The education and schooling
system in Italy is free for all children, regardless of
their nationality. The Italian law states that school is
compulsory for all children up to the age
of 16.
The Italian Education system is divided into five stages:
- Infant School or Nursery School (scuola per
l'infanzia) not compulsory (for children 3 to 5 years
old)
- Primary School (scuola primaria/elementare)
compulsory (for children from 6 to 10 years old)
- First Level Secondary School or Lower Secondary School
(scuola media) compulsory (for children from 11 to 14
years old)
- High School or Upper Secondary School (scuola
superiore) compulsory up to 16 (for pupils from the age 14
onwards)
- University (università ) not compulsory.
In general, in Italy school year runs from mid-September to
mid-June but there can be some variations from region to
region.
Parents may freely choose the school to be attended if there are
vacant places. Registration to the compulsory
classes can be done at any moment of the academic year of the
arrival of juniors in Italy and it is done at the secretary's
office of the selected school. Parents have to submit the same
documents for their kids as for the Italian
students (for the Primary School: birth certification and
certificate of vaccinations), plus the Permit of Stay, if coming
from a third country, and other school documents (translated in
Italian language) they may have (such as: schools report card
etc.)
Schools in Trieste
In addition to public schools from Infant to High school,
Trieste hosts also the International School of
Trieste (IST). It is a not-for-profit, English language
school for day students of all nationalities. For further
information about the school, programmes etc., check the website.
Moreover, since in Trieste and the surrounding area there is an
historical Slovenian community, you can find also schools of every
level where classes are taught in Slovenian (main
language).
Further information and tools
The website "Scuola per me"
promoted by the Province of Trieste - Education Department, is
dedicated to students and their families, who can refer to it in
order to get useful information on schools or on educational
programmes within the province of Trieste. The website offers
information on all the schools in the province of Trieste (from
Infant Schools to Upper Secondary School) and their different
educational offers. The website is available in English, Italian,
Serbo-Croato, Slovenian and Spanish. For the website "Scuola per
me" click here.
Moreover, the Prefettura (Local National Government
representative offices), the Municipality of Trieste and the
Province of Trieste have issued a useful Vademecum
with general information and a complete list of schools:
"Vado a scuola". The Vademecum is available in 10
different languages. Click
here to consult it.
For additional information, you can contact the Ufficio
Scolastico Provinciale:
via SS. Martiri, 3 - Trieste
Phone +39 040-3173711
E-mail: csa.ts@istruzione.it
Daycare Centres (Nest) and Baby Parkings
For very young kids parents might need to find Daycare
Centres (Crèche) (asilo nido) or Baby Parkings. These
educational services are public or private (in many cases private
services have an agreement with the national education system) and
they assist parents in childcare with the possibility of a flexible
timetable. Attendance requires a monthly payment depending on the
selected timetable and family income (in public Daycare Centres and
in the centres operating within the public system it is possible to
have a reduced monthly rate).
For more information about reductions on monthly payment, ask
your daycare centre selected or contact the Area Promozione e
Protezione Sociale (Municipality of Trieste, via Mazzini, 25
Trieste, Phone: +39 040 6754192).
For a list of Daycare Centres (Crèche) and Baby Parkings in
Trieste and surrounding area click
here.
Additional Educational services
In Trieste and the surrounding area are available also the
following additional Educational services:
- Municipal Recreational Centres: it is a
recreational service offered to children and youth aged from 6 to
18 years and in summer also for youth aged 6 to 12 years.
- School Integration Service (S.I.S.): it is an
educational service offered in the Recreational Centres to the
students of some primary schools with standard teaching
hours.
- Youth Aggregation Centres: they offer their
recreational services to youth ranging from 14 to 25 years.
- Permanent Territorial Centres: they offer
educational and training activities to people who have attained the
age of 16, with activities that take place in the
afternoon/evening.
Sources: MIUR, Provincia of Trieste -
Osservatorio sulla scolarità , Prefettura of
Trieste, Comune
di Trieste, EURAXESS
Italy