the exam cycles. LCS criteria is to provide some cross over with NSW school holidays. The school year will continue to follow the Northern Hemisphere calendar rhythm, with a July break and the start of the new school year (Rentrée) in mid-August,
Not all Southern Hemisphere AEFE schools follow this model, but the Northern Hemisphere rhythm allows our students to interact with other Asia Pacific AEFE regional schools and it has strong support from the majority of the parent base.
There is a whole page about it here: Calendar Page
Childcare Subsidies (CCS)
The school is not eligible for Centrelink childcare subsidies as it is registered as a school, not a childcare facility.
Becoming a childcare facility would mean:
Loss of school subsidies embedded in the fees
Higher staff ratios driving up costs
Risk to the school's grandfathered approval to operate as a school
French and NSW support is instead embedded in the charges. You won't get the standard CCS rebate on maternelle fees but you'll get a good value education instead.
Afterschool and Vacation Care Availability
The school’s physical footprint influences the number of slots available for after school care. With the new building the school will be able to offer more afterschool slots, and the school is currently working through implementing an expansion.
However, like many other industries it's facing recruitment challenges. We do expect an improvement in availability over time. The LCS system is also constrained by its teaching/staffing model that mirrors the French Public System.
Moving to a full childcare coverage system would, again, mean rostering additional staff for minimum shifts and shifting the value proposition away from where it is now.
The system of application also mirrors the French system where you try to secure childcare online at the start of each semester. This creates a mad rush, and usually significant disappointment. Watch the newsletter for the dates, and be online exactly when childcare opens.
PALS will continue in discussions with the school to facilitate planning for families who need after-school care options. Improving this issue is one of PALS objectives.
Extra Curricular Activities
These are also in short supply, and there is the same mad rush to sign up that there is for Afterschool and Vacation Care. The activities also start a couple of weeks into the school term, so aren't a full substitute for childcare.
PALS is committed to encouraging the school to improve the ability to plan.
The need for after school care is extremely high. We believe there needs be productive and committed discussions with the school to develop and manage a program using additional outside agencies and with bookings through the school's Eduka portal.
We understand private options may be more expensive, however, we are keen to see an increase in the availably of activities available in Eduka to help meet the ongoing demand.
Parking
There is a shortage of spaces that mainly impacts maternelle parents who are required to drop their children inside the school and so can't use 'Kiss and Go'. Various systems have been tried. PALS is committed to having an open discussion about this subject with the school.
Bilingualism
The school consistently provides documents are in both languages, PALS encourages bilingualism and is committed to work with the school to help ensure information is shared bilingually particularly in the transition to the French language for families in maternelle.
Drop-Off for Petite Section
The school currently requires parents to hand children over to a attendant to take to the respective classroom. However, at the start of the school year (rentrée) it potentially caused more distress for the children than being dropped off in their classroom. PALS would like to work with the school to find ways for a sustained more gradual introduction to school life.
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