p17tb85kpn4am1jcl1n5h13maat24.pdf

education
Whether you’re an expat parent who needs
help navigating the Czech education system, or
a grown-up with scholarly ambitions, there’s a
wealth of Prague classrooms—both traditional
and non-traditional—to welcome you. Our guide
to the study options in the Czech Republic tells
you how to enroll your kids in just the right
school for them, from their nursery years and
beyond, plus information on undergraduate,
graduate studies, TEFL/ESL courses, and
interesting continuing-ed opportunities that
promise artistic and intellectual growth. We also
cover educational activities and outings for the
whole family.
dAycARe/nuRSeRieS
Childcare facilities in Prague offer both drop-in care and regular care
two to five days a week. Drop-in centers in Prague’s shopping malls
usually accept kids from age three; helpful when you’ve got errands to
do. Some daycares require that kids be potty-trained and self-feeding—
you’ll find that available care for infants (birth to six months) is quite
limited; perhaps this reflects the fact that if you’re collecting maternity
benefits in the Czech system, you cannot send your child to a state
nursery for more than five days in one calendar month. For children
at least six months old, jesle (state nurseries), staffed by Czech
caregivers, are among the few options. Your local town hall (www.
praha.eu) can give you more info on jesle; you can also visit www.jesle.
eu or www.doskolky.cz. State nurseries are significantly cheaper, even
if they add a surcharge for non-Czech children; the price also depends
on whether you apply to a nursery in the district of your permanent
address. Private daycare costs vary widely: anywhere from around
7,000 CZK per month for care a few half-days a week, to upwards of
15,000 CZK per month for full-time care. At the age of three, you may
enroll your child in preschool as well as any mateřská škola (state
nursery school). Nursery school isn’t mandatory, but almost all Czech
children attend. There isn’t an official fee, but parents may be asked to
pay up to 30 percent of the running costs.
plAyGRoupS/bAbySittinG
You may have to pay a premium for services in English or other
languages. A Czech nanny will save money and expose your child to
a new language. If you don’t find a babysitter via word-of-mouth, an
agency has several advantages: they’re licensed and insured (as are
their sitters), they’ll find a replacement if the sitter’s sick, and they
pre-screen nannies. It’s important to make known your expectations
for discipline, diet, and diapering—the Czech approach to childcare may
differ. When going through an agency, fees may be tacked on for more
than one child, sick care, and care after 22:00. Some agencies charge
placement fees of 2,000–6,000 CZK for helping you find a regular
sitter; others charge no fees. In-home sitters range from 90–140 CZK
an hour, with most agencies charging at least 110 CZK an hour for
experienced nannies. Many expat parents consider their play group
an invaluable resource for getting better acquainted with Prague and
scoring tips on sitters and sharing parenting advice. To join a group or
start one of your own, visit Kids in Prague (www.kidsinprague.com).
Offering loads of activities and advice for families, as well as frequently
organizing music classes and playgroups, Kids in Prague is run by
three local moms in the know. The Facebook group Prague Activities
for Cool Kids (www.facebook.com/groups/praguepack) plans group
outings and gives parents a forum for meeting, greeting, and sharing.
For young and expecting mothers, Bumps, Babies & Tots in Prague
(www.bumpsbabiesandtots.cz) schedules meet-ups around town which
include regular coffee sessions at kid-friendly cafés.
pReSchoolS
Nursery schools are known as jesle or jesličky and they are for children
up to three years of age. The schools come in two varieties, public and
private. The public are more affordable but priority is given to parents
who work. In the case of private, it can be more expensive, costing
up to 15,000 CZK per month. However, some private ones offer care
in English. Incidentally, there are not many nursery schools—about
65 for the whole country. Kindergartens or preschools, on the other
hand, abound. In Czech, they are known as mateřská škola (literally
maternity school), usually abbreviated as MŠ. Colloquially, they are
called školka. Preschooling is not compulsory in the Czech Republic.
Preschool education is for children from three to six years. A class can
have children of different ages, and class sizes range from 15 to 24
children. Admittance to a kindergarten is decided by the director of the
school. The only criterion which gives a child priority for admittance is
that he or she is in the final year before compulsory schooling, which
starts from the age of six. If the school doesn’t have a place for a child
who is entitled to preschooling, they have a duty to ensure a placement
in another kindergarten. In order for a child to attend primary school,
he or she is expected to be, in the official (though vague) wording,
“physically and mentally capable.” More specifically, these capabilities
mean a child should be able to tie up his/her shoelaces, eat with a
spoon, sit at the table, drink from a cup, wash his/her hands, go to
the toilet alone, and use a tissue. Other deciding factors can be if the
child has permanent residence in the district where the kindergarten
is located; the age of the child; whether the parents work and if the
child has a sibling in the kindergarten already. Kindergartens don’t
have “catchment zones” and it is possible to enroll your child into a
kindergarten in a district where you don’t have permanent residence.
Costs for preschools vary. According to the Ministry of Education,
the cost should be no more than 50% of the “actual monthly noninvestment
expenses”. Certainly take advantage of the school’s open
day (den otevřených dveří). You can use this opportunity to ask the
director about admission criteria and costs; at this time, you can enroll.
Some schools may want the child’s birth certificate and/or some form
of identification from the parent such as an identification card or a
passport, so take them just in case.
elementARy SchoolS
Elementary schooling lasts nine years, a little longer than in the US or
the UK. These nine years are also the country’s period of compulsory
schooling. The school year begins on September 1st and a child
starts school in the new school year following his/her sixth birthday,
except if a child turns six between the beginning of the school year
and the end of the calendar year. The child can be enrolled if he
or she is “sufficiently mentally and physically mature”. One of the
biggest differences is that the school day is not the same each day, so
students will finish at different times depending on their schedule.
However, check that the school also runs extracurricular activities
(mimoškolní činnosti) if you are concerned about the kids being
unsupervised. Schools decide how often teachers meet with parents.
On average, there are three or four meetings per year. Children do not
wear uniforms at elementary schools. According to the Ministry of
Education, there are no selection criteria for schools other than the age
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