Espoo, Finland offers high quality education through its public school system. The city's Education and Cultural Services organizes education for approximately 27,000 students across 97 schools. Students have access to free basic education, including pre-primary education, as well as secondary education options. Teachers are highly qualified and schools provide support services to students through initiatives like pupil welfare. Espoo aims to ensure all students receive an education that meets their needs and allows them to pursue further studies through its inclusive programs.

1. Espoo as a place to study

2. Highest quality education
• The City of Espoo offers quality
services and versatile
recreational opportunities for its
residents
• The second largest city in
Finland (pop. around 250 000)
• As part of the metropolitan area,
Espoo is globally recognised as
a networked city with special
expertise in high technology,
education, culture, physical
exercise, research and
innovations
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3. How the schools are run
• The Education and Cultural Services of Espoo organise
basic education, pre-primary education and general upper
secondary education in the city
• Teaching is provided in Finnish-speaking and Swedish-
speaking schools that are administered in different units
• The Finnish Education Unit
– is responsible for organising, evaluating and developing
education in Finnish-speaking schools
– coordinates the organisation of student welfare and special
support to pupils
– arranges for continuing education to teachers in
cooperation with the schools
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4. Key figures of schools
• 97 comprehensive schools with roughly 27 000 pupils
– 83 Finnish-speaking comprehensive schools
• 24 000 pupils, of which roughly 8 000 in middle schools
• about 2 000 teachers
– 12 Swedish-speaking comprehensive schools
• about 2 600 pupils in total
– 2 private schools
• 11 Finnish-speaking general upper secondary schools
– About 4 600 students and roughly 300 teachers
• 1 general upper secondary school for adults (about 1 500 students)
• 1 Swedish-speaking general upper secondary school (about 500 students)
• Several upper secondary vocational education and training institutions, of
which the largest is Omnia
• Polytechnics
• Aalto University
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5. Basic Education in short
• A nine-year comprehensive
curriculum for the whole
age group
• No degree; a final
certificate will be given for
completing the syllabus
• Teaching, text books and
other materials, school
transport and school
meals are free
• Provides the necessary
prerequisites for all upper
secondary education
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6. Basic Education in short
• Includes a one-year long
voluntary pre-primary
education in a school or day-
care centre
• Local authorities can also
provide voluntary morning
and afternoon activities for
pupils in basic education
• About 99 % of pupils receive a
basic education certificate
• A high percentage goes on to
upper secondary education
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7. Pre-primary education
• Given in schools and day-
care centres
• Lays emphasis on the
preparation for school
• Special attention is paid to
readiness for school
attendance, i.e. to the phase of
the child’s emotional, social
and cognitive development
• Approximately 98 % of Espoo’s
6-year-olds attend pre-primary
education
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8. Pre-primary education
• Provided minimum 700 hours per year, maximum
4 hours a day
• Given roughly at the same time as schools
operate during the school year
• Also ’starter pre-grade’ services for children who
need more time before entering the
comprehensive school system
• Recommended maximum size of teaching group
13 children
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9. Comprehensive schools
• Comprehensive schools are either primary schools with
grades 1–6, middle schools with grades 7–9 or joint
comprehensive schools with grades 1–9
• All comprehensive schools in Espoo provide high-quality
basic education
• Some of the schools offer classes where the teaching
focuses on, for instance, physical education,
mathematics and science, music, visual arts or
performance arts.
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10. Primary schools, classes 1-6
• Pupils have 20–26 hours
of classes per week
depending on their grade
• Classes are usually held in
a specific classroom where
the class teacher teaches
most subjects
• Languages, for example,
may be taught by someone
other than the class
teacher
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11. Middle schools, classes 7-9
• Pupils have an average of 30
hours of classes per week
• Pupils study both common
subjects as well as optional
subjects
• Subjects are usually taught by
individual subject teachers,
and different subjects are
taught in different classrooms
• Each class has their own tutor
who attends to class issues
and the cooperation between
the home and the school
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12. Competent teachers
• On all school levels, teachers are
highly qualified and committed.
• The master’s degree is a
requirement.
• Teacher education includes
teaching practice.
• The teaching profession is very
popular in Finland, and hence
universities can select the most
motivated and talented applicants.
• Teachers work independently and
enjoy full autonomy in the
classroom.
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13. Competent teachers
Instruction may be given by
• kindergarten teachers
o pre-primary education in separate pre-primary classes
• class teachers
o instruction for grades 1–6 in basic education, teaching all
subjects
o may also give pre-primary education
• subject teachers
o teach one or several subjects in basic education (primarily in
grades 7–9) and/or in general upper secondary education
• special needs teachers and special class teachers
o instruction for children in need of special needs education
• pupil counsellors and student counsellors
o educational guidance in basic education and in general
upper secondary education.
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14. Pupil and student welfare
• Responsible for the physical, mental and social
wellbeing of pupils and students.
• Aims to identify the pupils’ and students’ need for support
as early as possible
• The support is provided by
– School social workers
– Psychologists
– Therapists
– School health care staff
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15. Pupil and student welfare
• Free of charge and confidential
• Organised in cooperation with
parents and teachers.
• Each comprehensive school in
Espoo has a pupil welfare team
that coordinates and develops
pupil welfare
– Also regional pupil welfare teams
that coordinate and develop pupil
welfare in their area
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16. Guidance in studies and
choices
• All teachers are responsible for guiding pupils in their studies.
• Particularly important when the pupil transfers to another school, is
making choices concerning his/her studies and during joint
applications.
• Middle school pupils and general upper secondary school students
also participate in classes on further education opportunities,
working life and study skills.
• If necessary, pupils also receive personal guidance and advice.
• During the higher grades of comprehensive school, pupils become
acquainted with working life during training periods of a week or two.
• In the lower grades, guidance is provided in connection with various
subjects and other school activities.
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17. Learning new languages
Compulsory foreign language for English (in some schools pupils
3rd grade
every pupil*, usually English can choose French or German)
French, German, Swedish,
4 grade
th
Optional foreign language Russian (English is compulsory,
if not started in 3rd grade)
Compulsory Swedish for every
7th grade Swedish
pupil
French, German (in some
8th grade Optional foreign language
schools Spanish, Russian)
Courses in English and Swedish
are compulsory.
Upper French, German, Russian,
comprehensive Students can continue to study Spanish, Italian, Latin, Chinese,
school optional languages started in Japanese
comprehensive school and/or
choose new optional languages.
* Some schools introduce a foreign language already in 1st grade.
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18. Education of linguistic and
cultural groups
• The Finnish-speaking schools in Espoo have about 3 000 foreign-
language pupils and students.
• In addition, the schools have children from bilingual families and
Finnish returnees, whose official mother tongue is Finnish, but who
need similar support with their language studies as foreign-language
pupils.
• The educational aim for different linguistic and cultural groups is
– to ensure that pupils obtain the skills and knowledge
of comprehensive school
– a functional bilingualism
– equal opportunities to pursue further studies.
• Pupils whose Finnish language skills are not at the mother tongue
level study Finnish as a second language.
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19. Education of linguistic and
cultural groups
• Children with an immigrant background can receive
education in their own mother tongue.
• Finnish returnee pupils and children adopted from abroad
can also participate in the classes to maintain language
skills acquired abroad.
• Education in the mother tongue is provided in more than
30 languages.
• 8 different religious and ethical subjects are taught in
Espoo.
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20. Preparatory education
• Children who are in need of support with their Finnish
language begin their schooling in preparatory education
• Lasts for one school year
• For pre-primary-aged children and first graders, preparatory
education is organised in conjunction with ordinary pre-primary
and first grade education
• Pupils in grades 2–9 are assigned to separate groups for
preparatory education
• After preparatory education, the pupil is transferred to basic
education, where he/she receives intensive support with
his/her studies, if necessary
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