Elementary Schools in Krakow. Foreign children acceptance.

Hello All,

We are moving to Krakow , I have a 3.5 yrs old son. Is there any good elementary school in Krakow which has both english as well as Polish as medium of education? International Schools can be an option, but they are way too costly. Please suggest & help.

Regards

In Poland, kids start elementary school at 6 from 2014.

For 3,5 years old child you sholud find a babysiter or kindergarten. There is a lot of private kindergartens in Kraków. They are from 400 zl ( about 100 eur) up to 1000 zl (about 250eur). You should look for one in area where are you mooving to.

Mostly kindergarten are monolanguage. I didn't find any with english as the basic language.

But please consider if you really need english kindergarten. In my expirence children in this age learn foregin language very fast, and your home-englis will be probably enough to keep and develop his language skills. I know a american family whose kid attending polish kindergarten and didn't loost his english. Is just bilingual. He is a 5 years old polish -english translator to his parents:)

I'm a mother from Krakow too. I'm Pole.

If you need any further informations contact me via email.

Take care, and don't be affraid. You will like Krakow.

Exactly.

Hello Tanamera, Hello Pawian,
Thanks for your advice, I guess you both are right. I was not aware that elementary school begins @ 6 yrs.

I will probably look for a kindergarten where my son can pick up Polish. I guess knowing Polish apart from English will give my son an added advantage :)

I have already been in Krakow for 4 days in Feb 2012, I immediately fell in love with the city ( its has loads of historical heritage :) . This city has lots of potential!!!!

We will be moving hopefully by mid june & we are really excited.

Regards.

There might be a problem with finding a state preschool facility. There are not enough of them.

And private facilities charge a lot.

E.g., in this one you have to pay 750 zlotys basic stay cost, plus meals and additional attractions.

rainbow.krakow.pl

There are cheaper places, too, as Tanamera mentioned.

You need to find private kindergarten for your son as I am not going to pay for foreigners attending public schools.


Well,I am not that excited about foreigners stealing jobs in Poland and burdening public system.Go somewhere else.

Hello El Gordo,

Well, I guess I will be paying taxes (As well as fees) Duly so no point that you have to pay for my Son's kindergarten.

Now coming to Job, Well I am a SAP Senior Solution Architect & possess some expertise which is very hard to find (including in Poland). Hence I will give my expertise to definitely improve the implemented solutions in company (I am joining). This would in turn save huge amounts for company & Poland, otherwise they end up paying huge amounts to the Service providers like Capgemini & IBM etc

Moreover I am not here for long term , i guess I will finish solving the issues (currently faced by hiring company) in next three years. Then I will be more then happy to come back to my country (believe me there is no shortage of jobs in my country for the skills I have). I am coming, just because I just fell in love with Krakow. I have seen couple of countries in Europe though.

But then I still hope that people in Krakow (Poland) will be welcoming & when I go back I will take back sweet memories & high regards for Polish people.

Regards,
SS

That Gordo guy isn`t from Krakow. Don`t mind her/her. :):):):)

You will be fine- don't listen to that tool- seriously, no Polish people live outside of Poland- none in the U.K. at all. Loads of people in Krakow speak English, perhaps even a teacher. But definitely go for a private preschool- better quality than the public ones. They are also run as a business so you get what you pay for.

pawian


:) .....I wont.........I know there are lot of nice people in Krakow.

Thank you Tanamera, I will definitely contact you once I reach Krakow.

pip
Sure!!! Thanks :)

@ss1313
Look on gumtree - krakow, there are plenty of nannies/mother's help who are bilingual and can look after your son (if necessary). However, yo my way of thinking, it would be better if you talke your son out to the park (for instance) and make friends with other mothers. Children learn very quickly from each other -

[Moved from]: Daughter (born in USA) acceptance to an elementary school in Krakow

I am looking to sign up my daughter to IV grade elementary school in Krakow. Do you know of any that would accept child born in States that needs to be bring up to speed in polish?

there is an obligation for the school to provide one year of remedial polish classes
dont let them pretend otherwise
the kuratorium oswiaty can advise further

My advise is to get your kid in either public or private pre-school. You child will learn Polish in a couple of months, seriously, full immersion in the language at that age is perfect. Krakow people are very decent and you will be paying for preschool no matter where you go (private is more expensive). I would never send my kids to any "international school" as they are full of spoiled brats who's parents think by isolating their child from the local culture they will somehow turn out superior. Nonsense, going to a local pre-school at 3.5 is perfect for learning both the culture and language.

So "private" schools are Ina 2 bedroom apartment and in my opinion they are a ripoff as there is not enough space for the kids nor attention provided. A public preschool with a few hundred kids is the better place to go.

Good luck and welcome to Poland, Krakow the city of Kings!

Merged: Recommendations for elementary schools in Cracow / Wroclaw area?!

Hi,

we are planning to move to Poland in August and are still not sure if we should go to Wroclaw or Cracow area.

I really want to find a good public school for my eldest (6 years). He is Polish and Finnish so language shouldn't be a problem. I would be happy to hear from any good schools.

Thanks in advance.

Hello, does anyone have any experience with this nursery itsw.edu.pl/przedszkole-i-zlobek-krakow/ ? I'm looking for a good nursery in Krakow and this one crossed my feed. It looks spectacular, but since it's for my baby (I'm scared of adaptation period and how the little one will find herself in the new situation :|), I'd like to hear first-hand reviews. :)