School guide.

What is in the school guide?

The school guide contains a lot of practical information about the school and everything around it. The school guide also helps parents and students: what does the school year and education look like this year? The government finds some topics so important for the school guide that they are in the law. The school can always add extra information.

Set yearly

Every school must have a school guide and give it to parents and students each year. Parents get it at the start of the school year, on paper or digitally. Most schools have the guide on their website. Once the school guide is fixed and shared with parents, its content cannot change easily. That would change the rights and duties of parents and students after the school year has started.

Required information for primary and secondary education

There are national rules about what must be in the school guide. Every school must follow these. The guide has information about:

• The goals of the education and the results reached through the learning process. For example, how many children repeat a year, to which level students move on, what is the school’s passing rate, etc.
• How the required teaching time is filled: what are the lesson times, when are the vacations and study days, what is the policy on canceled lessons, etc.
• The facilities for basic support and the school’s support offer
• The way and amount of the voluntary parent contribution, making clear that the contribution is voluntary and no one can be excluded
• The rights and duties of parents, students, and the school: such as behavior codes or privacy policy.
• Information about the complaint procedure: where to go and the process if you have a complaint about the school.
• The safety policy: policy on safety, monitoring, who is anti-bullying coordinator, who is contact person for bullying, etc.
• The rules for illness reporting and absence at school.
• The form of the character or identity of the school in case of a partnership tailored education school.
• The partnership tailored education to which the school belongs.
• The school’s quality policy.

Required in school guide for primary school

Primary schools must also include these rules in the guide:

• How support for young children is given. How the school handles delays in group 1 and 2.
• The reasons for exemption from some education activities.
• How midday and afterschool care are organized.
• How the school advice and the final school advice are made and how the school actively informs parents and students about this.

Required in school guide for secondary education

Secondary schools must also include the following in the guide:

• The layout of the education program for the first two years. Including information about cross-subject program parts and the staff involved.
• The organization of any community service.
• The student participation policy: how students take part in school policy.

The role of the school participation council

Parents can discuss school policy through the school participation council. The school participation council has approval rights on the school guide. The school participation council also has a say on almost all topics in the school guide. The council plays an important role.