The English schools in Helsinki-Please advice

[anniesharma]

Hi,

I am an Indian lady staying in Espoo. I have a 4 year old daughter who goes to English daycare in Helsinki. I want to put her in English medium school (instead of a daycare), where she can make her English language stronger as well as learn Finnish as a second language. I had 'International school of Helsinki' in mind but recently came to know about 'The English School' (also in Helsinki) and have heard that it's a better school in terms of education than ISH.

I would like to have some guidance from the people here in the forum who have the knowledge or experience about the English medium schools here in Helsinki.

Thank you.

[EP]

You cannot put a 4-year-old to school. School starts the year the child turns seven, in special cases six.

[Rosamunda]

There are certainly pre-school classes at ISH and they would take a 4 year old (but it is a private school that charges heavy fees). One of my kids did his first grade there when he was six as we didn't think his English skills were good enough to get him in to Komeetta in Espoo. He then passed the English test and got into Komeetta first grade when he was 7 yrs old (so he did his first grade twice). Now I wish we had just stuck him in päiväkoti with all the Finnish kids but that's another story! ISH is a truly international school with a very international student (and teacher) population. There are also English Foreign Language classes available for children who need the extra help, but they are not usually necessary for the smaller kids who learn English so quickly from their peers. As far as I remember, reading and writing starts in first grade (6yrs +) and follows the Finnish national core curriculum and the PYP (IB) guidelines. The only difference with any other English language school in Finland is that ISH takes 6 year olds into first grade. This is so that temporary residents can keep their kids on more or less the same time-line as in a British, American school. In the pre-school classes the activities would be much the same as in an English speaking daycare.

I do not have first hand knowledge of The English School but I did know a British person who was teaching there a couple of years ago and I have met other members of staff including a former head. My understanding is that the majority of the students are Finnish and that the pre-school classes are dominated by native Finnish speakers who are learning English in an "immersion" environment. I also understood that not all the teachers are native English speakers and much of the classroom language is in Finnish. At a GUESS I would say that the English School is aimed at giving a bilingual education to Finnish children, whereas ISH is targeting the temp-resident ex-pat community. It think it is completely sterile to say that one is better than the other. It depends on the individual circumstances of the student.

If your main priority is to improve the fluency of your child then I think one of the English speaking daycares is probably the best alternative. If you are not happy with your current daycare arrangements, you could try changing to another establishment.

Hope this helps.

PS: if you plan to stay permanently in Finland then I suggest päiväkoti as your best solution. If you want your child to learn Finnish then it is easiest while s/he is still very young.

[Rosamunda]

double post

[anniesharma]

You cannot put a 4-year-old to school. School starts the year the child turns seven, in special cases six.

Sorry, I meant preschool education for a 4 year old ,in an English medium school instead of English medium daycare.

[anniesharma]

Thanks a ton 'penelope' for the information and advice. It is really going to help me a lot.

There are certainly pre-school classes at ISH and they would take a 4 year old (but it is a private school that charges heavy fees). One of my kids did his first grade there when he was six as we didn't think his English skills were good enough to get him in to Komeetta in Espoo. He then passed the English test and got into Komeetta first grade when he was 7 yrs old (so he did his first grade twice). Now I wish we had just stuck him in päiväkoti with all the Finnish kids but that's another story! ISH is a truly international school with a very international student (and teacher) population. There are also English Foreign Language classes available for children who need the extra help, but they are not usually necessary for the smaller kids who learn English so quickly from their peers. As far as I remember, reading and writing starts in first grade (6yrs +) and follows the Finnish national core curriculum and the PYP (IB) guidelines. The only difference with any other English language school in Finland is that ISH takes 6 year olds into first grade. This is so that temporary residents can keep their kids on more or less the same time-line as in a British, American school. In the pre-school classes the activities would be much the same as in an English speaking daycare.

I do not have first hand knowledge of The English School but I did know a British person who was teaching there a couple of years ago and I have met other members of staff including a former head. My understanding is that the majority of the students are Finnish and that the pre-school classes are dominated by native Finnish speakers who are learning English in an "immersion" environment. I also understood that not all the teachers are native English speakers and much of the classroom language is in Finnish. At a GUESS I would say that the English School is aimed at giving a bilingual education to Finnish children, whereas ISH is targeting the temp-resident ex-pat community. It think it is completely sterile to say that one is better than the other. It depends on the individual circumstances of the student.

If your main priority is to improve the fluency of your child then I think one of the English speaking daycares is probably the best alternative. If you are not happy with your current daycare arrangements, you could try changing to another establishment.

Hope this helps.

PS: if you plan to stay permanently in Finland then I suggest päiväkoti as your best solution. If you want your child to learn Finnish then it is easiest while s/he is still very young.

[Megstertex]

Hi,

I am an Indian lady staying in Espoo. I have a 4 year old daughter who goes to English daycare in Helsinki. I want to put her in English medium school (instead of a daycare), where she can make her English language stronger as well as learn Finnish as a second language. I had 'International school of Helsinki' in mind but recently came to know about 'The English School' (also in Helsinki) and have heard that it's a better school in terms of education than ISH.

I would like to have some guidance from the people here in the forum who have the knowledge or experience about the English medium schools here in Helsinki.

Thank you.

The English School Preschool Program is an immersion program entirely in English. It is true it is many Finnish children that speak Finnish during all unstructured activities. The staff is mostly talented and excellent, but the administration/dynamics of a private school can be very unprofessional and vary wildly. Starting in class 1, it becomes the "Finglish" school, and is a lot of Finnish, with Finnish teachers and many Finnish students and Finnish way of doing things. While there are international students, after the Primary program, I wouldn't really call it an international school. There is also the struggle between international families, whose children are reading and writing already at 5 who want more of a challenge for their child, and some Finnish families, who would prefer that their children eat sand and finger-paint all day and that any kind of ''work'' is ''stressful''. For those parents, I would say that a päiväkoti is a better option, as there is homework and there are tests for the 5 and 6 year olds at TES.

[anniesharma]

Thank you so much for the info...hmm....that means TES will not be a right choice for my kid as I would want her to learn her lessons in English throughout...and learn Finnish just as a second language so that she can communicate with locals. Ok, what about Postipuu and Komeetan Koulu...Are these International schools or same as TES? Any idea?

Hi,

I am an Indian lady staying in Espoo. I have a 4 year old daughter who goes to English daycare in Helsinki. I want to put her in English medium school (instead of a daycare), where she can make her English language stronger as well as learn Finnish as a second language. I had 'International school of Helsinki' in mind but recently came to know about 'The English School' (also in Helsinki) and have heard that it's a better school in terms of education than ISH.

I would like to have some guidance from the people here in the forum who have the knowledge or experience about the English medium schools here in Helsinki.

Thank you.

The English School Preschool Program is an immersion program entirely in English. It is true it is many Finnish children that speak Finnish during all unstructured activities. The staff is mostly talented and excellent, but the administration/dynamics of a private school can be very unprofessional and vary wildly. Starting in class 1, it becomes the "Finglish" school, and is a lot of Finnish, with Finnish teachers and many Finnish students and Finnish way of doing things. While there are international students, after the Primary program, I wouldn't really call it an international school. There is also the struggle between international families, whose children are reading and writing already at 5 who want more of a challenge for their child, and some Finnish families, who would prefer that their children eat sand and finger-paint all day and that any kind of ''work'' is ''stressful''. For those parents, I would say that a päiväkoti is a better option, as there is homework and there are tests for the 5 and 6 year olds at TES.

[Rosamunda]

I sent you a PM.

Basically everything there is to know about Komeetta and Postipuu has already been said on this forum so if you type Komeetta or Postipuu into the search box at the top right hand corner of the screen you will find all the relevant threads. If you can't find your answers in there then send me another message and I'll try and reply.

I think I have also written that Finnish Foreign Language tuition is probably one of the main WEAK points of the English language schools. There is a lack of fully trained FOREIGN LANGUAGE teachers teaching Finnish in primary schools. Most of them are just recycled mother-tongue teachers and they just don't cut it. In my opinion, every child who starts school and does not have either Finnish or Swedish as his/her MT should have an individual progress assessment EVERY YEAR and an Individual Protocol that defines the objectives for language learning and some kind of structured programme on how to meet those objectives. At the moment the whole FFL thing is based on the Muddle Through approach and is ineffective. No wonder there has been no increase in the number of immigrant children entering lukio. If you get straight 7s in Finnish right through yla-aste it is difficult to get the grade average you need to get a place in lukio. End of rant.

[anniesharma]

I think that's a very valid point you have made and I think it's based on your own individual experience ...Have you tried to put this point forward to the school board or the faculty there? I am sure they will do this reality check if pointed out by parents.

I sent you a PM.

Basically everything there is to know about Komeetta and Postipuu has already been said on this forum so if you type Komeetta or Postipuu into the search box at the top right hand corner of the screen you will find all the relevant threads. If you can't find your answers in there then send me another message and I'll try and reply.

I think I have also written that Finnish Foreign Language tuition is probably one of the main WEAK points of the English language schools. There is a lack of fully trained FOREIGN LANGUAGE teachers teaching Finnish in primary schools. Most of them are just recycled mother-tongue teachers and they just don't cut it. In my opinion, every child who starts school and does not have either Finnish or Swedish as his/her MT should have an individual progress assessment EVERY YEAR and an Individual Protocol that defines the objectives for language learning and some kind of structured programme on how to meet those objectives. At the moment the whole FFL thing is based on the Muddle Through approach and is ineffective. No wonder there has been no increase in the number of immigrant children entering lukio. If you get straight 7s in Finnish right through yla-aste it is difficult to get the grade average you need to get a place in lukio. End of rant.

[georgemossford]

I used to work in Komeetan Koulu (Olari, Espoo). I can testify that it's a very good school!

[Rosamunda]

@georgemossford

When did you work there? Did you teach my kids??? I don't remember a Mr Mossford being mentioned
Would be interested to get your opinion on the question of teaching Finnish to kids who are not native speakers.....


@anniesharma
I am on the school board (at the yla-aste) and my SO is on the school board at the primary school; these topics have come up in meetings on many occasions but there is always a budget issue. Or, sometimes a vague "yes, we will look at the situation" - but nothing really changes.

[georgemossford]

@georgemossford

When did you work there? Did you teach my kids??? I don't remember a Mr Mossford being mentioned
Would be interested to get your opinion on the question of teaching Finnish to kids who are not native speakers.....

Hi Penelope,

I worked in the school's afternoon club program (run by H&S International School Oy) for 1st and 2nd graders from Sep '05 - Dec '06. If your kids are older than that then we probably wouldn't have crossed paths:)

[Rosamunda]

My youngest went to the after school club for one year when Adam was there. I guess you replaced him! I think I remember seeing you in the playground, I used to pop into the school quite frequently, but not so much now the youngest is in Papyniitty.

[georgemossford]

No, I worked with Adam for over a year! Adam, Marianne (on the Finnish side) and myself were there for the whole of academic year 05/06. Adam left for Australia after that (he's doing well by the way!). The name Penelope doesn't ring a bell, but I'm sure I'd recognise you if your son was that young!