I have to admit, I’m a bit confused about the schooling system in Sweden.. mostly because there seems to be too much choice (ha ha!). By that I mean there are literally too many schools to choose from and too many ways to go through school. The national School Board has produced some brilliant information about the Swedish education system in English. Skolverket Nyanlända and it is part of their Om Svenska Skolan (About Swedish Schools) programme. Here you can find the same information in MANY different languages. Skolverket’s main website also do a brilliant run down of the school system, and in English!
Stella is YEARS away from starting ‘proper school’ but even now we’re having to make choices about her ‘pre-school’. It is referred to as ‘Förskola’.
***Remember, in order to place your children in a school queue you and they will need personal numbers.***
School in Stockholm Stad
Stockholm Stad – Om Förskola och Pedagogisk Omsorg
In brief, we were recommended to put Stella on a Förskolan list by the time she was 6 months old…ok…but surely you just choose one and then that’s it. Oh no, you have a choice of literally thousands in Stockholm alone!?!?!?
- Municipal Förskolar
- International Förskolar
- Outdoor Förskolar
- Montissori Förskolar
- Other Private Förskolar
- Dag Mamma…
Stockholm Stad Förskola – Find your local Förskola
Faced with those choices alone it was pretty daunting trying to choose a Förskolar. I was big into the nearest being our top choice until I realised the Pre-schools were graded and assessed by parents and you could see the results online!!!!! Nightmare…I was hooked on pre-school grade tables.
So eventually you make your choice and you get your ‘place’ i.e. you are placed in a queue for your choice Förskola. EEEEEEEKS!!!!!
Stockholm Förskola och Skola Ko and the waiting begins…
School in other Kommuns in Sweden
Every Kommun (municipal region or council) in Sweden has a website or portal that allows you to access local area services. The easiest thing to do is type in your local area’s name and ‘Kommun’ into Google.
Whilst searching for preschools or compulsory schools the keywords to be looking out for are:
- Förskola (preschool)
- Förskoleklass (compulsory pre-school)
- Grundskola (primary/elementary school)
- Pedagogisk Omsorg (educational care)
- Söka Skola (search schools)
***Remember, in order to place your children in a school queue you and they will need personal numbers.***