Support for learning and school attendance

Every pupil has the right to receive support and guidance for their learning and school attendance as soon as the need for support arises.

Support for learning and school attendance strengthens the pupil's basic skills and provides proactive measures to prevent difficulties from arising in the future. With the help of this support, the pupil can achieve his/her own learning targets.

Support for growth and learning is based on effective cooperation between home and school.

Support for learning from 1.8.2025

The new Act on Allowance for Pre-primary and Basic Education entered into force on 1 August 2025. The school year 2025–2026 will be a transition year, during which the need for support for pupils receiving the current intensified or special support will be assessed and the support measures will be updated to comply with the new Act. The need for support is assessed in cooperation with each pupil and their guardians.

The legislative reform that entered into force on 1 August 2025 brought many structural and operational changes to teaching and the organisation of support for learning and school attendance. In the future, the school attendance and learning of all pupils will be supported by teaching arrangements that support the prerequisites for learning, as well as group-specific forms of support in accordance with the needs of the group and the pupils.

Educational arrangements that support the prerequisites for learning include but are not limited to strengthening cooperation between teachers in every school and grouping pupils during lessons. Group-specific forms of support include general remedial teaching, remedial teaching in the language of instruction, and teaching provided by a special education teacher in connection with other teaching. General remedial teaching can include, for example, familiarising the pupil with the learning content in advance, or reviewing the content and completed exercises afterwards.

Remedial teaching in the language of instruction can be provided to pupils who do not have sufficient Finnish language skills to complete the basic education syllabus. In this case, remedial teaching is aimed at strengthening spoken and written language skills. Remedial teaching also supports pupils in reading, understanding, and interpreting texts in different subjects, as well as in producing texts in these subjects.

Remedial teaching in the language of instruction is provided to pupils who need additional support in learning the language. It is intended for pupils with an immigrant background and sign language, as well as those with language development disorders or language difficulties related to intellectual disability, multiple developmental disorders or autism spectrum disorders.

If group-specific forms of support are not sufficient and the pupil needs more individual support, he or she is also entitled to receive pupil-specific support measures. These refer to, for example, regular teaching provided by a special education teacher either partly or fully in a small group, or teaching provided by a special needs class teacher in a special needs class.

Names of teaching groups from 1.8.2025 in Jyväskylä

Small groups of pupil-specific support (previously small groups and regional small groups)  

In small groups of pupil-specific support, the pupil receives instruction from a special education teacher or a special needs class teacher in certain subjects in a small group, or partly in connection with other teaching. The pupils receive most of their teaching in the general education class, which is their primary teaching group. The size of a small group can be ten pupils at maximum.

Special needs class (previously a group for demanding special support)

In a special needs class, teaching is provided by a special needs class teacher. Pupils study all or most of their subjects in a special needs class. The special needs class teacher is responsible for the planning, implementation and evaluation of teaching, and acts as the class teacher and supervisor of the class. The maximum class size is ten pupils.

ELO classes (formerly EMO) are special classes for pupils in grades 2–9 who need long-term support due to emotional or behavioral support needs.

The abbreviation for preparatory education groups is VALO (formerly VARY). All foreign-language pupils arriving in Jyväskylä participate in preparatory education organised in basic education. In preparatory education, pupils usually study for about a year, after which the pupil transfers to a school in their own residential area.