Fria Emilia

We are an age 6 to 15 school in Boden that is run as a non-profit economic association. The members of the economic association are parents and staff. In this way, we own the school together.

Description of activities

Pre-school + School + Leisure = full-day care

Fria Emilia rests on a vibrant democratic foundation. Fria Emilia’s children learn for the present and the future, where fun, joy and humor are there everyday.

Fria Emilia’s after-school club consists of 120 children aged 6-12 years. It is staffed by leisure educators, preschool teachers and teacher educators with different personalities and skills. The daycare center is located in the center of Boden with nature close by. There are also ski trails and Pagla Ski Station in the vicinity. The activity is fully integrated with the school and works according to Lgr11.

Our profile

We are inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy and we emphasize the importance of health for people.

-Meaningful leisure – Empowerment and participation at the heart of it.
-Reflection is a natural part of everyday life.
-Educational documentation should make our children’s thoughts and ideas visible.

Reggio Emilia

In our school, we are inspired by the philosophy developed in the Italian city of Reggio Emilia. The philosophy is a direct consequence of the Italians’ experience of the Second World War, when people blindly and obediently followed a dictatorship without daring to think for themselves, daring to be critical and daring to participate. This had well-known devastating consequences.

Since then, staff at Reggio Emilia municipal preschools have been working to help children develop a belief in their own voice, a respect for the equal value of everyone else’s unique voice, and that it is through communication and negotiation that we learn about ourselves and the world together.

At Fria Emilia, we believe that democracy and participation are central to the school’s mission. In order to participate in society, by doing their best in “responsible” freedom, each individual must find their uniqueness (subjectivity), be able to encounter others’ different understandings of the world (difference) and share their experience in order to challenge each other’s ideas together (negotiation).

The task of the school is to allow each individual pupil to find his or her unique character and thereby participate in society by giving his or her best in responsible freedom (Lgr22).

Our vision

A school where people can develop into their best selves.

The association’s idea: To run a Reggio Emilia inspired age 6 to 15 school with leisure activities in Boden, which stands as a model for other schools and leisure activities through a democratic approach, good results, extensive educational development and the utilization of human and cultural differences. To be part of the development of school Sweden with an educational vision where everyone feels rich in knowledge, attention and security in a changing world.
To ensure, through creative organization and continuous competence development, a high quality of education with high staff density in innovative pedagogical environments that
encourages exploration and participation. Through parental involvement, cooperation with
organizations and businesses create relationships and networking that benefit the families, school and community.

Fria Emilia – More than just a school, for a sustainable future!

Our values

Subjectivity: All people can and want to learn. Each individual’s thinking is unique and significant, each individual’s experience is a treasure. Therefore, each individual should find and maintain their unique character.

Diversity: Seeing differences as a value without valuing. To be genuinely interested, curious about others and to treat each other’s thoughts and opinions with respect.

Negotiation: Each individual should be able to share their experience in order to challenge each other’s ideas together. We think of negotiation as a counterbalance to competition, because we see cooperation as a tool and the group as an educational resource.

Collective learning: Learning is not linear, it is more like a system of roots. Creating knowledge is a full-time job. By exploring, we face resistance, create meaning and coherence, get to be creative, imaginative and develop through our own and others’ experience.