In the school year 2026–2027, the City of Helsinki schools invest in children's wellbeing by promoting an active lifestyle and reducing the use of mobile devices. Printed learning materials will be used more than before, and students' language skills will be strengthened by increasing the amount of Finnish/Swedish as a first or second language instruction.
Changes to the admission areas in East Helsinki in autumn 2027 have sparked a lot of discussion during the summer months.
Making active lifestyle part of everyday school life
From August 2026 onwards, promoting an active lifestyle will be one of the objectives of comprehensive education. Opportunities for physical activity at school support the learning abilities of children and young people and their wellbeing. Measures such as break-time activities and physical activity during the school day will help increase the daily physical activity of students.
Another aim is to incorporate physical activity naturally into the school day and break up the time that students spend sitting down. Teachers are encouraged to make use of the entire school yard and the surrounding area in their teaching to naturally increase the students’ physical activity throughout the school day. An active lifestyle will also be promoted through morning and after-school activities, clubs and leisure activities, as well as through school journey and school transport arrangements.
This year, every school will draw up plans to promote an active lifestyle, setting out the specific measures, responsibilities and objectives for this purpose.
Use of mobile devices to remain strictly restricted
The rules on the use of mobile devices in the City of Helsinki’s municipal comprehensive schools were tightened already during the last school year. Students have only been allowed to use their devices during the school day with the teacher’s or principal’s permission as a learning aid or for health reasons.
In spring 2026, schools were instructed to update their rules and regulations so that school days are entirely mobile device-free. However, it is the responsibility of school boards to draw up and approve the school rules and regulations.
“We recommend that the school rules should completely prohibit primary school students in grades 1 to 6 from using mobile devices during the school day, including during break times. In addition to this, we encourage 7th to 9th graders in lower secondary schools to keep their break times mobile device-free. According to the feedback received, lessons without mobile devices are calmer and students can concentrate better,” say Ville Raatikainen, Director of Comprehensive Education and Niclas Grönholm, Director of Swedish-language services.
Textbooks and digital learning materials
In 2026, Helsinki will have increased its budget for comprehensive school textbooks by 1.5 million euros. The use of printed teaching materials is emphasised in the procurement of teaching materials and tools.
Schools run by the city of Helsinki use printed textbooks particularly for the theoretical subjects. Digital learning materials are used in most schools, but less so than printed textbooks.
Both printed and digital learning materials have long been used in Helsinki, and this will continue. Learning materials are always selected on pedagogical grounds.
Helsinki to focus on improving literacy
The instruction of Finnish or Swedish as a mother tongue and literature has already been increased nationwide, and the additional lessons have been allocated to grades 1 and 3 in Helsinki. Thanks to the extra lessons added by Helsinki, the teaching of mother tongue and literature will also increase by one lesson a week for 5th and 6th graders during this school year. The goal of these extra lessons is to support the development of students’ Finnish or Swedish language skills during comprehensive education.
In Helsinki, the aim is for every young person leaving school to have the reading and writing skills needed to succeed in further studies and working life.
Upcoming changes in East Helsinki admission areas
In spring 2026, the Finnish-language Education Committee made decisions regarding changes to the school admission areas in the Itäkeskus and Myllypuro districts, as well as in the Mellunkylä and Vartiokylä districts. The changes will come into effect in stages from August 2027 and will apply to new students starting school.
Changes to school admission areas are being made because some schools in the area are overcrowded, whilst others have more spare capacity. The key aim of the changes is to ensure that each school has an appropriate number of pupils and that teaching can be delivered in a varied and safe way. The changes are influenced by population forecasts for the area, refurbishments of school buildings, and new projects which may involve merging schools to form functional units. For example, in the case of Myllypuro and Itäkeskus areas, the aim is to have two schools each with 700 pupils, rather than one with 1,000 and the other with 400.
"From the perspective of a peaceful working and learning environment, it is not ideal that study groups expand and the premises become restless in one area, when there are more spacious premises available nearby. The solutions take the length of children's school journey into account and actions will be taken to ensure a safe journey to school," says Ville Raatikainen.
The development of children's Finnish-language skills in the area's schools has been a popular topic of discussion. Every school invests in learning Finnish and the basis of which the school admission areas are formed is not children's language skills.
"It is unfortunate for students, parents, guardians and our excellent and skilled staff if schools are being labelled based on preconceptions. A new school year starts next week, and I want to wish all our schools a peaceful start of the year and joyous moments of learning for the upcoming autumn term," says Director of Education Division, Satu Järvenkallas.