Is your child fully insured?

ALL school pupils should be covered by assurance scolaire (school insurance), the government recommends.

It is not obligatory for ordinary school activities, but is still useful to have in case of any harm to your child, says the Education Ministry.

However it is a legal requirement for out-of-school trips and in some cases organisers of extra-curricular activities may also demand it.

Assurance scolaire covers harm that the child may cause to another person (garantie de responsabilité civile), as well as harm to the child (garantie individuelle accidents corporels).

You can take out an assurance scolaire policy with your usual household insurer (the responsabilité civile aspect is often already covered in household policies), or you can arrange one via the main parents’ federations, Peep and FCPE.

When it comes to the equipment your child needs for school, most schools give out a list at the end of the summer term. If you still have items to get, you can mail order them from www. scoleo.fr

In many cases, this site details the exact items required by schools to help you identify any you need. Go to rechercher mon établissement on the left and put in the name of the school.

Otherwise, the best bet for last-minute buys is one of the large supermarkets, although Scoleo says its prices are comparable.

Many large chains now come to an agreement with the Education Ministry each year to offer certain key items at an agreed low rate: look out for those with the logo essentiels de la rentrée.

The chains agreed that buying the full list of essential items for a given age group will cost no more this year than it did in 2009.

A study by association Familles de France says the cost of kitting a child out is an average of €175.33 this year, a 0.63% increase on last year. Rival association the Confédération Syndicale des Familles was also predicting a slight rise as we went to press.

Last year their estimate was €166 for basic supplies but around €340 when all related costs, such as books, sports equipment and school insurance, were factored in.

Owing to these expenses, the caisses d’allocations familiales (cafs - family allowance bodies) pays the allocation rentrée (back-to-school benefit) to families on lower incomes.

This is worth about €300, and the conditions for it for this year were based on 2008 net family income, which should have been less than €22,946 for families with one child.

Application is via your local caf, though there is no need to reapply if you have received it before.

If your child is attending an ordinary French school, another consideration will be whether or not the school can make any provision for their language needs.

Some schools, especially those used to expat families, will offer extra French lessons and may make special provisions for them to do other work when English lessons are timetabled. Check with the school about the policies.