IES has traditionally emphasised years four to nine. Since 2022, newly opened schools have also taken in students from preschool class, and more and more existing schools are re-organising to receive students for the duration of compulsory school, from preschool class to year nine.
One such IES school, which has been an F-9 school ever since it opened in 2021, is in Kungsbacka. With 870 students, it is the largest school in the municipality and is also amongst the best in terms of academic results. There are many advantages to offering preschool class, all the compulsory school years and a leisure time centre within one school, according to principal Douglas McPherson.
“Getting to know our students and their parents or guardians at an early stage allows us to build trust and good relation-
ships right from the start. We can monitor the students throughout their schooling and provide the safety they need to assimilate knowledge in the best way possible,” he says.
“This helps to create a calm atmosphere even during the transition to middle school as our students already know our routines and are comfortable with the English language.”
Important not to put pressure
The purpose of IES’ focus on younger students and expanded fritids activities is to create even better conditions for every student to reach their full potential, and to enable them to leave school as self-assured, responsible person. It is also an effective way to ensure that all students receive a good start at school with the necessary skills in reading, writing and counting.
Malin Rosendahl, who is lead teacher and head of year three, as well as mentor teacher for class 3C at IES Kungsbacka, says this helps to keep the pressure off pursuing knowledge.
“It’s important for teaching to take place at the right pace and it is adapted to each individual. Given that we have children from other countries who start in our primary school without any Swedish skills at all, it becomes natural for the children to start communicating using both Swedish and English.
“We often hear a mix of the two languages, such as “kan vi play” and it doesn’t take long before the children can switch freely between the languages,” she continues.
23 languages in the school
Since every class has both a Swedish and an English-speaking mentor, there is always someone for the students to talk to in whichever language they feel most comfortable with.
“We generally put more emphasis on encouraging them to learn Swedish. For students who come directly to us from another country – we have 23 different languages in the school – play is enormously important to pick up Swedish words and in motivating them to learn the new language,” says Ms Ingelsten.
“It’s so gratifying when we see students who can stand in front of the class and hold a presentation in both Swedish and English after a year or so, when perhaps they might not have dared to say a single word in either language when they arrived,” adds Ms Rosendahl.
Fritids important in commuter towns
IES Kungsbacka also offers all students leisure time activities up to the age of 13, which is another key aspect in students’ development. The purpose of fritids is to complement the preschool class and the school, and allow parents to combine parenthood with work and study.
“Kungsbacka is a commuter town where the majority of residents work in Gothenburg and have long commutes. Of course it is important for them to know their children are safe and stimulated outside of school hours too. By offering all compulsory school years and fritids we can follow a common thread through their development, in terms of academic quality and important social factors such as confidence, health and safety,” says Mr McPherson.
IES KUNGSBACKA - Numbers as per September 2024.
870 Students
87% of parents had confidence in the school leadership
25% students with origins outside Sweden
100% students qualified for upper secondary school
91% students achieved the knowledge targets in all subjects