2024

The Ministry of Education and Culture is preparing legislation, the Finnish National Agency for Education recommends limiting mobile phone use even before the law comes into effect

The Ministry of Education and Culture is currently preparing a legislative proposal to limit mobile phone use in schools and educational institutions, as outlined in the government program. Even now, before the law comes into effect, the Finnish National Agency for Education recommends that schools and educational institutions prohibit disruptive mobile phone use during lessons and limit its use during breaks, in accordance with current legislation. 

According to current legislation, schools and educational institutions can already ban mobile phone use during lessons in their rules. Phones may be used when permitted by the teacher. Disruptive use refers to any phone activity unrelated to the lesson or tasks assigned by the teacher.

Mobile phone use can also be allowed if the student has specific health or learning-related needs that require it. These cases are agreed upon separately with the school or institution.

Despite the downsides of mobile phones, the use of digital tools and applications is part of the curriculum at various levels of education. According to the Finnish National Agency for Education, in a digitalizing society, it is also an issue of equality that all students have the opportunity to practice using devices for free at schools and educational institutions.

Support for learning will be reformed 

The goal of Finland’s current government program is to clarify learning support and unify the continuum of learning support from early childhood education to upper secondary education. A key focus is to shift the emphasis of support towards early intervention.The Ministry of Education and Culture is undergoing legislative changes, through which the learning support system will be reformed at all educational levels. The changes concerning pre-primary education, comprehensive education and general upper secondary education are aimed to come into effect on August 1, 2025.

The legislative changes are scheduled to proceed to the Parliament for decision in the fall of 2024. The Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI) will update the sections on learning support in the national core curricula for pre-primary, comprehensive, and general upper secondary education. Based on EDUFI regulations’ education providers must update their local curricula. 

The effectiveness of preparatory education for an upper secondary qualification (TUVA) was evaluated

The preparatory education for an upper secondary qualification (TUVA) supports students in preparing for general upper secondary or VET studies by providing individualized support and guidance. TUVA education started on 1 August 2022. The effectiveness of the TUVA education was evaluated through a survey with responses from 1,936 individuals across Finland. Additionally, extensive interview data was collected.

According to the evaluation, students are generally satisfied with the TUVA education, although there are differences in the adequacy of guidance. Teachers appreciate the program's flexibility but require more resources for special education and guidance. Challenges for the TUVA education includes the high number of non-native students and language proficiency requirements.

Education providers view the system as functional, but it is criticized for insufficient amount of special education. According to the evaluation, effective student welfare is crucial because the support needs of students in the TUVA education are diverse.

Proposed improvements include enhancing the funding system and clarifying students’ language proficiency requirements before starting the TUVA education.

2023

Increase the minimum number of compulsory lesson hours for reading, writing and numeracy in primary education

The Government will invest in the learning of basic skills especially in primary level (ISCED 1). The aim is to provide pupils and teachers conditions that let them to focus on learning and teaching, to have more time and space to work without disruptions. 

One measure for reaching the aim is to increase the minimum number of compulsory lesson hours for reading, writing and numeracy. The increase will be carried out by adding 2 weekly lesson hours for Finnish or Swedish language and literature at year grades 1-2 and 1 lesson for mathematics at year grades 3-6.  The local level can make the decisions how to implement the additional lessons in practical schoolwork.

There will only be the increase in the number of lesson hours, the curriculum will not expand with this reform. Therefore, there will be more time for pupils to learn and for teachers to teach the content set in the curriculum. 

The Government will invest EUR 200 million in this reform. The increase in the number of lesson hours will be introduced in schools on August 2025. 

In addition, the legislation on learning support will be reformed in its entirety, aiming to reduce the administrative work for teachers and to make sure adequate support measures are available everywhere in the country. Every pupil and student must have equal opportunities to receive learning support. Different types of support will be harmonised and clarified nationally. One of the aims of the reform is, furthermore, to ensure that sufficient resources and competence will be made available to implement support measures in schools.

An engaging school community work model was introduced in Finnish schools in August

The objective of the engaging school community work model is to support school adherence and attendance, create an affirmative culture of action and reduce absenteeism in primary and lower secondary education. The model is part of the implementation of the Ministry of Education and Culture's Action plan to prevent bullying.

The engaging school community work model reduces and prevents school absenteeism in partnership with homes, supports pupil attachment to school by strengthening positive school culture and well-being, identifies and aiding pupils facing challenges in regular schooling, and strengthens basic skills attainment and learning outcomes.

Due to the engaging school community model some changes were made in the Basic Education Act as well as in the National Core Curriculum for Basic Education. The updated versions took effect on 1 August 2023. From that on it has been education providers’ duty to prevent absences of the pupil attending primary and lower secondary education and monitor and intervene absenteeism in a systematic manner. The education provider must report absence from school without permission to the pupil's parent/guardian.

More information at the sites on Ministry of Education and Culture in Finnish  https://okm.fi/sitouttava-kouluyhteisotyo

Administrative reform on the provider of pupil and student welfare in Finland

The organiser of pupil and student welfare services changed from 2023 onward. The change is part of a wider administrative reform of health and social services in Finland. 

Reform of healthcare, social welfare and rescue services

The structure of organizing public health care, social welfare and rescue services was reformed in Finland. On 1 January 2023 the responsibility for organizing these services was transferred from municipalities to 21 wellbeing services counties and the City of Helsinki. Before 195 organizations were responsible for these services. The reform can be considered as one of the most significant administrative reforms in recent years in Finnish society.

The key objective of the reform is to improve the availability and quality of basic public services throughout the country as well as respond to the challenges of changing society. For example, the population is ageing and will need more services than previously. Also, the decline in the birth rate will lead to a smaller number of working-age population and a reduction in tax incomes. It is also important to curb and limit the increase in costs.  

The wellbeing services counties are self-governing. Their funding is based on the central government grant as they do not, so far, have the right to levy taxes. Differences in the service demands of the counties are taken into account when deciding on the funding.

Pupil and student welfare is one of the duties of the new wellbeing services counties

Responsibility for the education of 6 -18-years-olds remain for 309 Finnish municipalities also after the reform. But, as part of the reform, the responsibility for organising the student healthcare and welfare services transferred to the 21/22 wellbeing services counties from the beginning of 2023. The wellbeing services county where the school is located, is responsible for organizing healthcare and welfare services in their area regardless of the pupil’s or student’s place of domicile.

After the restructuring, the employer for school nurses and doctors, psychologists, and social workers changed. It is now a wellbeing services county instead of a municipality as prior to the reform. However, the healthcare and welfare personnel continue their work at schools and educational institutes just as they did earlier. Therefore, pupils and students as well as their parents and guardians may not notice any difference after the administrative change.

2022

The positive discrimination funding will be recorded in the law

A special state subsidy - positive discrimination funding, also called equality funding - for early childhood education, pre-primary and basic education is recorded for the first time in the Act on the Financing of Educational and Cultural Provision. 

The positive discrimination funding is targeted at schools and early childhood education institutions located in a regions where thefollowing characteristics are high:

•    Share of population with low education level.
•    Unemployment rate.
•    Proportion of foreign-speaking population.

The aim of the special funding is to strengthen educational equality and reduce inequalities in learning. Although many pupils and students do well in school, the proportion of those who do poorly has increased. According to research, positive discrimination funding has a positive effect on the progress of pupils’ and students’ studies.

After the targeted funding is recorded in the law it will increase the effectiveness and predictability of the grant so that equality measures are better, more systematically planned and well established at the local level.

The act will be submitted to Parliament in the spring of 2022 and is expected to enter into force at the beginning of 2023.