Schools in Finland have an international reputation, and the practical side matters more to a newcomer than the ranking. The system is predictable, free at the point of use and well documented, and almost every step has a date attached to it.
How do schools in Finland work, from daycare to upper secondary?
Three stages matter for a young family.
- Early childhood education (varhaiskasvatus): daycare or family day care, from the month the child turns nine months until school.
- Pre-primary education (esiopetus): one compulsory year, normally at age six, free, about four hours a day.
- Basic education (perusopetus): nine years from age seven, free, with school meals.
After the ninth grade, young people continue in general upper secondary school (lukio, usually two to four years, ending with the Finnish matriculation exam) or vocational education (about three years). A preparatory programme (TUVA) helps students whose language is not yet sufficient. Since 1 August 2021, compulsory education lasts until you turn 18 or finish an upper secondary qualification, so the old idea that school ends at 16 is outdated. Åland has its own school laws.
How do you get a daycare place in Finland?
Every child has a right to a place in early childhood education from the start of the month in which the child turns nine months. You apply to your municipality at least four months before you need the place, or two weeks if a parent has just found a job or study place. If you have no registered municipality of residence yet, you are treated as an inhabitant of the municipality where you live for municipal daycare purposes.
Fees depend on income, family size and hours. From 1 August 2026, according to the Finnish government:
- at most €335 a month for a full-time place for the youngest child, and a minimum of €32;
- at most €134 for the second child (40 per cent), and 20 per cent of the youngest child's fee, capped at €67, for the others;
- 10.7 per cent of gross family income above a threshold that depends on family size, reduced for part-time hours.
If you do not declare your income, you pay the maximum. In Helsinki, five-year-olds receive four free hours a day from 1 August 2026, and Espoo has a similar rule. The next index adjustment is on 1 August 2028. For private daycare, prices are free, and Kela's private day-care allowance or the municipality's service voucher may help if your child has a municipality of residence in Finland and the daycare is municipality-approved.
Which application deadline applies to your child, and how do you declare income for the fee? Moovy can sort your family's steps by date and draft the Finnish or Swedish message to your municipality. It cannot submit the application for you.
How do you enrol a child in one of the schools in Finland?
For a normal start in the first grade, the municipality sends a notification at the start of the year, by post or in Wilma, the online school-and-family service, and enrolment happens in January or February. For pre-primary, enrolment is also in January or February.
If you arrive during the school year or between grades two and nine, contact the principal of your local school (lähikoulu) directly, with the help of the municipality's education services. In Helsinki, that is the stated procedure. Another school than the local one, such as an English-language or bilingual stream, needs a separate application, sometimes with an aptitude or language test.
What if your child does not speak Finnish or Swedish?
Ask for preparatory education (valmistava opetus), usually a year with an individual learning plan, then Finnish or Swedish as a second language (S2) and, where the municipality organises it, teaching in your child's mother tongue. Public education is in Finnish or Swedish. English-language streams exist but are limited and selective, so do not assume everything is in English.
Bring the previous school's reports, translated into Finnish, Swedish or English if needed, plus the child's identity document and proof of address. See the Finnish personal identity code.
What are your options for a French or international school?
In Helsinki, the École française Jules-Verne teaches from nursery to the last primary year and is approved by the AEFE (the French agency for schools abroad). The Helsingin ranskalais-suomalainen koulu (Franco-Finnish school) is a bilingual state school from pre-primary to upper secondary, taught in French and Finnish on the Finnish curriculum, with a free language test for admission; it is not the local school, so school transport is the parents' responsibility. Other families can look at the European School, the International School of Helsinki, the English School, the German School and a Finnish-Russian school, as well as public bilingual streams in Finnish and English, Spanish or Estonian in some municipalities. Fees for private schools are set by each school, so ask. French families can apply to the French consulate for scholarships for AEFE-approved schools, on income conditions.
Choose a school for the language your child will need in the long run: the Finnish public school is the route to Finnish upper secondary and vocational education.
What does school cost, and what does it include?
Tuition in basic education, pre-primary and lukio is free, as are school meals. You pay for morning and afternoon care in the first and second grades in some municipalities, and for private or international schools. The school year starts in August and ends at the end of May or the start of June. Lessons are 45 minutes, about 20 a week in the first two grades.
How do you prepare a child for a Finnish school day?
The school day is short by many countries' standards and the pace is calm. Lessons last 45 minutes, with breaks, and children go outside during breaks in most weather, so a warm, waterproof outfit matters in winter. Absences are reported through Wilma the same morning, and the same system carries grades and messages from teachers. Ask the school for a first meeting with the class teacher and, if your child speaks no Finnish or Swedish, for the learning plan of the preparatory class.
Plan the language too. Children often pick up playground Finnish quickly, but school Finnish takes longer; the S2 lessons are designed for exactly that gap. Keep your own language alive at home. Many municipalities organise mother-tongue teaching when enough children ask for it.
Which documents should you bring?
Bring the child's identity document, proof of address or municipality of residence, previous school reports, translated into Finnish, Swedish or English if they are in another language, and any vaccination or health information. If you are applying for a place in a private or international school, ask what that school needs. For daycare fees, bring proof of income.
What changes on Åland?
Åland has its own school laws and curriculum, taught in Swedish. School is compulsory from the autumn of the year a child turns seven until the end of basic education, and basic education is free. Daycare is regulated by Åland law, with a maximum of €240 a month per child for a full-time place. See moving to Åland.
Which mistakes should you avoid?
Waiting for the autumn to organise January enrolment. Forgetting that Wilma is the main channel for absences and messages: report an absence the same morning. Choosing a private school that is not approved: in Helsinki, an unauthorised private education counts as home schooling. And assuming the day-to-day language will be English.
For the cost side of family life, read cost of living in Finland.