School starts in Espoo on Thursday 13 August

As for new pre-primary education pupils, some 3,000 will receive instruction in Finnish and 320 in Swedish. In total, some 30,300 pupils are enrolled in Finnish-language comprehensive education and 2,900 in Swedish-language comprehensive education. Nearly 2,700 students will begin their first year at Espoo’s general upper secondary schools.  

Along with schools, afternoon activities will also start in Espoo. Afternoon activities are intended for pupils in grades 1–2 and for pupils who have received a decision on support. The guided afternoon activities support the educational work carried out at home and school. This school year, a total of 4,015 children have signed up for Finnish-language afternoon activities and 520 for Swedish-language afternoon activities. 
 
Read more about afternoon activities. 

Schools in Espoo are multicultural communities with pupils of diverse backgrounds. The 9,300 multilingual pupils enrolled in comprehensive education account for nearly one third of all pupils enrolled in Finnish-language comprehensive education. Pupils in Espoo’s comprehensive schools speak as many as 100 different native languages, and instruction is provided in 51 of them. Espoo also provides preparatory education. 

Espoo’s schools provide children with high-quality language-aware instruction, and our cultural instructors support pupils, their families, and schools. In comprehensive education, cultural instruction is available in several languages, such as Albanian, Arabic, Chinese, Kurdish (Sorani), Persian (Dari/Farsi) and Somali. In addition, Espoo will publish its twelfth multicultural holiday calendar. The calendar increases children’s and young people’s understanding of different religions and supports diversity. 

Schools’ autumn holiday is from 12 to 16 October 2026 (week 42). The autumn term ends on 22 December 2026. The spring term starts after the Christmas break on Tuesday 7 January 2027. 

Check out the term dates and holidays for schools and early childhood education. 

Many guardians wonder how their young children will manage on their own before and after school. Children may still need an adult’s presence and guidance in everyday activities. 

Residents’ parks are staff-supervised playgrounds maintained by the city. Young schoolchildren are also welcome. They can come to the park in the morning before going to school and in the afternoon after school. In the afternoons, the parks also offer guided activities for schoolchildren. 

In the parks, children can play with friends and do fun things together. Children can bring their own snacks, or guardians can sign them up for a snack service that is subject to a fee. Residents’ parks are open to all. You only have to sign up for the snack service; no other registration is required. We also recommend that you fill in the contact information form available at the parks. 

Espoo has a total of 16 residents’ parks. The parks also post about their activities on social media. 

Read more about the parks’ activities for schoolchildren. 

The autumn season for the City of Espoo’s youth services and libraries begins in early September. From then on, youth centres and libraries will be open as usual, offering young people free, safe and welcoming places to spend time, meet friends and take part in a wide range of activities. 

Some youth centres and libraries will already be open before the official start of the autumn season, especially towards the end of the week. 

For opening hours and more information about activities, visit: 
www.espoo.fi/en/youth and www.helmet.fi(external link, opens in a new window). You can also follow the related social media channels:@nuoriespoo and @kirjastoespoo.  

Wilma is the main channel of communication between home and school. Cooperation between schools and guardians is very important for the child’s learning and wellbeing. Guardians can choose the language in which they use Wilma. 

Wilma has both a Messages section and an Announcements section. The administration uses Wilma’s Announcements section to publish important announcements and news on current matters. Emergency and crisis notifications are also published in Wilma’s Announcements section. Some notifications may be temporary and will be removed automatically. It is important for guardians to check the Announcements section regularly. Announcements are shown in the language that the guardian has selected for Wilma.   

Schools communicate primarily through Wilma’s Messages section. Schools’ messages are generally published in the language of instruction. The messages may concern current matters within the school community that affect pupils’ school day or matters for which guardians’ participation or attendance is encouraged or expected. Through Wilma, guardians can also easily keep up to date with their child’s schoolwork, absences and assessments.  

Read more about using Wilma in the quick guide.  

Wilma includes an automated feature called Wilma Noti, which monitors pupils’ absences. If a pupil’s number of absences becomes high, Wilma Noti automatically sends a message through Wilma to the pupil, their guardian, and the teacher. In general upper secondary schools, Wilma Noti monitors absences separately for each study unit.  

Read about requesting permission for temporary absence. 

If a child / young person has special dietary needs, please inform the school kitchen by submitting a dietary needs notification no later than 15 August. This information will help us make sure that each child and young person gets safe and healthy nutrition that supports their growth and learning. 
 
Only fill in the dietary needs notification form if the child / young person follows a special diet or another diet listed in the form. 

Download the dietary need notification form here.(external link, opens in a new window) 

Read more about school meals. 

The Western Uusimaa Police Department will once again monitor the safety of school journeys this autumn. Police presence is especially visible at the beginning of the school year, but monitoring continues throughout the year. 

The police encourage parents to talk to their children about the safest route to school. It is a good idea to practise the journey to school together. At the same time, you can review the most important traffic rules and remind children to keep their attention on traffic – not on their smartwatch or mobile phone. 

“We cannot emphasise enough that drivers must exercise particular caution at pedestrian crossings and near schools. Pedestrians must be allowed to pass safely,” says Superintendent Aapo Isoaho. 

Espoo’s learning path offers services for children and young people of all ages. As the Capital of Children and Youth, the City of Espoo is continuously developing its education services and facilities. At the start of the 2026–2027 school year, the school network will expand further. 

Read more about the changes on our website: Changes in Espoo’s school and general upper secondary school network