Pupil and student welfare in Finland

Pupils in pre-primary, primary and lower secondary school as well as students in upper secondary school have the right to pupil and student welfare services (also known as student welfare).
It consists of student welfare and student welfare services as specified in the education provider's curriculum. These include the services of psychologists and school social workers as well as pupil and student healthcare services.

In pre-primary education, the healthcare services are part of pupil welfare as organised under the Health Care Act, provided in the form of age group-specific children’s clinic services.

Pupil and student welfare is primarily preventive student welfare that supports the school community as a whole. In the school community, this means an institutional culture that includes collaborative activities and cooperation between the school and home as well as measures that promote safety.
Students are also entitled to individualised student welfare, which aims to help the student learn, be healthy, experience wellbeing and a sense of inclusion and to prevent problems from arising. The purpose is also to ensure that high-quality student welfare services are available and that students have access to early support.

Student welfare is implemented and managed as one operational entity and as systematic multi-professional cooperation between teaching staff, health and social services, students and their parents and guardians as well as any other actors deemed necessary.

Organising student welfare

Education providers are responsible for ensuring that student welfare is provided as specified in the curriculum. It must be a collaborative effort between different actors in such a way that it forms a functional and systematic entity. The education providers must supply information to the students and their parents and guardians on student welfare and, when necessary, guide students to seek help from student welfare services.

The wishes and opinions of students must be taken into consideration when adopting any measures and decisions involving them, bearing in mind the student's age, level of development and other personal capabilities. Based on the provisions in law, minors may forbid their parents or guardians from taking part in matters involving student welfare, and may also forbid student welfare authorities from supplying confidential information related to them to the student's parents or guardians. Parents and guardians are not entitled to forbid a minor from using student welfare services.
The municipality in which the school is located is responsible for organising the services of a psychologist and school social worker in their area, regardless of the municipality the student resides in. Students who are minors are entitled to receive, free of charge, such student welfare services as are deemed necessary for being able to attend instruction and education.

 Guidance and supervision

Decisions on cooperation between the home and school, the key principles for student welfare, and the objectives for student welfare related to education are made within the scope of the national core curriculum (or other provisions in the Basic Education Act or in the Act on General Upper Secondary Education).
The education providers evaluate the implementation and impact of student welfare and carry out in-house supervision of overall student welfare in cooperation with the authorities in municipal education administration and health and social services administration.
The National Institute for Health and Welfare is responsible for the coordination and development of national student welfare services in cooperation with the Finnish National Agency for Education. The Regional State Administrative Agencies oversee that the education providers organise student welfare in accordance with the curriculum.

Link:

Finnish National Agency for Education: Support for pupils and students

Learning support in Finland

The Finnish basic education system has been based on the philosophy of inclusion for a long time. Basic education is the same for all. In order to be able to provide equal opportunities for learning to every pupil, support actions play a key role. Inclusion and individual learning support requires different professionals available for the needs of students. Modern teaching professionalism involves active co-operation between teachers, teaching assistants, other professionals and parents.

Education assistant

Multitasking professional supporting school work and running the club activities

• Education assistants are offering truly precious extra hands for varying tasks for enabling the quality activities and functioning in the field of education.
• The assistants work as a co-worker with teachers on all the education levels from early education to upper secondary education.
• Within basic education, the assistant usually belongs to a team of a class teacher or a special needs teacher, or then works as an assistant of many groups.
• Through the assistant expertise, it is possible to make the benefit of multiple and varying teaching methods. A large group of pupils can be shared into smaller teams, and the use of several learning environments is possible when professionals team up. However, teachers always hold the pedagogical and curriculum-based responsibility of the education work.
• Another typical key role for an assistant is also to work as a personal guide to a pupil with special needs.
• Education assistants often run the morning and afternoon activities within basic education premises in addition to the school hours. The younger the pupils, the shorter the school days are. For instance, afternoon clubs run by a familiar professional are truly needed.

Special education teacher

The teacher whose expertise is there to provide support for individual needs

• Special needs teachers and special class teachers provide special needs education and individual support for pupils with varying needs.
• Special needs education may be necessary due to mental, physical, behavioural or other reasons. Gifted pupils and students might also need special support for their studies.
• Special needs teachers require knowledge of special needs education and teaching as well as an understanding and acceptance of differences.
• Special needs teachers might work in all the education levels or in varying types of institutions.
• In Finnish education, the general target is to follow the philosophy of an inclusive education. The aim is to facilitate basic education in the pupil’s home school. Through support and flexible methods, many of the individual learning needs can be met within a general classroom and curriculum.
• The fundamental principle of Finnish education is to provide equal opportunities for learning and growth to every pupil or student. Support for learners plays a key role.
• The support is organised systematically through a three-step- model. The focus is on the earliest possible support in order to prevent the growth of problems.
• The special needs teacher is usually a teacher of all the pupils of the school. The role involves intensive co-operation with class teachers, noticing the possible support actions needed and facilitating the methods according to the individual study plans. A significant team member of the special needs teacher is often an educational assistant. (Scroll down for more information)
• Special class teachers work intensively with their own class with a small number of pupils who need full-time special needs support. Within recent years, the number of special classes has decreased significantly as the support has been brought actively to the circumstances of a general education.

Guidance counsellor

Professional support for pupils’ individual study or career paths

• A guidance counsellor provides study and career guidance in all the education levels and at a variety of educational institutions.
• The guidance counsellor’s role varies from group interventions to a pupil’s personal guiding processes.
• The guidance counsellors are helping students searching for suitable options according to their future plans, making the connections and training periods with companies possible, and supporting students’ entrepreneurial path.
• Guidance counselling is one of the topics in the national curriculum that educators must provide according to the students’ needs.