Six-year-olds’ preparatory instruction for basic education
Preparatory instruction for basic education is intended for all children and young people of compulsory school age with an immigrant background who do yet have the language skills needed to participate in pre-primary or basic education. Preparatory instruction follows the general objectives set for pre-primary education, but takes the child’s language needs into account. In Kuopio, six-year-olds’ preparatory instruction for basic education is organised in municipal day-care centres as inclusive education in the pre-primary group of the day-care centre or school. Preparatory instruction is free of charge and its scope for six-year-olds is approximately 900 hours.
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Each child participating in preparatory instruction has a learning plan created for them. The objectives, contents, techniques, methods, and pedagogical solutions for teaching Finnish as well as their assessment and schedules are recorded in the plan. The learning plan includes a multilingualism plan that supports the development of skills for both the child’s own mother tongue and Finnish language.
When setting the objectives for preparatory instruction, the child’s Finnish language skills, learning skills, and personal strengths and interests must be taken into account. When choosing the methods used for teaching, the typical way of learning for each child is borne in mind.
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First the guardians enrol the child in pre-primary education. After this, the guardians agree on the possible participation in preparatory instruction together with the language and cultural teacher, the early childhood education teacher of the child’s pre-primary group, and the day-care centre manager. A consent form for preparatory instruction is filled in with the guardians at the cooperation meeting.
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