Preparatory education

Preparatory education in grades 1–2 is always provided inclusively at the pupil’s local school.

Inclusive preparatory education takes place in a basic education group. Instruction is based on the preparatory education curriculum and each pupil’s personal study plan. Pupils have approximately 23 hours of instruction per week.

In grades 3–6, preparatory education is provided either at the pupil’s local school or in an area-specific preparatory education group. All schools decide on their teaching arrangements independently.

If preparatory education is not available at the pupil’s local school, the pupil will be placed in an area-specific preparatory education group. Preparatory education groups are not available at all schools. Pupils are assigned a place in the nearest possible school that has places available. The decision on the school is made by Multicultural Education Services.

Instruction is based on the preparatory education curriculum and each pupil’s personal study plan. Pupils in grades 3–4 have approximately 23 hours of instruction per week, and pupils in grades 5–6 have approximately 26 hours of instruction per week.

Preparatory education for grades 7–9 is organised in area-specific preparatory education groups. Not all schools offer preparatory education. Pupils are assigned a place in the nearest possible school that has places available. The decision on the school is made by Multicultural Education Services.

Instruction is based on the preparatory education curriculum and each pupil’s personal study plan. Pupils have approximately 26–30 hours of instruction per week.

Our ‘Preparatory education in Espoo’ guide (‘Valmistava opetus Espoossa’ in Finnish) is intended for pupils who have recently moved to Finland and their guardians. The guide contains information on instruction preparing for Finnish-speaking basic education in Espoo.

The guide is available in an accessible format in the following languages: plain Finnish, Albanian, Arabic, Dari, Farsi, English, Mandarin, Somali, Sorani, Ukrainian and Russian.

1. Send an email to valmistava@espoo.fi. Your message should include the names of the guardians, the names and dates of birth of all children of school age, the family’s home address in Espoo and country of origin.
2. Our preparatory education coordinator will respond to your message as soon as possible and give you detailed instructions and the required application forms.
3. Follow the instructions you received. You child will be assigned a place in a school based on the information you have given. You will receive the decision on preparatory education by post.

The City of Espoo also offers education that prepares for basic education in Swedish. Preparatory education is provided to pupils who have an immigrant background and who need to work on their Swedish language skills to be able to take part in basic education. Preparatory education in Swedish is not necessarily provided in the pupil’s local school. The school providing preparatory education can vary from year to year. 

If you have any questions about school enrolment or want to enrol your child to a Swedish-language school or preparatory education in Swedish, please send e-mail to skolanmalan@esbo.fi.