Support for learning and school attendance

Under the Act on Primary and Lower Secondary Education, learners participating in education are entitled to instruction as well as study and careers guidance in accordance with the curriculum as well as adequate support for learning and school attendance as soon as such a need arises. In order to be able to identify the need for support at an early stage, each student's situation must be monitored. Working together with students and their parents or other guardians is important so that the need for support can be assessed and for the planning and successful implementation of support.

The first way to respond to a learner’s need for support is in the form of general educational support. It generally involves individual pedagogical solutions as well as guidance and early intervention support measures in the context of daily school life. General educational support is provided immediately when the need for educational support is apparent, and it does not involve any special tests or decisions. 

Students who have temporarily fallen behind in their studies or otherwise need short-term educational support in learning are entitled to remedial teaching. Students who experience difficulties in learning or attending school are entitled to part-time instruction in special educational needs alongside other instruction. 

Students who need educational support on a regular basis in learning or attending school or require several forms of educational support simultaneously are entitled to enhanced educational support based on their personalised learning plan. Enhanced educational support includes various forms of support given to learners and the necessary pedagogical arrangements. 

If the enhanced educational support provided to a learner is insufficient in helping the learner cope with schoolwork, an administrative decision based on a pedagogical account is made on the provision of intensive educational support for the learner. An individualised educational plan (IEP) is drawn up for the learner. The plan shall describe the provision of the education and other support to be provided in accordance with the decision on intensive educational support.

Intensive educational support consists of education for learners with special educational needs and other educational support provided under the Act on Primary and Lower Secondary Education. Education for students with special educational needs and other educational support form a coherent set of educational support measures. The support provided by parents and other guardians, by multi-professional cooperation and by individual guidance measures all play a significant role.

Amending legislation on support for learning and school attendance

As outlined in the policies in the Programme of Prime Minister Orpo's Government, the Government will amend the legislation on support for learning in primary and lower secondary education between 2023 and 2025. The guiding principle is to make sure students receive the concrete support they need and that schools have sufficient resources to provide such support. 

The Government submitted a proposal on the matter on 23 September 2024 as part of the budget proposal for 2025. The new legislation is due to come into force on 1 August 2025. 

This would make it easier for students to receive support for learning and school attendance earlier and more efficiently when they experience difficulties in managing their studies or attending classes. The aim is to give students support for their learning as early as possible and on a low-threshold basis. 

Group-specific support services would be the primary forms of support to which all students would be entitled. These would consist of general remedial teaching, remedial teaching in the language of instruction and teaching provided by a special educational needs teacher. Where the forms of group-specific support prove to be insufficient, students would receive personal support measures on a regular basis and they would be based on individual support needs. These would include support measures partly in a small group and, if necessary, entirely in a class for students with special educational needs as well as personal interpretation and assistant services.

The legislative amendment would also have at its core teaching arrangements that support the conditions for learning, such as the formation of teaching groups so that the objectives of instruction can be achieved and teachers can take the needs of the group they are teaching properly into account. 

Another key objective is to make the decision-making procedures on support measures clearer and to reduce the obligation of teachers to record entries into documentation on support measures. The number of pedagogical documents for support measures will be reduced and the preparation process for them will be streamlined, but in such a way that the identification, assessment and planning of the need for support can be carried out appropriately.

Teachers, students, stakeholders and experts were widely consulted during the legislative drafting process and a consultation round on the draft government proposal was carried out between May-June 2024. 

The core curricula will be updated by the Finnish National Agency for Education to comply with the amended legislation. The Finnish National Agency for Education will provide information on the updating of the core curricula on its website.

The Ministry of Education and Culture will organise training sessions on the amended legislation from the beginning of 2025. Information on the progress of the legislative amendment and the related training is provided on the following websites.

• Press release of the Ministry of Education and Culture (in Finnish)
• the Government Proposal (in Finnish) 

Finnish National Agency for Education: Support for pupils and students