The night before a child starts at a new school is one of those quietly anxious moments that many parents know well. Will they find their classroom? Will anyone talk to them at lunch? Will they understand what is going on? If your child is entering a new school soon, these are probably the same questions you are asking yourself.
Here is what the first week at an international school in Warsaw looks like, so that you and your child can know what to expect.
Most international schools in Warsaw, including The British School Warsaw, have a structured arrival process for new students. Children are met by a member of staff, shown around the building, introduced to their class teacher, and given an orientation before the school day begins. At primary level, new students are usually paired with a buddy from an existing class. This small gesture, a peer who knows where to go and what to do, is often what children remember as the moment they first felt welcome.
These simple gestures matter enormously. Children who arrive knowing what to expect and where to go feel significantly more settled than those who have to work it out alone. If your child has not had a pre-term visit or a tour of the campus, arrange one before the first day if at all possible.
Honesty here is more useful than reassurance. The first few days at a new international school in Warsaw are tiring, even for confident, sociable children. The cognitive load of navigating a new building, learning new names, following new routines, and managing it all in what may be an additional language is significant. Many children come home in the first week quieter than usual, more emotional, or more tired than their parents would expect.
This is completely normal. It is not a sign that something is wrong. It is a sign that the brain is working hard at exactly the tasks it needs to work hard at. Most children settle noticeably between day three and day five, and the difference between Monday and Friday of the first week is often remarkable to parents who are watching closely.
Keep the evenings of the first week calm. This is not the time to schedule activities, playdates, or anything that cuts into sleep. Rest is the most productive thing a child can do after school in the first week, and a tired child on day two is harder to settle than one who has been allowed to decompress properly.
Ask thoughtful questions in the evenings. “How was your day?” is the question that gets the least useful answer. “What made you laugh today?” or “Who did you sit next to at lunch?” or “Tell me one thing that surprised you” open conversations that the standard question never does.
Resist the urge to fix everything immediately. If your child is anxious or upset in the first few days, the most helpful response is usually to listen, acknowledge what they are feeling, and give it a little time. Most first-week worries resolve themselves once the child has had a chance to find their footing. The ones that do not are worth taking to the school, but give it until at least day three before drawing conclusions.
If your child is genuinely struggling, not just tired but upset, reluctant, or distressed in a way that persists beyond the first couple of days, contact the school's pastoral team early. At The British School Warsaw, every student has a form tutor and access to a school counsellor. Concerns raised early are almost always resolved more quickly than those left to build.
Do not wait to see if things improve on their own if your instinct is telling you that something needs attention. A good international school will always want to hear from a parent sooner rather than later, and the pastoral team at TBS Warsaw would rather be contacted early than find out weeks later that a student was struggling in silence.
A good international school does not leave new students to find their own way. At TBS Warsaw, teachers are actively monitoring how new students are settling in the first weeks. They are looking for children who are isolated at lunch, who seem uncertain or withdrawn, or who are not yet connecting with peers. Information passed from the admissions team to the teaching team before term begins means that teachers already know which students are new, which have arrived from other countries, and which are managing in an additional language.
The pastoral structure at TBS Warsaw is built around the idea that every child should be known individually – not as a member of a year group, but as a person with a specific background, specific strengths, and specific things they might find difficult. That knowledge is what makes the early weeks manageable for children who arrive in Warsaw without an established network.
The first week is the hardest. The second is easier. By the end of the first month at an international school in Warsaw, most children have found the people they like, identified the teachers they feel comfortable with, and settled into enough of a routine that school feels normal rather than new.
Some children need longer than a month. Some find certain aspects of school life difficult well into the first term. What matters is that the family and the school are in communication throughout, not waiting for things to resolve themselves, but working together on the things that need attention.
Starting a new school is one of the bigger changes a child can experience. It is also, for the vast majority, something they look back on and barely remember finding hard at all.
For the full guide to preparing your family for a new school year in Poland, read our complete back-to-school guide for international school families in Poland. Get in touch with the TBS Warsaw admissions team to arrange a visit before term begins, or to talk through any questions about your child's start in September.
