Every child in Poland, aged 6 to 18, must attend an educational institution.
The right to education also applies to children of foreign citizens who temporarily or permanently reside in Poland. If a child does not attend school, then sanctions are applied to the parents. It is worth noting that children of foreigners are accepted to an educational institution under the same conditions as Polish children.
Let's figure out what stages the Polish education system is divided into.
Stage 1 – kindergarten
It is attended by children from 3 to 6 years old. Staying in a kindergarten is mandatory for children who have turned 5 years old, since the last year of stay in the kindergarten serves to prepare the child for school. Kindergartens are public and private. But even in a public kindergarten, you will have to partially pay for the child's stay.
Stage 2 – Primary school
Children aged 6/7 years and older study in primary school. Education lasts until grade 8.
Stage 3 – secondary educational institution
Secondary education is divided into several categories and the choice is yours:
- lyceum (4 years),
- technical school (5 years),
— vocational school of various types (lasts 3 or 4 years depending on the type of school).
It should be noted that in Poland there are state, private and public schools. Only in state schools is education free for all children.
A child can enroll in any school, but it is worth choosing the one that is close to the place of residence. In Poland, there is a system of dividing schools into districts and when enrolling, preference is given to those children who live near the school. Even if you enroll your child in the middle of the school year and all classes are full, then having a residence permit in this district, the school administration cannot refuse to accept your child into the class.
What documents do you need when enrolling in school?
- visa or residence card. In the case of Ukrainian citizens, a valid visa-free passport. The family must reside in Poland legally, i.e. the parents and child must have a visa or residence card. If your family has not yet received the latter, it is enough to provide a document confirming that you have applied for a residence permit.
- child's birth certificate*;
- vaccination certificate or extract from the child’s medical record*;
- characteristics of the child* from the previous school. The certificate must indicate the subjects, final grades and number of years of study. Please note that the administration of the educational institution cannot require foreigners to provide a certificate of nostrification (recognition) of the child's school certificate.
- an application addressed to the director with a request to enroll the child in this school.
In addition, some schools may ask you to bring photographs of your child and purchase a school uniform.
After submitting all of the above documents to the school secretariat, parents are usually scheduled for an interview.
The child must also be present at the meeting with the director. If he/she does not know Polish, the director is obliged to conduct the conversation in the language that the child speaks. In this case, a person who can help overcome the language barrier is invited to the meeting.
It is also worth noting that every child who is not a Polish citizen has the right to additional free Polish language lessons. Classes are held at school during the first 12 months and are no less than 2 academic hours per week (45 minutes). The weekly schedule of Polish language lessons and their number is established by the school principal after agreement with the teacher. These classes can be individual or group, depending on the situation in the given school. The total amount of additional free Polish language lessons and classes in other subjects cannot exceed 5 hours per week per student.
And finally: there are no mandatory payments for parents in Polish schools! All contributions to school funds are voluntary.
* The document must be translated into Polish sworn translator
