It is a big step and an exciting time for children to make the transition from day care or being at home to starting preschool. This milestone is not only significant for the children, but also quite understandably for parents as well. We hope that this page will give you more information as to what to expect during a normal preschool day and the admissions process.
Our preschool starts on 1 March and continues through the end of the school year in late June. Children who turn 5 years old by 1 September are eligible to start preschool at OIS in March of that year. They start P1 after the summer holiday in mid-August.
The aim of our preschool programme is to give children a transition period from kindergarten to primary school. The children learn the skills they will need to be a good student, while still having plenty of opportunity for playing and being physically active throughout the day.
At all grade levels at OIS, we aim to maintain a class size of 20 students. We also value creating classes that represent a balance of girls and boys from all over the world. If your child has an older sibling at OIS, there is a sibling guarantee for admission, and we kindly ask that you sign up the younger sibling at your earliest convenience.
Here is a description of the preschool day through a preschooler’s eyes:
8:00-8:10
Our parents drop us off and we are happy to start our day at school. Our backpacks have been packed with a full water bottle, our lunch box, and our morning and afternoon snacks. We hang up our jackets on our assigned hooks and place our backpacks next to our desks.
8:10
We wash our hands and go to our classroom.
8:20
After the register, we rhyme, talk about the weather and about the calendar. We also have activities focusing on kindness and well-being.
8:50
Lesson 1 in numeracy or literacy.
9:10
We go outside to play on our enclosed playground that is only for the preschoolers to use. Starting in late May, when the weather is nice, we might also go to the nearby park to play (always walking there and back in pairs of 2-and-2 with our teachers).
9:30
We come back inside and eat our morning snack while our teacher reads a story to us.
9:50
We have another lesson.
10:40
Recess.
11:10
We eat lunch.
11:35
We hear a story from our teacher.
12:00
Now we have story-related activities and educational games.
13:00
Time for the After-School Care Programme. From this point, our parents may collect us.
15:00
Afternoon snack time.
15:15
We go outside to play on our Preschooler playground.
16:15
This is the latest our parents can collect us. Sometimes we guess with our classmates who will be collected first.
The After-School Care Programme remains open from 13:05–16:15.
We recommend applying as soon as you have made the decision to choose OIS. In addition to contact information, we require a copy of your child’s birth certificate and passport. The one-time application fee per family is 1500,-. In the months leading up to the preschool start, we will ask your child's daycare provider to complete an Observation of School Readiness form.
All applications need to be made via this link. It is not possible to apply in person.
For families who are in doubt as to whether Henriette Hørlücks Skole or Odense International School would be the best choice for their child, applications and application fees both schools must be made. We require this due to a separate admissions process for each school. You can find the form for HHS here. All of the teaching is in Danish at HHS, and all of the teaching at OIS is in English. HHS offers a "semi-international" English programme, and students in this programme may take the IGCSE 0500 First Language English exam.
Please note that children start forårs SFO at HHS in March of the calendar year that they turn 6 years old. Children are eligible to start the preschool programme in March at OIS if they turn 5 years old by 1 September of the same year. School readiness will be assessed and the preschool teaching team will have final say as to a child's school readiness.
Upon acceptance, we require a deposit and the first month’s fees to hold your child’s place. For the March 2024 preschool programme start, this fee will be 5075,- and will be payable in October 2023. Monthly tuition of 3625,- is paid from April through June. When your child starts P1 in August, the monthly tuition will be 3630,-. At OIS, no school fees are due in the month of July.
At the start of preschool, you will receive a bill, or girokort, which includes account information for setting up automatic monthly payments via your online banking.
For more information regarding tuition, please see our School Fees page.
Please note that these fees are current as of August 2023 and are subject to change.
In October, we hold a Screening Half-Day for the children. Our preschool and P1 teachers will spend the morning with the group of children. Activities may include story time, an art project, playing on the playground, and eating a packed lunch.
Upon admission, parents will be asked to complete a more detailed Contact Information form with extended family and au pair information and their child’s CPR-number, as well as the GDPR permissions form. Parents will also receive a preschool handbook full of practical information.
All incoming preschoolers and their parents are invited to a meet and greet day at the school one Saturday morning in late November or early December. This is an opportunity for all of us to meet each other in person, and for the children to visit and explore where they will start coming every day in a few months.
OIS requires that a child’s daycare institution completes an Observation of School Readiness form. Various skills that paint the entire picture of a child’s readiness are a part of this observation: motor skills, social and emotional skills, language skills, and independent skills.
The form will be sent from the school to the daycare institution via Open Apply and is due before we hold the screening day. Ongoing assessments of children are made after the first month of preschool.
Our preschool parents have the possibility of ordering a 0,25 litre carton of milk from Skolemælk.dk, which the students receive daily. Various types of organic milk from the Danish dairy company Arla are available, including skim milk, buttermilk, and lactose-free milk.
Communication with your preschool teacher is done via ParentIntra, available in both app and browser versions. If your child has a sick day, it is reported to the class teacher on ParentIntra. You will also be able to write to the other parents in your child’s class on ParentIntra. On the first day of preschool, you will receive your personal login to use. You will also receive a getting started guide, which is available in several languages.
An equipment list is included in the preschool handbook. In addition to an extra set of clothes, we ask parents to provide their children with a large bag to be stored on their assigned hook.
This bag includes the extra set of clothes and additional sets of seasonally-appropriate outerwear, such as rain jacket and pants, rain boots, snowsuit, and winter boots. Playing outside is a tenant of childhood in Denmark, and we play outside in the rain, snow, and sunshine. This is why it is a good idea to have two sets of outerwear and footwear, so that one can dry while the other is worn.
We kindly ask that your child’s food items are numbered ‘1’ on the morning snack; ‘2’ on the lunch box; and ‘3’ on the afternoon snack. As there are no refrigerators, your child’s food will remain in the backpack until it is time to eat.
We do not have school uniforms, but it is possible to order sports clothes in our school colours with the OIS logo. The smallest size offered is 116.
Please keep us updated by logging into your Open Apply profile if your mailing address, phone numbers, or email addresses should change.
You are very welcome to follow our Facebook page, Instagram profile, and LinkedIn page to follow events and activities at OIS.
If you should happen to have any other questions about the preschool programme at OIS, please register your interest on Open Apply here or email Vibeke Henrdrick at vh@hhskole.dk.