In addition to teachers, schools also have other adults who can provide support when a pupil has trouble with schoolwork or classmates or is feeling down, for example.
The school social workers and psychologists are professionals in pupil welfare and can help them in various situations. It is good to contact the professionals before the potential problems get worse. The contact information of the school social workers and psychologists can be found on the school websites.
There is no need to be nervous or afraid about meeting with the school social worker or psychologist. They are at the school for the pupils. The pupil’s affairs are always handled confidentially as agreed with the pupil and their guardians.
The school social worker or psychologist can work with either an individual pupil or a group to resolve the challenges.
Pupil welfare services' Jelppii.fi website (available in Finnish only)(Link leads to external service) includes more information about the psychologists’ and school social workers’ services. It also offers self-help methods and information about other support services for children and young people.
Various professionals support pupils’ wellbeing
The schools have multi-professional pupil welfare groups who work to support everyone’s wellbeing and safety. The teams can include the principal, a school nurse and school doctor, a school social worker and school psychologist, a special needs teacher, a guidance counsellor and, when needed, the class teacher or group instructor. An individual pupil can also be assigned a multi-professional group of experts that will involve the required professionals.