Om förskolan på engelska

Children’s learning and development in focus

At preschool, your child will learn new things and will develop by playing, creating, and exploring – alone, in a group, or together with adults. A preschool education lays the foundation for lifelong learning. Preschool activities include teaching that stimulates and challenges the children, using the aims set out in the national curriculum as a starting point. If you read the preschool curriculum you will discover more about our aims and our mission. The curriculum is available at skolverket.se.

Enjoyable, supportive, educational

At preschool, the children receive the care they need, and we work closely with you to ensure your child always feels safe and secure with us. Your child will receive support to help them develop according to their needs. In a spirited, good-humoured way we will focus on and nurture your child’s curiosity and desire to learn. It is the children’s interests, views, and needs that guide us in our teaching. 

When your child begins preschool

Leaving your child with someone else for the first time can bring out different emotions. That’s why preschool begins with an introductory period for you and your child. During the introduction you can talk to the staff, ask them questions, and discuss your child’s needs. Together you can explore the preschool and get to know the staff and all the new friends your child has made.

We develop the preschool together

The preschool staff work closely with you to ensure your child receives the best care possible, and that they have the opportunity to develop based on their ability and character. We have parentteacher discussions where we discuss how your child is enjoying preschool, and we examine their needs, development, and learning. There are lots of other occasions and settings that will offer you the opportunity to discuss and be involved. Every year you can complete a simple questionnaire to let us know how you feel about the preschool. Your answers will help us improve and develop the work we do.

Safeguarding the rights of children

Every child is entitled to a secure, stimulating environment, free of discrimination and abusive behaviour. We work actively to ensure the rights of the children are safeguarded and to counteract all forms of abuse. Feel free to talk to the preschool staff if you would like to know more about how we work with equal treatment and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Are you curious about the preschools in your area?

Has the time come for you to choose a preschool? You will find lots of information at goteborg.se/forskola as well as contact details for all the preschools in the City of Gothenburg. Some preschools hold information meetings that you are welcome to attend, and there are others that you can call to arrange a visit. Feel free to get in touch with us – we will be more than happy to help you! 

A place at preschool

• When your child reaches the age of one, they can attend preschool while you are at work or studying.
• If you are on parental leave with a sibling, your child can attend preschool for 15 hours a week. If you are a jobseeker, you can choose if you want your child to spend 15 or 25 hours a week at preschool. It is the preschool that decides how the number of hours you have chosen will be spread throughout the week.
• From August in the year your child reaches the age of three, they are entitled to attend preschool for 15 hours a week free of charge.
• You pay for any time over and above the 15 hours.
• From the autumn term in the year your child reaches the age of six, they must attend school. This is when your child begins in the pre-primary “preschool class”.
• To find a preschool and apply for a place, go to goteborg.se/forskola.

Preschool opening hours

When your child starts preschool, you need to fill in a schedule in the app IST Home Skola. The schedule shows the times your child needs to be at the preschool, taking into account your working hours and travel time. The children’s schedules determine the opening hours of the preschool and the working hours of the staff. If you need to change the schedule, use the app or notify the preschool in writing at least two weeks in advance. Temporary changes to the schedule can be made one day in advance. If you need childcare in the evenings, at night or in the weekends, there are preschools available that are open around the clock. When you are off work, your child stays at home.

Limited opening hours

During the summer, the preschools have limited opening hours. If you need childcare during this period, there are a number of preschools that are open during the summer. To give preschool staff the opportunity to meet for in-service training, the preschool holds a few training days each year. If you are unable to take time off on the training days, we can make suitable arrangements, but only to a certain extent and at selected preschools. You will find details of holidays and staff training days at goteborg.se/forskola.

We document what we do

With the aid of texts, images, and audio and video recordings, we observe and document the children’s development and learning. This documentation offers an opportunity to discover what stimulates the children’s interest and how they learn in different contexts and settings. It helps us to design, organise and develop our teaching. 

Unikum

Unikum is an app where you can follow your child’s daily life, development and learning in preschool. Unikum has documents and important information from the preschool. Download it through the App Store or Google Play. You can also log in to the website start.unikum.net

The meal – a part of learning

Meals are part of the care and teaching process in preschools. Breakfast, lunch and snacks are served every day. Our meals are made to ensure that children consume about 70% of their daily needs if they eat all meals. We are encouraging environmental meals in the City of Gothenburg. Environmental meals are based on eco-labelled and seasonal ingredients that have plenty of vegetables and legumes. Does your child need a special diet? Fill out a form that is available on the preschool’s website.

Ban on nuts and peanuts

It is forbidden to bring along or serve nuts, peanuts, almonds and sesame seeds at preschools as they could trigger a severe allergic reaction. The ban applies indoors and outdoors throughout the preschool’s premises, day and night, seven days a week.

If your child becomes ill

Children must be healthy if they are to have the stamina to play and take part in activities at preschool. To avoid illnesses as far as possible, the preschools follow the guidelines issued by the preschool hygiene nurse at Region Västra Götaland.

Your child should be at home when they:

• are so tired and listless they are unable to manage normal preschool activities.
• have a fever. They should be fever-free for 24 hours before they return to preschool.
• have an infection, such as tonsillitis, which is untreated, or they have been receiving treatment for less than two days.
• have an infected sore or eczema that is weeping. They can return to preschool when the sores have dried up.
• have an upset stomach with vomiting and/or diarrhoea. They can return to preschool when they have begun eating normally and have not vomited or had diarrhoea for 48 hours.

Support and advice

At preschool, all children have the opportunity to develop and feel safe, secure and happy. We work with special needs teachers, speech therapists, and psychologists. If you know your child needs special support, you should state this when you apply for a preschool place.The preschool also collaborates with child welfare centres, the social services, libraries, compulsory schools and other services that come into contact with children and families. The City of Gothenburg and Region Västra Götaland offer motivation and support to help you in your role as a parent. This can take place through parents’ meetings or in the form of advice and guidance from a social worker. Read more about what is available in your area at goteborg.se/foraldrastod.

Confidentiality undertaking and reporting obligation

Everyone who works at a preschool has a duty of confidentiality and is not permitted to pass on any personal information about your child to unauthorised persons. Staff also have a reporting obligation under the Social Services Act. This means that anyone who works with children and young people is obliged to immediately inform social services if it comes to their knowledge, in their professional capacity, that a child is being harmed or if they suspect that is the case.

All children are insured

All children at preschool and school who are registered in Gothenburg are insured against accidents, 24 hours a day, up to the age of 17 years, or as long as they are at upper secondary school. The insurance only covers accidents. Read more about insurance for preschool/school children at goteborg.se/forskola.

Preschool fee

Each month you pay a fee for your place at preschool. The amount depends on your total household income. You can provide or change details of your income and find information about how we calculate your fee by going to goteborg.se/forskola.

Preschool Administration

The Preschool Administration is responsible for around 360 municipal preschools, 40 family day care homes, and 21 open preschools, looking after approximately 25,000 children in Gothenburg. The Administration is also responsible for the supervision of independent preschools and family day care homes. Around 8,900 people work at the Administration.