Gotowość szkół Warszawy do realizacji przemian związanych z obniżeniem wieku szkolnego
Readiness of Warsaw schools to implement the changes connected with the lowering of school age

Summary/Abstract: The paper presents an analysis of the reform which lowers the school age in the schools in Warsaw. The report was ordered by the Education Bureau of the City of Warsaw, therefore all calculations and estimations have been done on the basis of the data supplied by this institution. Three variants of the reform implemented in the periods of three, six and twelve years have been discussed. The data, collected by the Education Bureau, show that there is expected a sudden increase in the number of students admitted to Warsaw schools in the following years due to: population boom (4% to 6% per annum), population influx (the number of people varies from district to district) and the implementation of the education reform. Due to the growing number of students, schools in the suburban districts of Warsaw will face a particularly difficult situation, as these areas are characterised by a fast development of the housing industry, and they lack new adequate school and preschool infrastructure. The data collected by the Education Bureau suggest that, in the three-year period of the reform implementation, two-shift schooling will be a norm in, nursery and elementary education in eight districts of Warsaw. In the other ten districts, at least half of the schools will work double shifts. In the six-year period of the reform implementation, the situation should not be so difficult. Because of the special situation in Warsaw – fast development of the housing market – it would be favourable to implement the reform over the period of 12 years. The lack of classrooms is not the only reform-related problem. In ten out of eighteen districts of Warsaw, schools do not meet most of the standards – adaptation of the classrooms to the needs of children starting school, the availability of day-care rooms and playgrounds, and the possibility of serving lunch. Implementing the reform without making prior investments might only make the situation worse for the children starting their school education. In this case, it might be more favourable to implement the education reform over the period of six years and include also preschool groups rather than implement it over the period of three years, beginning from grade one. Lengthening the reform implementation period will make it possible to carry out more infrastructure modernisation until the number of school students reaches its maximum due to school age lowering.

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