A School for a New Era

Österlen School is a non-profit, idea-driven elementary school adapted for neuropsychiatric variations. Here, we move away from the traditional concepts of schools and teaching. Although we use these terms in a legal sense, we view our school as a place or environment where learning and personal development occur. Österlen School is an inspiring and playful place where young people can develop at their own pace and in their own way. Österlen School is a safe place for joy and meaningfulness - an exciting place that sparks curiosity, motivation, and hope for the future - a place where you want to be and return to.

At Österlen School, there is a clear pedagogical leadership with a high degree of structure and a high degree of sensitivity and flexibility aimed at promoting the motivation, learning, and development of both educators and students. We do not impose demands, but we have clear guidelines and high expectations for the involvement of educators, students, and parents. We are an open and democratic school where educators and students are encouraged to think freely and critically, and we assume that humans have an innate curiosity and a desire to collaborate, learn, and develop. Our mission is to provide young people with the best possible conditions to acquire theoretical, practical, creative, and useful knowledge for the future.

We know that creativity and innovation will be the keys to navigating the future successfully. By offering an intuitive and inspiring learning environment that encourages exploration and creation, we challenge traditional forms of teaching.

Österlen School is not just a place to acquire knowledge but also a place for students to pursue their interests and refine their talents. At Österlen School, we integrate nature, culture, technology, science, and philosophy. We encourage movement and interaction, as well as calm, tranquility, and mindfulness.

We know that an emotional, safe, and inclusive environment encourages taking risks, thinking outside the box, collaborating instead of competing, striving, and taking initiatives to make a real difference in the world. The brain is like a muscle - it grows when it is exercised, challenged, and made to struggle. Through experiential learning and practical challenges, we inspire students to explore their passions, solve complex problems, and create positive relationships.

Pedagogy

The past twenty years of educational, psychological, cognitive, and neuroscience research have transformed previous ideas about human potential and limitations. This includes, for example, the brain's ability to change and adapt to and by the surrounding environment. Today, there is extensive knowledge about children's ability to receive, store, and process information. This interdisciplinary knowledge has naturally influenced the educational practice. Mental processes such as perception, concentration, motivation, attention, perseverance, memory, thinking, emotions, problem-solving, language, and creativity are significant components in educational activities.

Österlen School adopts a holistic and interdisciplinary approach to pedagogy to help us understand the underlying mechanisms that contribute to a child's success or failure in concentration, motivation, attention, reading, or in mathematics. Based on the understanding of how the brain functions and how emotions and thoughts affect learning, we have designed pedagogical, social, and physical environments that promote children's motivation and learning.

Our school is based on democratic, holistic, and interdisciplinary principles and is inspired by schools such as Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Synthesis, Astra Nova, Holy Cross Boys, Sudbury, Summerhill, Green School,  4H, and I Ur och Skur.

Cognitive Ergonomics

We work with cognitive ergonomics, meaning that we create an emotional climate and a stimulating work environment that are adapted to our senses and the brain's capacity, needs, and function. This is to counteract stress and promote motivation, independence, creativity, dynamic and critical thinking, and deep learning. Our educators' knowledge, attitudes, and approaches are crucial, but the surrounding physical environment is also important. Therefore, teaching materials, furnishings, lighting, and color schemes are selected with care and consideration. Practicing mindfulness and non-violent communication are natural parts of our school.

Freedom and Responsibility

Some students need more guidance and structure, while others need more freedom. These needs are not static and can change over time or depending on maturity, subject, or learning goals. Therefore, we offer the possibility of great flexibility, individualized schedules, and self-directed learning.

Positive reinforcement, clear expectations, and predictable consequences help our students navigate the school environment. We practice taking responsibility, exercising self-control, and showing empathy to strengthen students' emotional competence, communication, and collaboration skills. We have well-developed and structured models for constructively handling situations when conflicts and violations arise.

We place high demands on intuitive leadership, relational competence, the ability to empathize and collaborate, and knowledge of neurodiversity for all who work at Österlen School.

Playfull Learning

We allow children to extensively use their hands and bodies, to train their senses, be out in nature, and practically apply their knowledge. Experimenting, painting, repairing, dancing, singing, building, gardening, and creating in various ways are an important part of learning and development. To process impressions, develop imagination and creativity, and enhance collaboration and communication skills, we also give ample space for play. 

Back to Nature

The relationship with nature is important for several reasons, both for our well-being and for the environment as a whole. By being aware of and engaged with nature, we can learn about the complexity of ecosystems and the importance of maintaining a balanced and healthy environment for all living creatures.

Nature itself is a vast source of knowledge, but nature experiences can also have a significant impact on stress reduction and cognitive functions. Therefore, Österlen School strives to strengthen students' connection with nature and regularly organizes exciting, safe, and educational expeditions and camp activities.

Desire to Learn

In summary, our pedagogy simply means that we make learning possible, enjoyable and meaningful. At the same time, great emphasis is placed on training self-discipline, perseverance, and mindfulness. We see learning as purposeful practice and reward effort and development rather than results. We consider the person as a whole, and the brain's sensitivity and capacity in particular, and apply a pedagogy that largely appeals to our emotions and mental processes. In this way, we make teaching and learning more inspiring, meaningful, and long-lasting for the students.

A Neurodiverse School

The need for this type of pedagogy is most clearly seen with various neuropsychiatric functional variations where traditional teaching does not work. At Österlen School, we focus not on diagnoses but on needs. This means that a student does not need a diagnosis to access support. The support, structure, and adaptations that benefit children with divergent functional variations benefit all students. Therefore, Österlen School is a school for all children.

We are a neurodiverse school that recognizes, accepts, and respects that there is a variation in how the human brain functions. While neuropsychiatric variations can give rise to both strengths and challenges, we view these variations as an asset rather than a limitation.

We adapt learning and the environment for students within the neuropsychiatric spectrum. We listen to the students' thoughts about their own learning and the path to achieving it. Practically, this means that we actively work with both general and individual adaptations in the learning environment.