Currently, about 40 people from Ukraine need a place in school and these students will get a place from the existing preparatory education groups as well as the new newly established groups located in the schools of Luostarivuori and Ilpoinen. In addition to these, it is also possible to set up an additional group in the schools of Haarla, Paattinen, Pansio and Puolala. Several new student notifications are received daily. We have already managed to find our own teaching group for 30 children, and the rest of the children will be in preparatory education in the coming weeks.
– The situation is well under control, but of course the number of Ukrainians is growing all the time. Facilities are limited and student numbers are growing anyway. The situation is constantly monitored, says Timo Jalonen, Director of Education.
Referral to health services is also essential to get vaccinations for newcomers, for example.
In the classes, co-operation between Russians and Ukrainians has gone well and there have been no conflicts.
The educational situation of adult immigrants has also already been examined and potential teachers, psychologists and professionals in the field of social security have been sought among the newcomers. Trained persons can be used to assist in social media and educational services, for example for refugee groups.
Early childhood education offers clubs and playground activities
There are currently a few children, who have fled Ukraine, in early childhood education.
Children aged 3 to 5 from families arriving in Ukraine can report to the playground or play schools. Turku offers open kindergartens and family clubs for parents and other caretakers at home in several different areas. Most of these are run by the city, but family clubs can also be found as a joint activity with the parish and MLL. The parents can be involved in open day care centers and family clubs.
6-year-old children with an immigrant background can participate in pre-school education. In connection with pre-school education, primary pre-school education is also organized for those children whose language skills or other abilities are not sufficient for group study.
For help and more information, call the Early Childhood Education Service on 02 262 5610 or the Kauppatori Monitor Service Advice.
To school through preparatory education
Turku has ready-made practices for starting the schooling of children with different languages. So far, the children have fit into existing groups, and two new groups have already been formed.
Preparatory education gives foreign-language students who have moved to Finland the skills to move on to basic education. The student studies Finnish and other necessary skills for an average of one year before moving to a local school. In Turku, pre-primary education is currently provided in 12 schools and there are a total of 15 groups. In addition to primary education, pupils have the opportunity to participate in additional education in Ukrainian.
– There is a large Ukrainian community in Turku and the schools already have a hundred students with a Ukrainian background, Jalonen says.