School in Finland: free with a hot lunch, compulsory education to 18, and the preparatory class that is not a right

Yes, your children go to school in Finland for free, and free here also means learning materials, a hot meal every day and transport if the school is far away. Compulsory education applies from 6 to 18; primary school lasts nine years, from 7 to 16. The finding at the Finnish National Agency for Education, OPH: the preparatory year for children who do not yet speak Finnish or Swedish is not an obligation for the municipality but an option. The pitfall is therefore assuming that the class exists. Ask the municipality where you will live, before you choose a home.

How is the Finnish school system built?

Age	Education	Cost
up to 6	varhaiskasvatus, early childhood education and care	income-related, with a maximum
6	pre-primary education, one year	free
7 to 16	primary and lower secondary school, grades 1 to 9, in one structure	free, with materials and meals
16 to 18	general upper secondary or vocational education	within compulsory education

Compulsory education to 18 is fairly new: the extension took effect in 2021. The aim according to the ministry is that every child obtains an upper secondary qualification after comprehensive school. For a family with a fifteen-year-old, that means: comprehensive school is not the end.

All schools follow a national core curriculum, and the municipality is responsible for education for everyone aged 6 to 18 living there. Every child gets a place at a nearby school, the lähikoulu; choosing another school is possible, with restrictions.

How do I enrol my child?

At the beginning of the year the municipality sends a notice about your child's compulsory education, by post or through Wilma, the system many schools use to communicate with parents. Enrolment for the new school year usually happens in January; the school year starts in August and runs to late May or early June.

If you arrive in the middle of the year, it works differently: you contact the municipality as soon as you have an address. Which school, which class and whether there is preparatory education is decided by the municipality. Because access to municipal services hangs on your municipality of residence, it helps if your kotikunta is already arranged.

What if my child does not speak Finnish yet?

That is what preparatory education (valmistava opetus) is for: usually one year, in which a child learns Finnish or Swedish and follows part of the other subjects, with a personal learning plan. After that the child moves on to a regular class. It can be given in a separate group, within a regular class or individually.

The preparatory year is not a right. OPH writes that a municipality can organise this education, but that it is not mandatory; the education provider decides whether it happens and how long it lasts. So it differs per municipality. Ask before you sign for a home.

After that start, support continues: lessons in Finnish or Swedish as a second language (S2) for those who do not yet have the language at native level, and the possibility of lessons in the child's own mother tongue. According to OPH, those lessons can be offered if the teacher has at least four pupils. Whether that works for Dutch depends on your municipality.

Are there English-language schools?

In the large cities, yes: international schools and schools with English as the language of instruction, plus a few private schools in German, French or Russian. Information is usually on the city's website. Weigh the choice honestly. An English-language school makes the first months lighter, but Finnish is the language of the playground, of the neighbours and later of the labour market.

What does childcare for young children cost?

For children under school age there is varhaiskasvatus, and the price depends on your income and family size, with a maximum. In Helsinki these maximums for full-time care apply from 1 August 2026:

Child	Maximum per month
Youngest child in care	€ 335
Second child	€ 134 (40 %)
Each further child	20 % of the youngest child's fee, at most € 67

You pay at most eleven months a year: July is free. But note the exception Helsinki adds: if care started on 1 October or later, you do pay for the following July. Five-year-olds born in 2021 and living in Helsinki get four hours a day of free care from 1 August 2026 until pre-primary education begins. Report your income: if you do not, you pay the highest fee, and an income rise you do not report is charged retroactively by Helsinki, up to a year back.

The step in which school and childcare fall in the move is in the step-by-step plan.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.4: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Finland or go straight to step 5.4 in the open plan.