“Soon at school!”: the project is taking form in the City of Geneva

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Overseen by the Bureau for Integration (BIE) and supported by the PIC II and the ARE (Federal Office for Spatial Development), the aim of the “Soon at school!” project is to facilitate the transition from early childhood care to the first year of mandatory schooling. It primarily concerns families with little knowledge of the school system in Geneva, migrants, non-native speakers or families living in a precarious situation for whom the explanations provided by the professionals in the education sector would be insufficient. In particular, the aim is to support the parents, explain how school works and present the extracurricular activities, facilitate communication between families and school and serve as a link with the neighbourhood socio-cultural associations.

The programme

“Soon at school!” proposes a series of free workshops intended for both the children and their parents, in the form of 6 events between late April and early June 2022. The parents are invited to participate in information and discussion modules while the children practise different activities under the guidance of a team of early childhood professionals. It offers a positive means of experiencing separation first hand before the child goes to school for the first time.

From late April to early June 2022, 6 modules will be organised at the Hugo-de-Senger and les Charmilles schools on Wednesday mornings, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., on the following dates:

• Wednesday 27 April 2022: introduction and presentations of the school
• Wednesday 4 May 2022: the school and how it works: presentation of the head teacher and teacher, visit to a class
• Wednesday 11 May 2022: presentation of the GIAP and the school kitchens
• Wednesday 18 May 2022: health and well-being of the children: presentation of the school educators and nurse
• Wednesday 1 June 2022: playing and reading with your child: presentation and visit of the neighbourhood library and games library
• Wednesday 8 June 2022: the documents received at the start of the school year and the free activities for all the family

Several speakers and staff from the school will be on hand to answer the participants’ questions and talk to them about the problems encountered by parents.

After an initial experience in the district of Plainpalais in 2021 extended to les Charmilles in 2022, the “Soon at school!” project is scheduled to be extended to include the City of Geneva as a whole.

Registrations for the modules of the “Soon at school!” project are primarily organised via the Early Childhood Service. The contact details can be found below.