A few weeks ago they fled to Ukraine before the war. Now they are welcome on their first day of school at Johannes Science Center and at Finnøy School.
40% refugees coming to Norway from Ukraine are children of preschool and school age. This week, 30 students have their first day of school at the Johannes learning center. Also next week, another 11 students will have their first school day at Finnøy School.
- We want children to be as safe as possible and we tried to start their everyday school life as soon as possible. In the introductory school at the education center, Johannes, says school principal, Jørn Pedersen has the necessary competences and extensive experience in teaching newly arrived refugees.
An offer for Ukrainian students was also created in Finnøy sentralskule. The aim is to welcome the children well and enable them to go to school.
Children's right to education
All school-age children are entitled to education as soon as possible and no later than one month if their stay in Norway is likely to be longer than three months. The right of children to education means that children living in emergency accommodation and refugee centers within the commune must also have an educational offer. In recent weeks, the upbringing and education staff have been working hard to be able to offer a school offer to refugees in Stavanger.
– To be able to accommodate so many children at once, we had to employ several teachers to school preliminary. We were especially looking for warm and caring teachers who knew Norwegian and other languages, says Pedersen.
It is important to have the right offer for children
Good cooperation has been established between the school, the Pedagogical and Psychological Service (PPT), social services and the health clinic to ensure dialogue and protect children's rights. Many children carry with them strong experiences and possibly traumatic events as a result of the war and in flight.
- The team will help students who need it and provide support to teachers. The aim is to provide care and create a safe environment through good and trustworthy relationships with adults so that children can master the experiences they have lived through, says municipal director for children, youth and family, Jone Skjelbred.
Enlargement offers
Pre-school children receive an offer of activities at the reception desk. They are entitled to a place in the kindergarten only if they live in the commune. Children living in approved alternative reception centers will also be entitled to a day-care facility in a timely manner. These children, who live in emergency accommodation, may attend open kindergartens in the municipality with their parents.
– We want to ensure children with the greatest possible degree of safety and normalization of everyday life through fun, learning and friendship. The children of newly arrived refugees who settle in the commune are offered day care in the introductory common room at the Johannes education center. The kindergarten gives new multilingual children and parents a good and safe start. Parents are initially with their children at the kindergarten to get a good feel for everyday kindergarten life, says kindergarten director Monica Buvig Stenseth.
We have places where more children can be accepted
Stavanger Municipality will settle 750 refugees in 2022. The municipality already has plans for areas that can be used.
- We have places where more children can be admitted in the introductory kindergarten in Johannes already before the summer. In addition, Johannes can provide day care for approximately 70 children from August 1. We also have adequate kindergarten rooms on hand so that the places in Johannes can be enlarged if necessary, says Buvig Stenseth.
There will be a decentralized offer for children who settle in Finnøy and Rennesøy. Today this practice applies to children of newly arrived refugees, the children go to the stationary kindergarten after about a year. It will therefore be necessary to measure the number of places in the regular preschool offer in individual districts over time.
Source: Stavanger Municipality
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