Pupils moving to Vantaa

“We moved to Finland from abroad, and my child should attend school. What should I do?”

If you have just moved to Finland, contact the regional coordinator of the area where you live. The regional coordinator will find out which school your child can start attending.

• Here you can check which region you live in.
• You can find contact information for regional coordinators here. For example, if you live in the Myyrmäki major district, please contact the Myyrmäki regional coordinator.

Provide the regional coordinator with all the following information:

• the child’s name
• the child's date of birth or personal identity code
• the child’s mother tongue
• the child’s address in Vantaa
• details of the child’s guardians (names, phone numbers and email addresses)

The regional coordinator will send the child’s information to the school the child can start attending. The school will arrange a meeting. If necessary, the school will invite an interpreter to the meeting.

Please note this exception! If you are moving back to Finland from abroad and your child already speaks Finnish, please send an email to lahikoulu@vantaa.fi. Check the section “Pupils moving to Vantaa” for the information you need to provide by email.

Preparatory education

If your child does not speak Finnish, they must start school in preparatory teaching for basic education. In preparatory teaching, the child learns Finnish and school subjects. Read more about preparatory teaching for basic education.

Watch the video to see what preparatory teaching is. The video is available with subtitles in the following languages: Arabic, Albanian, English, Somali, Estonian, Russian.

International School of Vantaa and teaching provided in English

Pupils who move from abroad to Finland can apply to Vantaa International School or education provided in English. When pupils apply to Vantaa International School or for English-language education, they must complete an entrance exam. Inquiries:

• International school of Vantaa
• Basic education in English (at the schools Kaivokselan koulu and Rekolanmäen koulu)

Multilingual instructors can help

Multilingual counsellors can help you when you enrol your child in school. Multilingual counsellors speak English, Arabic, Albanian, Somali, Russian and Estonian. You can find contact information for multilingual instructors here.

“We moved from another Finnish city to Vantaa and my child should start attending school. What should I do?”

When you move to Vantaa from another Finnish city and your child has already attended school in Finland, please send all of the following information by email to lahikoulu@vantaa.fi:

• the child’s name
• child’s personal identity code
• details of the child’s guardians (names and email addresses)
• the child’s address in Vantaa
• the date when the child moves to Vantaa
• date when the child starts school
• age group in which the child starts school
• which school the child has previously attended
• in which city the child has previously lived
• does the child need learning support or special support?
• has the child received preparatory teaching at their previous school?

A district manager will decide which school the child can start to attend.

Children who do not speak Finnish fluently are taught Finnish as a second language (S2). Children attend S2 teaching until they understand, speak and read Finnish fluently.

After children have first attended preparatory education, they are automatically included in S2 teaching.

If children speak as their native tongue a language other than Finnish or Swedish, they can be taught their native tongue. Vantaa’s teaching of pupils’ own native tongue covers approximately 35 languages. Vantaa provides teaching of pupils’ own native tongues when possible.

Pupils’ own native tongue is not a mandatory subject, but it is beneficial as it supports pupils’ thinking, language skills and multicultural identity.

We are moving to Vantaa in the middle of the school year and my child should start attending a school. What should I do?

If you move to Finland from abroad and your child does not speak Finnish, your child can start their schooling in preparatory teaching. Contact your regional coordinator to find out where your child can start school. See more detailed instructions at the beginning of this page, under the heading “Pupils moving to Finland”.

If you are moving from another Finnish city to Vantaa and your child has already attended school in Finland, please contact lahikoulu@vantaa.fi and provide the child’s and their guardian’s details. See more detailed instructions at the beginning of this page, under the heading “Pupils moving to Vantaa”.

Why cannot I choose which school my child attends?

Vantaa is divided into four student admission areas. The district managers of basic education decide which school children go to. The school closest to a pupil’s home is not necessarily the school the child starts attending. District managers decide on children’s schools to keep the group sizes in schools manageable.

I am not satisfied with the school my child should start attending. I want a place in another school. What should I do?

You can apply for a place at another school if the local school determined for your child is unsatisfactory. Submit the application to the school in which you are applying for a place.

I did not enrol my child in school in January. What should I do?

Send an email to lahikoulu@vantaa.fi.

What is Wilma? How do I get my Wilma credentials?

Wilma is an internet-based system for communication between home and school. You can find instructions on how to use Wilma and get Wilma credentials here.

My Wilma credentials do not work. What should I do?

Please contact the school secretary first. If the school secretary cannot help, please contact primuswilmatuki@vantaa.fi.

I do not have online banking credentials. How do I get my Wilma credentials?

If your child starts first grade, you will be sent a key code from primuswilmatuki@vantaa.fi which you can use to create your Wilma credentials. If your child starts in grades 2–9, the school secretary will send you a key code with which you can create your Wilma credentials.

Where can I get help in my own language?

There are multilingual counsellors in the Vantaa Info center in Myyrmäki, at Vantaa Employment and Integration Services Office in Tikkurila, and at International House Helsinki. The service languages are Finnish, Swedish, English, Estonian, Russian, Somali, Dari, Farsi, Chinese, Albanian, Ukrainian and Italian. Read more about Vantaa’s multilingual guidance here.

Schools also have multilingual instructors who can help you. Multilingual counsellors speak English, Arabic, Albanian, Somali, Russian and Estonian. You can find contact information for multilingual instructors here.

Children aged 7–16 attend basic education. Vantaa has primary schools, lower secondary schools and unified schools.

• Primary schools include grades 1–6. The children are about 7–12 years old.
• Lower secondary schools include grades 7–9. The children are about 13–15 years old.
• Unified schools can include grades from both primary and secondary school (grades 1–9, for example).

Educational options for older children:

• TUVA education aims to give students the capacity to study in a general upper secondary school or vocational college. Read more about TUVA education.
• The IB programme of Tikkurilan lukio upper secondary school is intended for 15–16-year-olds who have graduated from basic education and want to complete an international matriculation exam in English. Read more about the IB programme (in Finnish).
• Vocational College Varia’s studies intended for people speaking a foreign language.

If your child is 6 years old, they attend pre-primary education instead of school. Read more about pre-primary education.

If your child is under 6 years old, they do not attend school; instead, they can attend daycare. Read more about day care centres.