Basic education in Finland

Basic education in Finland provides a uniform and free school path for all children. Children who are permanent residents of Finland are subject to compulsory education. Compulsory education begins in the year your child turns seven and ends when the child turns 18 or when he or she has completed the matriculation examination or a vocational qualification, or equivalent education completed in Åland or abroad. 

Municipalities are responsible for basic education, and the content of the education is based on the national curriculum guidelines issued by the Finnish National Agency for Education. School attendance is not compulsory in Finland, so the knowledge and skills corresponding to the basic education curriculum can also be acquired by studying at home instead of attending basic education. Read about this option below under Home schooling.

Children residing in the country temporarily may also participate in the education, but for them it is not compulsory.

Information on pre-primary education can be found on the page Childcare and pre-school in Finland, and information on post-basic education studies can be found on the page Upper secondary school and vocational education and training in Finland.

All children residing permanently in Finland are required to complete the basic education curriculum. Public comprehensive schools are free of charge. Comprehensive school usually starts at the age of 7, but depending on the child's level of development, the start date can be brought forward or postponed by one year. Comprehensive school lasts nine years. Read more about basic education on the website of the Finnish National Agency for Education.

Municipalities are obliged to provide basic education for all children living there. The municipality of residence assigns school-age children to a school in their local area. You can also apply to schools other than your local school. Read more below under How to apply for comprehensive school in Finland.

Under the law, children have the right to free basic education even if they do not live permanently in the municipality or if the municipality is not their home municipality. To exercise this right, it is sufficient that the stay in the Finnish municipality can be considered to be of a residential nature. In practice, between the Nordic countries, this type of stay lasts more than three months but less than one year.

You can attend comprehensive school in Finnish or Swedish. Municipalities provide basic education in both national languages. Read more about Swedish-language schools at svenskskola.fi.

Some Finnish schools offer bilingual education, where part of the teaching is in Finnish and part in another language, such as English, Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Russian, or Estonian.  The language of instruction may also be Sami, Romani, or sign language. Some schools also offer bilingual education in the form of language immersion education. Then the language of immersion can be Finnish or Swedish. Read more about municipalities and schools that offer bilingual education on the website of the Finnish National Agency for Education.

There are also schools in Finland where in practice the language of instruction is entirely English. Municipalities provide English-language education in international schools free of charge, and there is also one private English-language school in Helsinki, which charges tuition fees. Helsinki also has a European school, where some pupils are charged tuition fees. Read more about international and English-language schools on the website of the Finnish National Agency for Education.

Children who have moved to Finland from abroad can receive instruction in Finnish or Swedish according to the Finnish/Swedish as a second language and literature syllabus as part of their basic education, if necessary. Pupils may also be provided with instruction in their native language to supplement their basic education if their native language is a language other than Finnish or Swedish. Ask your school or municipality for more information. Read more about support for pupils’ native languages on the Finnish National Agency for Education website.

You can register your child at your local school or apply to a school other than your local school.

How is a local school assigned to a child?

The municipality sends a compulsory education notification at the beginning of the year when the child turns seven. The notification indicates the child's local school, which is determined based on your home address. Parents register their children for school either electronically on the municipality's website or by submitting a paper form. You can find more information about registering your child for comprehensive school on the website of your municipality of residence. Contact details for Finnish municipalities can be found on the website of the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities.

Can you choose another school? 

You can also apply to a school other than your local school. However, not all schools can offer places, and selection is based on the school's application procedure and the number of places available. Admission to specialised education (e.g. specialised music, physical education or language education) is usually based on separate entrance or aptitude tests. Some private schools accept pupils through an application process, while others are pupils’ local school. These are run by associations or foundations, and tuition is free of charge. For more information, contact the school directly.

Changing schools during the school year

If your child changes schools during the school year, contact both your child's current school and the education authorities in your new municipality. Read more about changing schools during the school year on the Suomi.fi website.

If a child moves to Finland

If your child moves to Finland permanently, contact the education authorities in your new municipality to arrange a place in a comprehensive school. 

If a child is staying in Finland temporarily, they have the right – but not the obligation – to participate in basic education. If your situation is temporary, you should contact your temporary municipality of residence and find out to what extent education can be arranged.

Pupils are entitled to a free warm meal during the school day. Some schools also offer a free snack, but in most schools snacks are subject to a charge. If a pupil has a special diet, their diet plan, a list of prohibited foods or a doctor's certificate must be submitted to the school. If the diet is related to a health condition, a statement from a doctor, nutritionist or healthcare professional is required. Read more about school meals on the website of the Finnish National Agency for Education.

Pupils receiving basic education are entitled to free school transport if the distance to school is more than five kilometres. Alternatively, a subsidy may be granted for the pupil’s transport. If a pupil attends a school other than their local school, they are not entitled to free transport. Similarly, pupils who are in basic education after reaching the compulsory education age are not entitled to free transport. Read more about free school transport in the Finnish National Agency for Education’s school transport guide.

Morning and afternoon activities for schoolchildren are intended for pupils in grades 1 and 2, as well as pupils in other grades who have been granted support or who have a disability, illness or functional limitation that affects their learning ability. Morning and afternoon activities provide children with safe activities before and after school, and children participating in these activities must be offered a snack.

The municipality is responsible for morning and afternoon activities. The municipality can provide the activities either on its own or together with other municipalities, or it can source the services from elsewhere. Municipalities are not obliged to provide morning or afternoon activities.

A monthly fee may be charged for morning and afternoon activities, the amount being determined by the municipality. The fee may be charged for the months when the child participates in the activities, and no other fees may be charged for participation in the activities.

Read more about morning and afternoon activities on the website of the Finnish National Agency for Education.

In Finland, schooling is not compulsory , but learning is. So the knowledge and skills corresponding to the basic education syllabus can be acquired through home schooling, for example, instead of attending basic education.

Home schooling does not require permission from the authorities, i.e. in practice from the municipal education department. A notification from the guardian to the municipality of residence that the child is being transferred to home schooling is sufficient. After the notification, the guardian is also responsible for ensuring that the child achieves the knowledge and skills corresponding to the basic education curriculum and for monitoring the child's progress. However, under the Basic Education Act, the municipality must monitor the child’s progress if he or she does not attend school. 

Read more on the website of the Finnish National Agency for Education.