Pre-primary education in different languages

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In addition to Finnish and Swedish, the City of Helsinki offers many options for pre-primary education in other languages. Learn more about the options in different languages under the  sections below.  

The City of Helsinki arranges pre-primary education in different languages as Swedish-language immersion and as a variety of bilingual options. The bilingual options differ in terms of the language options and the amount of the languages in each option. The aim of bilingual pre-primary education is to develop the child’s language skills both in Finnish and in the new language. In pre-primary education, language learning takes place naturally as part of all activities, through play, songs and games. 

Please note that bilingual and English-language education does not automatically continue when the child goes to school. If you want to apply for a school place in bilingual or English-language basic education organised by the city, see the application guidelines on the page How and when to apply to basic education in different languages. Learn more about basic education in different languages and the language paths on page Basic education in different languages and on the schools' own websites.

In addition to the municipal options, private daycare centres and schools in Helsinki offer pre-primary education in English, Estonian, French, German, Russian, Spanish and Swedish, for example. 

Pre-primary education in Swedish

For pre-primary education entirely in Swedish, apply via the Education Division’s Swedish service department.

The City of Helsinki organises pre-primary education in Swedish as language immersion and as Swedish-enriched pre-primary education. In addition to the options run by the City, one private daycare centre in Helsinki offers pre-primary education in Swedish. 
 

 

Swedish-language immersion paths in Helsinki start in the early childhood education. Children who have started in Swedish-language immersion in daycare automatically get a place in the Swedish-language immersion in pre-primary education according to their own language immersion paths. If there are free places in the Swedish-language immersion groups, new children who start language immersion in pre-primary education stage can be admitted. It is recommended, however, that children start Swedish-language immersion before going to pre-primary education in the year they turn six. 

To learn more about the Swedish-language immersion programme and the paths, see Early Childhood Education in Swedish. 

Swedish-language immersion daycare centres offering pre-primary education 

How to apply to Swedish-language immersion in pre-primary education 
 

Children who have a place in Swedish-language immersion daycare automatically continue in the programme when they move on to pre-primary education in the year they turn six. Children always follow their own language immersion path. 

If you want your child to start in the Swedish-language immersion in pre-primary education:

  • Apply for a place by filling out and submitting a paper application for pre-primary education. Application form for pre-primary education, PDF
  • Choose the preferred daycare centre(s).
  • After the name of the daycare centre, write that the child is applying for a place in the the Swedish-language immersion group. 
  • Send your application during the appication period 14–29 February 2024.
  • Return the paper application via secure email or by post to Service Guidance for Early Childhood Education, P.O. Box 51300, 00099 City of Helsinki.
  • We will send you a decicion by the end of March 2023.

You can also apply to Swedish-language immersion outside the application period and get a place if there are places left in the groups. 

Swedish must be a new language to the child, and one of the home languages should be Finnish. It is also important that the family is willing to commit to the programme for the duration of the child’s language immersion path from pre-primary education to the end of ninth grade in comprehensive school. 

Children who have siblings in language immersion in grades 1-2 are given priority in the admissions. If there are more applicants than there are free places, the places will be decided by drawing lots. 

Language-enriched pre-primary education is bilingual education in which 10-25% of the activities are in Swedish and the rest is in Finnish. In Swedish-enriched pre-primary education, Swedish is used alongside Finnish in play, songs and other activities. The aim of the language-enriched pre-primary education is to familiarise the child with the Swedish language and to create a positive attitude towards language learning. Swedish-enriched pre-primary education is currently offered in one daycare centre run by the City of Helsinki. 

Please note that Swedish-enriched education does not automatically continue when the child goes to school. If you want to apply for a school place in bilingual or English-language basic education organised by the city, see the application guidelines on the page How and when to apply to basic education in different languages.  The schools' own websites.

Daycare centre offering Swedish-enriched pre-primary education:

How to apply to Swedish-enriched pre-primary education 

  • Places in Swedish-enriched pre-primary education are primarily offered to children who live in the admission area of the daycare centre that offers Swedish-enriched pre-primary education. 
  • Use the Asti online service to apply for a place in language-enriched pre-primary education as well as other daycare centres providing pre-primary education. Fill in the application for pre-primary education during the application period 14–29 February 2024, and choose the daycare centre you wish to apply for.
  • Language-enriched pre-primary education is organised if the group has personnel who know the language in question. Language-enriched pre-primary education is not necessarily provided to all pre-primary education groups of the daycare centre.
  • If your child has been offered a place at a daycare centre that provides language-enriched pre-primary education and you want to know more about your child’s group, please contact the daycare centre’s manager directly.

There is one private daycare centre in Helsinki that offers pre-primary education in Swedish. Learn more about the daycare centre on its website via the link below. 

Apply to private pre-primary education by contacting the daycare centre directly.  

Private daycare centre offering pre-primary education in Swedish: 

Pre-primary education in North Sami 

Daycare Susanna in the West Pasila district organises pre-primary education in North Sami at Pasila Comprehensive School. Pre-primary education in North Sami is based on the Sami values of language, family, community, strong identity, nature, traditional livelihoods, equality and humanity, multiculturalism, peace and peace-making. The aim of the North Sami-language pre-primary education is to teach a child to become an independent, responsible and social individual, and to support the development of a child's linguistic skills. 

All children are welcome to North Sami pre-primary education. No previous knowledge of the North Sami language is required. 

How to apply to pre-primary education in North Sami  

Pre-primary education in English 

The city of Helsinki offers pre-primary education in English as two different bilingual options. They are called Bilingual Finnish-English and English-enriched pre-primary education.

The way these two options differ is the amount of English as the language of instruction. In bilingual Finnish-English pre-primary education, 25–50% of the instruction is in English, and in English-enriched pre-primary education, 10–25% of the instruction is in English. 

In addition to the municipal options, Helsinki has private daycare centres and schools that offer pre-primary education partly or entirely in English. Learn more about the municipal and private options below. 

Please note that English-language education does not automatically continue when the child goes to school. If you want to apply for a school place in bilingual or English-language basic education organised by the city, see the application guidelines on the page How and when to apply to basic education in different languages. Learn more about basic education in different languages and the language paths on page Basic education in different languages and on the schools' own websites.

The following daycare centres run by the City of Helsinki offer bilingual Finnish-English pre-primary education.

Northeast Helsinki

East Helsinki

West Helsinki

How to apply to bilingual Finnish-English pre-primary education

  • Places in the daycare centres that offer bilingual Finnish-English pre-primary education are primarily offered to children who live within the admission area of the daycare centres. 
  • Children who do not live within the admission area can apply and get a place if there are free places in the group.
  • Apply for a place on Asti online service  by submitting an application for pre-primary education during the application period 14–29 February 2024. 
  • Choose the daycare centres you wish to apply to.  Daycare centres offering Finnish-English pre-primary education are listed above.  
  • Submit your application and notify the Service guidance for early childhood education and pre-primary education that you want a place for your child in a bilingual Finnish-English group.

The following daycare centres run by the City of Helsinki offer extensive bilingual Finnish-English pre-primary education.

North Helsinki

Northeast Helsinki

Southeast Helsinki

East Helsinki

South Helsinki

West Helsinki

Central Helsinki

How to apply to bilingual Finnish-English pre-primary education  

  • Places in the daycare centres that offer English-enriched pre-primary education are primarily offered to children who live within the admission area of the daycare centres. 
  • Use the Asti online service to apply for a place in English-enriched pre-primary education as well as other daycare centres providing pre-primary education. Fill in the application for pre-primary education during the application period 14–29 February 2024, and choose the daycare centre you wish to apply for.
  • Language-enriched pre-primary education is organised if the group has personnel who know the language in question. Language-enriched pre-primary education is not necessarily provided to all pre-primary education groups of the daycare centre.
  • If your child has been offered a place at a daycare centre that provides English-enriched pre-primary education and you want to know more about your child’s group, please contact the daycare centre’s manager directly.

Some private daycare centres and schools offer pre-primary education entirely in English and others 25–50% in English. 

Apply for a place in a private pre-primary education by contacting the daycare centre or school of your preference directly. 

Private fully English pre-primary education in the school year 2023–2024

 The following private daycare centres and schools in Helsinki offer pre-primary education entirely in English in the school year 2023–2024. Learn more about the options via the links below: 

Private bilingual pre-primary education in the school year 2023–2024

The following private daycare centres and schools in Helsinki offers bilingual Finnish-English pre-primary education. Learn more about them via the links below: 

Pre-primary education in other languages

In addition to Finnish, Swedish and North Sami, Helsinki offers a wide range of pre-primary education options in different languages. Pre-primary education in different languages is offered in the City of Helsinki daycare centres, private daycare centres and private schools. 

Please note that foreign-language education does not automatically continue when the child goes to school. If you want to apply for a school place in bilingual or English-language basic education organised by the city, see the application guidelines on the page How and when to apply to basic education in different languages. Learn more about basic education in different languages and the language paths on page Basic education in different languages and on the schools' own websites.

The City of Helsinki organises language-enriched pre-primary education in several languages. In language-enriched pre-primary education, the amount of the target language is 10-25% of the activities and the rest is in Finnish. The target language is used alongside Finnish in playing, singing and other functional methods. The aim is that the child gets familiar with the new language and builds a positive attitude towards language learning.

Language-enriched pre-primary education is available in English, French, Russian and Swedish. Learn more about the daycare centres below.

French-enriched pre-primary education: 

North Helsinki

Northeast Helsinki

Russian-enriched pre-primary education:

East Helsinki

How to apply to language-enriched pre-primary education 

  • Places in the daycare centres that offer language-enriched pre-primary education are primarily offered to children who live within the admission area of the daycare centres. Children who do not live within the admission area can apply and get a place if there are free places in the group. 
  • Fill in the application for pre-primary education on the Asti online service during the application period 14–29 February 2024. You can submit an application after the application period, too. 
  • Choose your preferred daycare centre.
  • Submit your application and notify the Service guidance for early childhood education and pre-primary education that you want a place for your child in the French-enriched or Russian-enriched group.

Private daycare centres in Helsinki offer pre-primary education in different languages either as bilingual options or entirely in the target language. 

To apply for a place in a private daycare centre, contact the daycare centre or school of your preference directly. 

Pre-primary education in different languages in private daycare centres and schools 2023–2024

Estonian 

French 

German 

Deutsche Schule Helsinki provides pre-primary education in the following German-language daycare centres:

Spanish