Roughly 6,000 children will start school in Helsinki in the autumn. Helsinki-based children born in 2019 will start their compulsory education on Thursday 12 August 2026. You can enrol your child in school either online between 12–25 January 2026 or by visiting the school on Wednesday 21 January 2026. The future first-graders were sent a Tervetuloa kouluun guide (‘Welcome to school’), a comprehensive information package on starting school, in November 2025. Information on starting school is also available at hel.fi/welcometoschool.
See your local school in the compulsory education note and online at asti.hel.fi
Your child’s local school will be listed in the compulsory education note sent to your child’s home address and online at asti.hel.fi on 12–25 January 2026 after you log in. Compulsory education notes will be sent to children’s home addresses starting on 7 January 2026.
School enrolment primarily online
Guardians can enrol their child in school online at asti.hel.fi on 12–25 January 2026. The service is available in Finnish, Swedish and English. At asti.hel.fi, you can enrol your child in their Finnish- or Swedish-language local school as well as to weighted-curriculum or bilingual education, and other than the child’s local school. In addition, children attending pre-primary education in a Swedish-language immersion group can enrol in a Swedish-language immersion school according to their language immersion path. If you want to enrol your child in a school that is not your child’s Finnish-language or Swedish-language local school, all guardians of the child must give written consent on Asti by 25 January 2026.
Guardians can also enrol their child by visiting the school on Wednesday 21 January 2026 at 8.00–10.00. If the school operates in several units, enrol at the main school. Enrolment will be primarily done online at asti.hel.fi also at the school. In order to enrol, guardians must bring the child’s compulsory education note and necessary identification (e.g. Finnish online banking credentials).
In some cases, you can only enrol at the school. If your child is starting school a year later or has been granted extended compulsory education, or if your child is applying to a school other than the child’s own local school, enrol at the school in question.
Morning and after-school activities for pupils
The city organises after-school activities for 1st and 2nd-graders who have an administrative decision on learning support. The application period for after-school activities is 16 March−13 April 2026. The decisions will be sent to homes by the beginning of July 2026. Additional information is available at.. hel.fi/afterschoolactivities.
The schools provide basic education morning activities before the lessons for all 1st and 2nd-graders and for 3rd and 4th graders who have an administrative decision on learning support. You can enrol your child in morning activities through the Wilma system in August 2026 when school starts. No separate decision will be made on morning activities, Wilma enrolment is enough. Schools will provide more information on morning activities in August. Additional information is available at hel.fi/morningactivities.
Advisory services provide more information
The Education Division advisory services will help you in all matters related to school enrolment, tel. +358 9 310 44986, Mon–Fri at 10.00–12.00 and 13.00–15.00. Help is also available for online enrolment, tel. +358 9 310 27196, Mon–Fri at 8.00–18.00.
