The Russian attack on Ukraine shocks us all. Early childhood education and care (ECEC), schools and educational institutions play a particularly important role alongside homes in restoring the sense of security and safety of children and young people. On this website, you will find support material for discussing the Russian attack on Ukraine in ECEC and pre-primary education, basic education, general upper secondary education, vocational education and training (VET), basic education in the arts, and liberal adult education.

This material has been drawn up to support discussing the crisis situation in Ukraine in ECEC, pre-primary education, basic education, general upper secondary education, VET, basic education in the arts and liberal adult education. The material can be used in ways that are appropriate for the activities of the form of education in question and suitable for the different age groups.

The basic information related to the Russian attack on Ukraine and the questions it evokes can be discussed as a natural part of normal activities in different forms of education. The material is aimed at ensuring that every child, young person and student in ECEC and education following national core curricula and qualification requirements has the opportunity to talk and receive basic information about the war in Ukraine and how it affects the situation in Finland.

In a crisis situation, the staff's task is to create and support a sense of security and safety and maintain everyday life that is as normal as possible for children, young people and students. The staff know the children, young people and students of their ECEC centre, school and educational institution and their situation best and are able to choose the contents used in their own activities and the extent of the discussion. It is possible to get support from student welfare services for discussing the crisis.

In addition to discussing the crisis, it is also important to ensure that there are enough other, pleasant activities during the day. Doing things together creates faith in the future and directs thoughts to happier things.

The situation in Ukraine keeps changing rapidly and it is impossible even for an adult to have answers to all the questions. However, ECEC, schools and educational institutions can help children, young people and students understand what has happened and approach the situation calmly. Children and young people should be reminded that the war in Ukraine is exceptional and life in Finland is safe. ECEC centres, schools and educational institutions are well prepared for different threats and dangerous situations. Even in the current crisis situation, their key task is to uphold everyday routines and engage children and young people in normal and safe everyday life.

The closer children and young people think the events reported in the news are, the stronger their reactions. Some children and young people may currently be extremely worried about the well-being of their loved ones who live in the areas affected by the crisis. There are also children and young people in ECEC and education who have come to Finland from war-affected areas and students who will soon be starting their military service.

When operating practices are planned in ECEC, schools and educational institutions, it is important to consider that the Ukraine crisis affects the everyday life of children and young people living in different parts of Finland in different ways. In eastern Finland, the situation may also be challenging because of the large number of Ukrainian, Russian and Belarussian children, young people and students there at different levels of education. Big cities, on the other hand, have a large number of children, pupils and students with an immigrant background.
 

The ability of children and young people to process the crisis and their exposure to the news reporting about it varies depending on their age. When the issue is discussed in ECEC, schools and educational institutions, it is important to consider the development level of the children and young people in question. The need to talk about the matter is always individual, and it is not advisable to force conversations about the matter. Staff should be sensitive for situations in which children, pupils and students express their wish to talk about what has happened. If necessary, the issue can also be discussed in connection with teaching.

The younger the children, the more important it is to protect them from detailed reporting and upsetting images in the news. However, discussing the issue with children in ECEC is sometimes appropriate for a justified reason. It is difficult for a child to understand the human suffering, war and violence they see in the news. ECEC centres should ensure that children are not exposed to news dealing with the crisis, for example, by overhearing adults talk about it. Children must be protected from additional recalling of the details and news images. It is important for a small child to feel that they and their family are safe.

School-age children already follow the news in the media independently. They also share news and material related to the war with one other in the social media and have conversations about the issue out of reach of adults. When discussing the issue with children and young people, it is important to ensure that the information given to them and the answers to their questions are based on facts.

Schoolchildren can imagine the threats described in the news happening to themselves, but are not always able to realistically assess the likelihood of the danger. For example, young people may ask how the Ukraine crisis will affect the security situation in Finland in future, whether it is safe to live in Finland or whether Finland will also be drawn into the war at some point. It is extremely important to correct any misunderstandings and rumours in the conversations. Special attention should also be paid to the use of social media services and sharing their content.
 

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A safe and familiar environment also gives an opportunity to process the impressions, thoughts and feelings related to the crisis. The discussions about the Ukraine crisis do not need to be long. It is always possible to continue them later. The issues discussed may include matters such as where children and young people find information about the crisis and how the events evolve, and what kind of feelings the crisis evokes in them. Their sense of security and safety can be increased by giving appropriate answers suitable for their age to questions they are pondering.

Adults in ECEC, schools, educational institutions and at home set an example for how to deal with difficult issues and feelings. Children and young people can sense the different emotional states of adults. An adult can best calm the child by setting an example and by being present. When the adult acts calmly, the child or young person also feels safe. Compassion can be learnt only from a compassionate adult.

It is important for staff to look after their own well-being. They should also be offered opportunities to talk and process their feelings in the crisis situation. The places and situations in which staff can freely discuss their feelings and experiences should be determined together. The staff’s sense of community and psychological safety in their own work community is important for their mental and physical coping and well-being and lays the foundation for the school culture of the entire school community.
 

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Schools and educational institutions must also prepare for possible tensions between their pupils or students. Staff must be aware that no child, young person or student is responsible for the Russian invasion and the Ukraine crisis. No one should be discriminated against because of their background, nor should they have to feel ashamed of their background. The staff’s responsibility is to set an example through what they say and their behaviour and show that all people are equal and everyone has the right to live safely.

Bullying, violence or harassment are not tolerated in ECEC, pre-primary education, basic education, general upper secondary education and VET. Bullying is recognised, intervened in, and consciously and systematically prevented as part of developing the school culture. Supporting the peer relationships between children, young people and students and the well-being of the community is essential to the prevention of bullying.

The staff play a key role in supporting children and young people in practising and developing their social and emotional skills. Children and young people practise recognising and resolving conflicts in a constructive manner. Any incident of harassment, bullying or violence is discussed with the guardians of the children or young people and solutions are sought together. 
 

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Cooperation between the home and the school is particularly important especially in crisis situations. Homes should be informed of the practices of the ECEC centre, school and educational institution and told that the Ukraine crisis will be or has been discussed.

Parents should be encouraged to continue the discussion with their child or young person at home. It is important to inform homes of how pupils and students can be supported, for example, by means of student welfare services and how children and young people can be protected from images and videos that are too upsetting and from the continuous news reporting on the topic. When the media report on events in the war, adults should time their news consumption so that small children do not even accidentally see the news. The social media use of children and young people should be restricted if necessary. The example set by adults is important in this respect as well.

Especially ECEC, schools and educational institutions should now ensure that no one is excluded from the community and that everyone's right to a safe day at school is realised. It is important to encourage homes not to hesitate to contact ECEC, the school or the educational institution if the parents become concerned about their child or young person. This applies particularly to children, pupils and students with Ukrainian, Belarussian and Russian background.

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Today’s ECEC centres, schools and educational institutions are multidisciplinary communities with a wide variety of different competences. Right now, it is important to closely monitor the well-being of all children and young people in their everyday environment.

The different professionals at schools and educational institutions also have their own roles in the processing of crisis situations and acting in them. The student welfare body plays a key role when operating practices are planned for situations similar to the Ukraine crisis. Staff at schools and educational institutions should agree together how the topic will be discussed in the groups and how multidisciplinary competences such as the resources of psychologists and school health services are used if necessary.

Student welfare services include psychologist, social worker and school and student health services. Under the law, if a teacher or other member of staff is concerned about a child or a young person, they must refer the young person to psychologist or social worker services. The teacher should also not hesitate to contact the specialists in student welfare services if a young person or a child reacts to news reporting on the crisis in an alarming way. These professionals provide individual support to the child, the young person and the parents, and also offer their expertise to the teacher. If the help provided by student welfare services is not sufficient, the child or the young person will be referred to support outside the school.

It is important to inform pupils, students and homes of the school’s or the educational institution’s practices during the Ukraine crisis and of the available student welfare services.
 

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ECEC and teaching provide information and answers to the questions children, young people and students have and help them understand the events and their significance and keep them in perspective. The smallest children do not know what people are talking about, what and where Ukraine is, what an invasion or war means and why it is happening.

Issues related to the Russian attack on Ukraine are discussed according to the needs of the children and young people, the concern they express and the questions they pose. The aim is to give them information about the crisis and its background at a level that is appropriate considering their age and to provide them with tools for processing their thoughts, feelings and fears.  

It is important to create faith in the future in education. Art and culture are means of processing feelings in conflict situations. Empathy can be practised in many ways, such as through familiarisation with Ukrainian arts and culture.
 

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Children of early childhood education and care (ECEC) and pre-primary education age may hear people around them talk about the Ukraine crisis and see media images about it in their everyday environment. From the point of view of ECEC and pre-primary education, it is essential to pay attention to children who face the crisis situation and have in their living environment had to be particularly worried about the situation. Children are sensitive to the emotional states of the people, guardians and older siblings around them even if they have not directly talked about the matter with them. It is important to discuss crisis situations with children in ECEC and pre-primary education where necessary.

Crisis situations may be visible in children's play, forms of expression (for example in drawings) or in conversations between children even if the child does not talk about the matters directly to the staff. The child may also show with their behaviour that they are worried about the situation. It is therefore important in crisis situations that staff in ECEC and pre-primary education observe the children and notice situations in which the child communicates or shows that they are preoccupied with the matter. The familiar routines of the child group and the daily joyful moments give the child a sense of security and safety and create faith in the future. Although it is important to encounter the child as an individual and talk about the issues, sensitivity and consideration are required in the situation.

It is also important to be able to notice if the child is not aware of the crisis and be careful not to accidentally reveal the situation to the child. Discussing a crisis situation requires sensitivity and consideration. Issues should be discussed truthfully with children, as they will inevitably hear about them from somewhere else.

Staff in ECEC and pre-primary education must be careful not to let the children hear them discuss the crisis situation between themselves. The staff's shared understanding of how crisis situations are discussed with children makes it easier to encounter children sensitively and discuss issues at an appropriate level considering the child's age and development and what the child can cope with.

National core curricula for ECEC and pre-primary education support work

The National core curriculum for early childhood education and care (2022) and the National core curriculum for pre-primary education (2014), their underlying values, working methods, objectives and contents create a natural starting point for discussing the feelings and experiences resulting from crisis situations with children. It is important that the objectives and contents of Me and our community, one of the learning areas in the National core curriculum for early childhood education and care and the National core curriculum for pre-primary education, are discussed in teaching. Of the areas of transversal competence, especially Taking care of oneself and managing daily life strengthens children's skills related to well-being, security and safety.

ECEC and pre-primary education are services that promote equality and equity among children and prevent their social exclusion. Alongside child health clinics, ECEC and pre-primary education play a central role in dealing with crisis situations. The importance of multidisciplinary cooperation is emphasised with children of ECEC or pre-primary education age.

If the child needs support, cooperation based on trust with the guardians is of primary importance. It is started as early as possible and cooperation carried out with different authorities in ECEC is discussed with the guardians. Bringing up issues directly in conversations helps to develop the relationship between the staff and the family towards openness instead of speculations. If the child's guardians have moved to Finland from areas affected by crises or they have contact with such areas, staff should be aware that their sense of security has also weakened during the crisis. It is important that the staff in ECEC understand the situation of families and children who have encountered a crisis situation and know how to work with these children, for example, when they display different symptoms.  
 

 

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Schools should plan how the Ukraine crisis and its impacts are discussed in the actual teaching of different subjects or in interdisciplinary cooperation and, on the other hand, in a more informal manner as part of other school activities. It is important to listen to pupils’ wishes and offer them opportunities to talk about different feelings and experiences. Discussing the crisis involves issues that evoke difficult and sometimes very strong feelings, which is why the need to discuss it with pupils must always be considered in advance. It is therefore necessary to ensure that, if they need to, pupils can talk to someone and receive support from student welfare services. It is also important to make sure that the communication and support reach pupils from the different language groups. 

A crisis situation always raises concerns about the future. It may be the first time the child or the young person experiences a situation that confuses and causes anxiety even in adults and it makes the child or young person scared and uncertain. Holding on to familiar routines is important. It is also important to talk about the crisis as a temporary state and, in spite of everything, focus as much as possible on the good things that can be expected in the future. Things that are not certain should not be promised.

The most important thing in building faith in the future is trusting that it is possible to cope with everything together. Here, the school culture plays a key role. The adults in the school support the pupils and no one needs to manage or cope on their own. It is important to talk about different feelings and experiences and help pupils reflect on their experiences and name feelings related to them. An important aspect in strengthening the faith in the future and trust is to encourage pupils to regular school attendance and strengthen the feeling that school is a safe place for everyone. 

In basic education, transversal competence is a key part of both subject-specific studies and those integrating the different subjects. The objectives of the areas of transversal competence also support the discussion of crises in teaching. Studies that develop transversal competence are aimed at deepening pupils’ competence through examination of societal and cultural phenomena and the interconnections and interdependencies between them. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine can be and must be discussed as part of the teaching in accordance with the curricula for different subjects.
 

 

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General upper secondary schools should plan how to discuss the Ukraine crisis and its impacts in actual teaching in the different subjects or in interdisciplinary cooperation and, on the other hand, in a more informal manner in group guidance or as part of the other activities of the school. It is important to offer students opportunities to talk about different feelings and experiences together according to their needs and wishes. Discussing the crisis involves issues that evoke difficult and sometimes very strong feelings, which is why the need to discuss it with pupils must always be considered. It is therefore necessary to ensure that, if they need to, students can talk to someone and receive support from student welfare services. It is also important to make sure that the communication and support reach students from the different language groups.

Because of their nature, the different subjects differ in the ways they can be used to discuss human, political and economic issues related to current crisis situations. In most subjects, topics and phenomena related to a crisis can be discussed naturally and diversely using a variety working methods and source materials. In general upper secondary education, topics and phenomena related to a crisis situation can also be discussed as interdisciplinary cooperation from the points of view of different fields of knowledge and science. 

In general upper secondary education, transversal competence is a key part of both subject-specific studies and those integrating the different subjects. The objectives of the areas of transversal competence support discussing the crisis in teaching in general upper secondary education. Studies that develop transversal competence are aimed at deepening students’ competence through examination of societal and cultural phenomena and the interconnections and interdependencies between them. In accordance with the National core curriculum for general upper secondary education, one of the objectives is that the student observes and analyses contemporary phenomena and operating environments and learns to seek elements for building a good future. The aim is also to enable the student to present well-argumented ideas of desirable changes and find courage work for ethically sustainable solutions.
 

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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine can be discussed in connection with Acting as a member of society and citizen, which is included in the common unit Citizenship and working life competence in vocational upper secondary qualifications. For example, topics such as the principles of equality and equity in crisis situations and the ways of exerting influence in society that enable them to demonstrate their support for Ukraine can be discussed with students.   

Taking care of one's health and functional capacity and a safe and healthy operating environment should be discussed in connection with Maintaining ability to work and well-being at work. When the safety of the operating environment is assessed, it is possible to discuss the feelings of insecurity and uncertainty related to the current situation. In the conversations with young people, concentrating on issues that can be controlled helps to maintain their functional capacity.  

In studies related to communication and interaction competence, special attention can be paid to media literacy and matters such as identification of propaganda and prevention of hate speech.  

When teaching vocational units, it is possible to pay attention to the impact of the invasion of Ukraine on the job market in each sector, the economy, trade, transport, infrastructure, energy, security, relationships in society and the psychosocial atmosphere.  

Educational institutions should make sure that, if they need to, all students can to talk to someone and receive support from student welfare services. It is important to make sure that the communication and support also reach students from the different language groups.   

 

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Basic education in the arts enables people to process their feelings in conflict situations. A person with knowledge of the arts understands themselves and others by means of empathy. For example, empathy may be realised through familiarisation with Ukrainian art and culture. Above all, arts create hope and strengthen people’s faith in the future. Art education enables the student to strengthen the skills that help them better cope with the uncertainty and change.

The teacher of basic education in the arts knows their students best and is an expert in this situation as well. The teacher can identify the right practices and be sensitive for the needs of the children and young people. It is not always necessary to separately bring up the crisis in the conversation if the children or young people are stressed and do not bring it up themselves. Alternatively, art education may in itself provide a safe space when they can simply be and forget about the world outside.

Additional ideas for discussing the situation can be found in the following material for the subjects taught in basic education and general upper secondary education.
 

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In the liberal adult education courses, which are mainly targeted at adults, the crisis should be discussed if a student brings the issue up and is in need of support.

In the long-term education in liberal adult education, the issue can be discussed with the group when a suitable situation arises. The current situation may cause tensions especially in the education of immigrant groups: it is important to emphasise the importance of equitable and equal treatment of everyone regardless of their national, linguistic or cultural background and connections. It is essential to encourage students to engage in open and appropriate communication.

 

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