Preparation for Schooling

Enrolment in school

The schools under study were intended for children living in the neighbourhood apart from the school in Vienna, which was attached to the Academy of Teacher Training. With regard to the Portuguese Ponte school quite many children from other schools' areas were accepted either on the request of parents or specialists. In some cases because other schools did not have space for them.

In Iceland and Austria the parents could choose between schools. In the former case the parents could opt for another school nearby where the building was more suitable but they chose to enrol the child in the school closest to their home in order to facilitate social interaction with the child’s neighbourhood peers. The Austrian parents where invited to have their children participate in the class, a class to be run as an inclusive class.

In all the schools the common process was for a support system of specialists to contact the schools and inform them of pupils who might need special attention with respect to needs. There were examples where special needs where not identified until after the children had started school. The specialists helped to form connection between the families and schools and helped both parents and staff to prepare for schooling.

Two countries started preparations at least a year prior to the school start of the children. In Austria one of the teachers spent a day weekly the whole year prior to school start. In Iceland alterations in the school building were necessary due to the pupil's physical disablement, staff needed to be hired and they needed extra time for preparation. It was generally accepted that the preparation period could not have been any shorter than one year.