The focus of support for learning and school attendance will be moved to proactive and early support. In the future, priority will be given to group-specific support, which all pupils will have the right to.
Various teaching arrangements and pedagogical solutions can be used to take slower and quicker learners into account. In addition to support provided in groups, pupils can receive pupil-specific support, such as instruction provided by a special educational needs teacher.
The legislative changes will enter into force on 1 August 2025, but the school year 2025–2026 will be a transition period, meaning that the way support is provided will not change immediately at the start of the school year in August.
A lot of work has been done for the major changes
City of Helsinki comprehensive schools have been preparing for the legislative changes already since last autumn.
“Even though these new changes to providing support are significant, the survey on our school staff showed that staff feel that we are already doing things the way that the new law requires,” says Principal of Suutarinkylä Comprehensive School Paula Järnefelt.
“We have already assessed the need for pupils' support from the perspective of the new law, and we have reviewed and planned the existing resources of our school and their allocation in a new way,” she continues.
Principal Järnefelt welcomes the fact that the reform reduces teachers' administrative work and frees up time to plan and implement the support. Group-specific support and cooperation between teachers allow for addressing challenges with learning and school attendance immediately without separate support decisions or written plans.
Changes require strong management and cooperation
According to Paula Järnefelt, major changes call for leadership from the principal. Dialogue with staff is of the utmost importance if the change is to be carried out together.
“Arranging support requires cooperation between all the school's employees. Together, we have been thinking about how we can support teacher cooperation and how we should utilise the competence of special educational needs teachers. The shared values of our school enable us to be well prepared for teacher cooperation and to support different learners,” says Järnefelt.
Since the group-specific forms of support apply to all teaching groups and teachers, it is also important to ensure that the staff have sufficient skills to support and arrange for learning.
“We are all learning together. As the school principal, I will make sure that we monitor and assess the progress of the change. Encouragement, rewarding and sharing skills are important,” Järnefelt says.
Change is made together, step by step
With the support reform, changes will also be made to the curricula and local curricula will be specified. The legislative changes will impact municipalities' finances and funding. The city must also ensure staff adequacy and the development of competence. Pupil information systems should also be developed so that the implementation of the support according to the new law can be monitored smoothly.
“Legislative changes to support in learning impact many things,” says Project Manager Heidi Roponen from the City of Helsinki, and continues:
“The schedule for implementing such a major reform is very tight for us education providers. Despite specifying things in phases even at the national level, we have taken a positive approach towards the change and will be taking it one step at a time.”
According to Roponen, City of Helsinki schools already have excellent structures and competence that support the implementation of larger changes, as well.
“We have started preparing for the changes well in advance and we are implementing this change together with the schools. Schools have planned the next school year and the practical arrangement of support. At their best, legislative changes bring clarity and make support tangible for the pupil,” Roponen says.
In addition to basic education, arrangement for support in learning will also change in pre-primary education and general upper secondary education as of 1 August 2025, and one year later in vocational education and training.
Learn more about the changes on the City of Helsinki website at Changes in support for learning 2025 . The page is available in English, Finnish and Swedish.