How Ukrainian refugees have been integrating into Polish classrooms

In Beata Kawalec’s year 4 classroom you can find eye-catching displays, colourful stationery, laughing children and a designated table with mismatched chairs for refugees fleeing the war.

Located in the southern Polish village of Wojnowice, the rural area boasts an antique church, a small home-run bakery and a picturesque primary school that could easily be mistaken for a house.

According to the United Nations, over 2 million Ukrainian refugees have fled to Poland due to the war, 700,000 of those being children.

As a result, a dozen child refugees have been enrolled in Wojnowice primary school, with four calling Kawalec their new teacher.

“Three of the girls in my class are sisters. They came to Poland with both their mother and father which is rare but there’s a rule that if a family has four or more children, then the father doesn’t have to stay behind to fight and can flee with his family.

“Others aren’t so lucky, the other girl came to Poland with just her mother, and they had to leave her sick father behind in Kyiv.”

Kawalec’s class has 15 children, aged 10 to 11, which make up the 70 odd pupils of Wojnowice primary school, the average for village schools in rural Poland.

When recalling finding out that her school would be enrolling a group of Ukrainian children, Kawalec said: “It was really badly organised, we were just randomly told to expect a group of child refugees in the next couple days and that was that.

“There was no training, no rules, no regulations, nothing. We all wanted to do everything we could to help but I’ve never dealt with a situation even remotely like this.

“I think the only way we coped was because of how tight-knit our community is.”

Kawalec and the other teachers at Wojnowice primary school were given information on where the children were staying and went to visit them to introduce themselves before their first day at their new school.

Many Ukrainian refugees are living with generous Polish host families, but local authorities have also provided accommodation for families, often old offices converted into living spaces.

Kawalec gave the four Ukrainian children who would be in her class a tour of the school after lessons finished for the day, hoping that it would calm their nerves and put them at ease.

Wojnowice primary school has a quaint and vintage feel, the inside feels like the set of a period film, and the rooms are furnished with wood and dusty blackboards line the walls.

Despite being thrown into the unknown with little support, Kawalec is pleased with how quickly the children have settled into her class.

“We sat all the Ukrainian children together at the same table so they would feel as comfortable as possible- we had to borrow chairs from someone’s house because we didn’t have enough.

“At first, I organised light-hearted and fun lessons for them, we played games, we made things out of plasticine, we danced to music.

“I didn’t want to bother them with serious stuff like fractions and science straight away I was more concerned about them feeling as content as possible.”

The Polish children in Kawalec’s class tried to make the Ukrainian children feel as welcome as possible, involving them in all their traditions and routines, to the point you couldn’t even tell which children had recently fled a war.

“The three sisters adjusted the quickest, they put on a brave face, and showed barely any signs of what they’d been through- I also think it’s because they felt Ukraine fairly early.

“However, the little girl who had to leave her sick father behind in Kyiv was traumatised and very upset for a long time- she fled fairly late so saw a lot of the war, it’s something a child should never have to see.”

One issue Kawalec faced was the language barrier, none of the Ukrainian children could speak Polish.

Despite both being Slavic languages, they have significant differences which left the teachers unable to understand the children.

However, the children did speak some English; luckily Kawalec knows a fair amount, so this became the language they used to communicate.

“I was so impressed with how quickly the Ukrainian children warmed up and settled in, it’s all thanks to the kindness of my class.

“The oldest girl in my class M*, who was 15, fit in so quickly especially once she saw her younger sisters were happy.

“She was years older than the kids in my class so during break times she would independently go over to the oldest children in the school in year 6 who were 12-13 and made friends. I admired her bravery so much.

“Sometimes during lunch, I would stand next to M on the playground, and we’d talk for the whole hour.

“During our conversations, I brought up the topic of the war once and I wish I hadn’t. Her whole mood changed, she went quiet and looked at the floor- obviously not wanting to talk about it.

“M said she missed home terribly, and it hurt wondering whether the home she spent 15 years of her life in was still standing or if it had been bombed.

“I didn’t know what to say or how to comfort her because nothing that I had to say could help the pain she was feeling at that moment.”

After nearly a month at Wojnowice primary school, the local authority made a long-term plan to properly educate the Ukrainian children.

All the Ukrainian children living in the Gmina Miękinia district transferred to a bigger school in a nearby town.

The teachers at this school were highly trained specialists who could all speak Ukrainian and Russian. The school amassed a couple of hundred students so they could be properly divided into classes by age.

“I was sad to see them go because I grew so fond of them, so did the children in my class but I know it’s what’s best for them.

“When I’m driving into work in the morning, I still see the Ukrainian children who were in my class waiting at the bus stop for a coach to take them to their new school.

“I still keep in contact with M, she’s enjoying her new school and getting on really well.

“Now that she’s learning the language, she’s made Polish friends as well as Ukrainian ones.”

“She’s been posting pictures of herself and the friends she’s made out in town or the park and I couldn’t be happier for her.”

* = Real named protected for privacy reasons