FRIDASKOLORNA AB

The Fridaskolan schools – a brief information

http://www.fridaskolorna.se/

The Fridaskolan schools are independent pre -elementary- and secondary schools providing education for children and adolescents aged 6-16. The pre-schools are connected to each primary school. Since 2006, there is also the Fridagymnasiet upper secondary school in Vänersborg for students aged 16-19.

How it all began - and continues

In 1993 five teachers came together and made their vision about diverse teaching and learning methods as well as a flat school organisation without hierarchy come true. The application to start an independent school was granted and the Fridaskolan school in Vänersborg was founded in 1993. It was followed by Fridaskolan schools in the neighbouring towns of Trollhättan in 2001, Uddevalla in 2002, the Fridagymnasiet upper secondary school in 2006, the school in Mölnlycke in 2010 and Gothenburg in the autumn 2014.

Apart from the school in the Gothenburg area, the Fridaskolan schools are all situated in smaller towns but the pupils come from a much wider area, including neighbouring municipalities, featuring both rural areas and a few industrial parts. Since the schools don’t have a designated pupil recruiting area, the pupils’ home addresses vary from one year to another, however, most pupil’s live in town.

The schools are situated in a sound physical environment. The Gothenburg school is newly built and opened in the autumn 2014. The classrooms are all given its own character and “atmosphere”. The schools' settings, with a surrounding park, provide a good outdoor environment too. Since we do not have a given area where the pupils come from and thus cannot provide a school bus service, we have to aim at maintaining a continuous high quality teaching. We have to be “better” than our neighbouring schools. Frida Utbildning AB (Frida Education) is the name of the parent company formed in 2006. The majority of the parent company – Frida Utbildning (Frida Education) is family-owned. There are no fees and the schools are financed mainly through public money, i.e. the school capitation allowance that comes from the State/the Municipality, for each pupil who chooses to attend a ridaskolan

school.

Frida Utbildning currently operates through its three subsidiaries; The Fridaskolorna schools with five elementary schools with preschools, after school activity centres and kindergartens, the Fridagymnasiet upper secondary school and Didaktikcentrum. Didaktikcentrum, formed in 1997, houses a research section as well as senior advisors and school development trainers. It provides professional help to municipalities on strategic school development as well as organises In Service Training and lectures for schools all over Sweden on Systems theory, successful ICT teaching methods and inspirational ways to work together with the pupils and students using current research and learning strategies. Together with staff, pupils, students and parents, Didaktikcentrum has also developed a user-friendly digital platform to replace the many different systems used for information, lesson planning, teaching, homework, assignments, assessment, absence, but also budget, accounting etc. that a school organisation normally needs. The subsidiary Fridaskolorna schools has approx. 450 employees, 3000 pupils in elementary school and more than 220 upper secondary students. Furthermore, there are before- and after-school activities for 400 of the pupils on the premises. The Fridaskolan schools are open to every one from the age of 6, until 16, after nine years. The school is run independently of the municipality.

Teaching is free of charge and the school provides an education equal to the one given in municipal schools. There are both boys and girls at the school and both sexes are relatively equally represented. The pupils are accepted according to application date. A pupil’s sisters or brothers are also given priority. School admission is made primarily in the pre-school class and for elementary form pupils (30 in each form) but also in form 6 and 7 where the number of pupils is increased to 60 to 75 depending on space. School work The school profile as well as the teaching are characterised by pedagogic diversity and methods based on systems theory. Learning is considered continuous and achieved both in and out of school by using problem solving tasks. There is no special degree offered at the Fridaskolan since we work according to the national curriculum and use the same national tests and criteria for assessment as the Swedish municipal schools. The pupils and parents who choose the Fridaskolan are from families with very diverse socio-economic backgrounds. In most cases the reason for choosing the school is to get a good social environment. Other reasons are the teaching andlearning methods, based on problem solving, and the intense parental contact. In addition to this, the school has developed a good way for inclusion and helping children with special needs. Many parents have chosen the Fridaskolan when they feel that the public schools have failed to provide a satisfactory learning environment for their child/ren.

Guidelines at the Fridaskolan - an environment for learning

A sound environment is essential for learning and the basis of a positive social development.

The Fridaskolan aims to provide such an environment through:

• clear social rules for the daily work and interaction, comprising respect and ”peace and quite” in the positive sense of the word

• social openness

• strong belief in the pupils' abilities to seek and obtain the pieces to build their own knowledge

• strong belief in the staff’s competence.and skills

• co-operation and flexibility characterising the work in all areas and among staff, as well as between staff and pupils

• an ongoing dialogue between school direction and staff, pupils and parents to elucidate the aims and goals of the school

• time and economic resources earmarked for school development

• schoolwork and activities characterised by diversity

• continuous evaluations and follow-ups as natural parts of the work and activities

• staff influence in decision-making

• influence as well as responsibilities for pupils and parents

Special pedagogy/Remedial teaching

As part of the teaching there is also a so-called ”special pedagogy”, aimed at pupils with learning difficulties. The Fridaskolan special pedagogues work together with the teacher to give efficient help to these pupils. The special pedagogue’s main task is to make an analysis of the school environment regarding the organisation as a whole but also its parts, i.e. the class or group, as well as the individual. This analysis and the need for pedagogic consultation and guidance are the basis of all activities at the Fridaskolan.

The special pedagogues are part of the executive group of the school, in charge of pupil welfare, the so called health team consisting of the special pedagogue coordinator, the special pedagogues, the counsellor, the school nurse, the staff in charge of pupil welfare and the head master. The special pedagogues work together with the teachers when drawing up the guidelines for measures and steps to be taken in each pupil’s case.

Openness

The Fridaskolan aims to create a feeling of togetherness and responsibility with the pupils by keeping the school as open as possible to all pupils. All pupils, regardless of age, have a classroom and a workplace of their own. All classrooms are open from early morning, at 7.30 am and till 3.30 pm, except for the science laboratory and the sewing and wood-and metal craft workshops that are locked when there are no teachers there. Of course the before- and after school activities and kindergartens are open longer.

Pupil involvement – Theme work

Theme work teaching is organised according to knowledge areas or themes. The pupils take part in the planning and the work originates from their own questions. Pupils and teachers discuss together in order to come up with assignments that the pupils are to work with as a group and individually during a 6-week period. The teaching starts with the big picture and the pupils then follow the leads down to the more detailed and in-depth knowledge of the matter chosen by the group. The pupils are trained to work in a context and the tasks’ level of difficulty increases with age. One example of such an area that we have worked with is “When Earth became a planet”. Such an area offers great possibilities for the pupils to understand the changes society in the 15th century underwent as well as the foregoing technical and philosophical discussions.

Good social environment

Every week, and in most cases every day, the class or the group are gathered in a “ring conversation” together with their mentor. This ”Circle of trust” is the forum for discussions about important things that may arise among the pupils or current events in society that the pupils consider important and bring up for debate. This way, conflicts between pupils or between pupils and grown-ups may be discussed immediately and the pupils’ ability to feel empathy and imagine other people’s thoughts and feelings is trained.

The flat organisation also means that all staff are involved in supporting the pupils. From the age of 11, pupils take turns as trainees and practise cleaning and kitchen chores together with the staff. The 14-15 year olds are also in charge of running the pupils’ cafeteria. For older pupils who are “tired” of the everyday school work and there is a risk they will drop out, the school assigns the care-taker or the kitchen staff to work more closely with the individual pupil. The school can also co-operate with a company or a workplace thatwill accept the pupil one or two days a week. At school, the pupil will give up certain subjects and concentrate on reaching the set goals in Swedish, English and Mathematics, the three core subjects, in order to qualify for upper secondary school.

Guidelines - Assessment

Each school is obliged to make a local plan following the guidelines from the National Agency for Education.. At the Fridaskolan schools there are continuous discussions with the pupils about the curriculum and the syllabi goals to be pursued and the criteria that need to be achieved in the different subjects and courses. There are national tests in year 3, 6 and 9. Each school has to report the results of the National tests as well as the given marks to the National Agency for Education.

Our vision

Successful school development requires ongoing discussions between principals, teachers, pupils and parents and most importantly a mutual trust that everyone is doing their best to accomplish this. We strive towards a multitude of methods and diversity in teaching as well as to implement research in the everyday teaching practice. Our vision is to see the education as a journey where you set your own goals and pack your rucksack/backpack according to what you need for your personal journey. We think of school as a part of society and the pupils its future citizens. We encourage pupils to find their individual paths to fun and successful learning, both in and out of school. The pupils’ freedom, choices and responsibilities increase with age and all staff work together to support the pupils as they widen their horizons and work towards their goals. This is even more individualised in the upper secondary school.

Fridaskolan pupils = skilled back-packers – no charter package tourists who get everything served on a plate…

At the Fridaskolan schools we want our pupils to ask themselves the following questions:

• Where do I want to go?

• How do I get there?

• How do I prepare myself to reach my set goals and for changes that might occur during the trip towards my final destination?

The above can also be said about the staff. Money is earmarked for ongoing In Service Training both within the school organisation together with Didaktikcentrum, as well as on a national and international level, in order to maintain the high quality teaching at the Fridaskolan schools.

February 2019 Karin Helmerson karin.helmerson@fridaskolan.se