Supporting learning in basic education for children and young people who have fled Ukraine

Under section 5 of the Basic Education Act, a municipality can organise instruction preparing for basic education. The aim of the instruction is to provide pupils with the necessary skills in the Finnish or Swedish language and any other necessary skills for making the transition to pre-primary education or basic education. The education provider makes the decision on initiating and extending preparatory education where needed. The teaching can be initiated and the curriculum for the instruction preparing for basic education can be prepared based on the principles issued by the Finnish National Agency for Education in 2015. The Finnish National Agency for Education provides in ePerusteet a tool for preparing a local curriculum. 

Finnish/Swedish language teaching in preparatory education involves teaching of introductory and basic-level language skills, and it is best to draw up a learning plan for the pupils.  Some pupils may stay in Finland and continue their studies in basic education after preparatory education. It is therefore important to have language-aware teaching in the language of instruction. From the perspective of socialisation and interaction at school, this is also important for those pupils who will only stay in Finland temporarily. 

Preparatory education can be provided in group form or in an inclusive way as part of basic education, and can also be provided individually. The key objectives of preparatory education include integration into pre-primary or basic education and strengthening participation through having a sponsoring class or engaging in pupil activities. Many education providers have effective models for organising inclusive preparatory education. Education providers have also developed practices for the integration of preparatory teaching, and these can also be used for teaching Ukrainian pupils. 
 

According to section 8 of the Decree on the National Objectives of Teaching and the Distribution of Lessons in Basic Education referred to in the Finnish Basic Education Act, immigrants may be taught the Finnish or Swedish language based either in whole or in part on a specific syllabus for immigrants, meaning that they may be taught Finnish/Swedish as a second language (S2) and Finnish/Swedish literature. The education provider should also anticipate that some pupils may stay in Finland for a longer period, or even permanently. It is therefore also necessary to plan the arrangements for S2 teaching and to develop a language-aware perspective on teaching and the school’s operating culture. 

In addition to S2 teaching, pupils have the opportunity to receive support in their own language for studying other subjects. It is worth taking advantage of this opportunity if the education provider wants to offer teaching in Ukrainian more widely for different school subjects. Pupils from Ukraine have a sound educational background and have thus also learned the language of the fields of knowledge for pupils their age. In education, it is advisable to take advantage of the extensive language resources possessed by the pupils. 
 

Under section 17 of the Constitution of Finland, each person living in Finland has the right to maintain and develop their own language and culture. Adequate mastery of one's native language supports interaction in one's own language community, and maintaining and further developing one's mother tongue also helps with learning Finnish or Swedish. Children's and young people’s native language and their learning of Finnish or Swedish as a second language lay the foundation for the functional bilingualism and plurilingualism. 

As stated at the beginning of these guidelines, the school provides safe, inclusive structures in all situations. In addition to the educational arrangements described above, the following procedures and measures can also be of use, especially in those municipalities that do not yet have well-established practices for teaching and supporting pupils with an immigrant background.

1. The education provider decides on the placement of the pupils. The key factors in this process are the local school principle and the best interests of the child. It is important that children and young people build connections with Finnish/Swedish-speaking pupils, and that right from the beginning they can establish friendships and gain experiences of inclusion.
2. When a pupil comes to school, it is of paramount importance to have a discussion with their guardian so that the pupil’s previous school attendance can be assessed and a learning plan drawn up. 
3. Interpretation services need to be provided. According to section 26 of the Administrative Procedure Act and section 5 of the Act on the Promotion of Immigrant Integration, the authority must arrange for interpretation or translation in matters where the immigrant does not possess the Finnish or Swedish language skills needed for dealing with the authorities. The municipality is fully reimbursed by the state for interpreting costs related to the reception of persons receiving international protection provided that these interpreting services are used in integration-related situations, such as cooperation between the home and school. Interpretation services must be put out to tender in order to be eligible for compensation from the state.
4.  As a rule, the teaching can be organised flexibly within the framework of the funding and curriculum for preparatory education and taking into account changing circumstances, as already stated above in relation to the different forms of support. If the number of pupils is low, preparatory education can be arranged in an inclusive way. If there are more pupils, the preparatory education can be provided to a separate group, but the pupils then integrate as early as possible into teaching of subjects such as arts and crafts and then into subjects in which the pupils are strong – as has been done in preparatory education up until now. 
5. The education provider appoints a coordinator who is responsible for the teaching arrangements and cooperates with other actors such as school health care and psychologist's and school social worker’s services. This coordinator can be, for example, a teacher who is assigned a certain number of hours for this work. Coherent coordination in the organisation of both school and leisure activities is important for the well-being of children and young people. The coordinator may join Poiju, the national linguistic and cultural diversity development network.
6. Municipalities should investigate whether there are any teachers or others with pedagogical training among the Ukrainian guardians. Where possible, these may be recruited as school attendance counsellors or support teachers. 
7. Guardians should be mobilised within the context of their children's schooling by setting up, for example, a language club for parents where they can learn basic Finnish or Swedish language skills. 
8. It is important to offer children and young people enjoyable activities, new routines and opportunities for learning and interacting in Finnish or Swedish also through the various hobby activities organised in the school. The contribution of sports clubs and other organisations is also important, as are other forms of support that the municipality can arrange, such as playground activities.