Afternoon activities and care for pupils

Espoo organises afternoon activities for pupils in grades 1-2 and for pupils requiring special support after the school day. Afternoon group activities in schools are organised by schools, organisations and private service providers. Afternoon activities are recreational activities that support the educational work of home and school. In addition to guided activities, the children can focus on their own playing. The afternoons are spent both indoors and outdoors. The children participating in the afternoon activities are insured and covered by the personal accident insurance of the city. Afternoon activities of basic education are subject to a fee. Based on the income of the family, it is possible to apply for a payment relief or remission for the service. Applying for afternoon activities of schools is done for one school year at a time. Activities are not organised during school holidays or school Saturdays. Afternoon activities of basic education are organised in 62 locations.

Afternoon activities

Applying to afternoon activities for the school year 2022-2023 is possible during the whole year. Applications are handled once a month. Applications sent no later than 19.6.2022 will be handled on the following week.

Pupils in grades 1 and 2 and those in other grades who have a decision on special support, can apply to afternoon activities. Applying takes place electronically in Wilma. The application form is found in Wilma under the tab Hakemukset ja päätökset (eng. Applications and decisions).

If it is not possible to apply electronically, a paper application form shall be used. The form can be found on page Forms and instructions.

Paper forms are submitted to the address:

Finnish basic education unit
Support Services
P.O. Box 31, 02070
City of Espoo

Afternoon activities are arranged in the pupil’s local school.

If the child’s school changes after the application period has ended or after receiving the decision, the guardians shall cancel/terminate the unnecessary place and apply for a new one. The new application can be submitted after the pupil has received a decision concerning his/her study place.

Admission principles

Admission afternoon activities is decided on in the primacy order decided by the Growth and Learning Committee on November 3th 2021:

a) pupils in the first grade who have a special needs education decision
b) other pupils in the first grade
c) pupils in the second grade who have a special needs education decision
d) pupils in the third grade or older than that who have a special needs education decision
e) other pupils in the second grade

If there comes a situation in the admission process that all pupils belonging to the same group (groups a-e) cannot be admitted, the admittance is carried out by drawing lots.

Operating times

Afternoon activities follow the school’s work and holiday times.

part-time afternoon activities at 12–3pm
full-time afternoon activities at 12–5pm

Afternoon activities places are admitted according to activity times which the guardian has announced in the application. By a written notification, the guardian may change the child’s activity hours from full-time to part-time. Notifications submitted in November come into effect from the beginning of January.

Notifications for changing the activity hours and for terminating the afternoon activities place shall be submitted minimum one calendar month prior to the change. For example, a change made in December will come into effect on February 1st. Changes announced in April will not affect the monthly fee anymore. A client fee is collected during the termination period. Changes in activity times can be submitted through Wilma in the file Hakemukset ja päätökset (eng. Applications and decisions) by filling in the form Iltapäivätoimintapaikan peruuttaminen, irtisanominen ja toiminta-ajan muuttaminen (eng. Cancelling and terminating an afternoon activities place or changing the activity hours) or by email to the address iltapaivatoiminta@espoo.fi.

Esimerkki 1.

Huoltaja ilmoittaa lapsen toiminta-ajan muutoksesta kokoaikaisesta osa-aikaiseksi helmikuussa. Muutos tulee voimaan 1. huhtikuuta. Helmi- ja maaliskuulta peritään kokoaikaisen asiakasmaksu.

Client fees

Client fees of afternoon activities have been issued by the City’s Board.

From August 1st 2016 onwards the fees are:

part-time activities at 12–3 pm – 80 euros per month.
full-time activities at 12–5 pm – 140 euros per month.

The client fee is the same every month, also in August. The fee will not be collected in June. The fee includes a snack.

Absences

If the child cannot participate in morning or afternoon activities in over 10 days during a calendar month, only half of the fee will be collected.

If an illness-related absence lasts the entire calendar month, the fee will not be collected.

If the child does not participate in the activities for some other reason during the entire calendar month, half of the monthly fee will be collected.

Jos lapsi on pois muusta syystä osan kuukaudesta, maksu on normaali asiakasmaksu.

The fee can be left uncollected or it can be reduced, if it is justified considering the guardian’s maintenance support obligation, secure income requirements or care-related viewpoints. Applying for a reduction in price or for leaving it uncollected shall be done with a written application form. The application may be submitted after the child has been admitted to afternoon activities. The decision on a price reduction or on leaving it uncollected is made on the basis of the family size and the family’s gross income. More information about price reductions and leaving fees uncollected is found in the notice for parents and guardians: Non-collection or reduction of basic education afternoon activities' client fees.

The application for non-collection of basic education afternoon activities' fees can be found on page Forms and applications for basic education.

Afternoon activities for comprehensive education are arranged in the schools' facilities.

School year 2021–2022

Photo: Olli Häkämies

Care for pupils with special needs

Enrolling in morning and afternoon care for the school-year 2021–2022 is January 8th– February 28th 2021.

Enrolling through Wilma

Enrolling in morning, afternoon and holiday care takes place electronically through the Wilma system. If the guardian does not possess a Wilma userecode, he/she may contact the school secretary of the child’s school. The electronic enrolment form is found in the site Hakemukset ja päätökset (available only in Finnish).

In case electronic enrolment is not possible, a paper form shall be used. The form can be printed out from the appendices, requested from the school or ordered by phone tel. 040 505 2953.

Paper forms are submitted to the address:
Finnish basic education unit
Support Services
P.O. Box 31, 02070
City of Espoo

Before submitting an application we ask the guardians to inspect that the child’s decision based on the Disability Act or Disability Service Act on arranging morning, afternoon or holiday care is valid. You may contact the social worker of the region’s disability services, if needed.

Morning and afternoon care is arranged on the school/work days of a school year excluding Saturday school days. The decision based on the Disability Act or Disability Service Act is meant primarily for the morning and afternoon care of disabled and autistic children. The care is carried out as activities in group-form and arranged mainly in the child’s own school. The school’s school-going assistants and special needs assistants work as the employees. Morning and afternoon care is offered according to the child’s need beginning at 7am in the morning and lasting until 5pm in the afternoon.

Holiday care is carried out in group-form and arranged on a few centralised schools according to the number of children enrolled. The school’s school-going assistants and special needs assistants work as the employees. The care is carried out in the school’s facilities between 7:30am – 4:30pm.

More information on disability services here.

All the forms and applications for afternoon activities and care for pupils can be found here.