Welfare in Finland
The Student Welfare Act (2013) ensures students' access to services like psychologists, social workers, and healthcare which uses a preventative and collaborative approach to well-being.[1] There are two types of student welfare services, the communal student welfare and individual student welfare. Schools, parents and welfare teams work together to support students health to create a positive education environment.[2] Finland's student welfare policies is based on high-learning outcomes, decentralized governance, and a focus on equity through public spending.[1] Finland's welfare framework also includes a strong emphasis on inclusive and special-needs education through a three-tier support system, which are: general, intensified, and special support.[3] This is aimed to diversify teaching for different students' needs for inclusivity. The National Institute for Health and Welfare is responsible for coordinating and developing national student welfare services in collaboration with the Finnish National Agency for Education, with the oversight of The Regional State Administrative Agencies to ensure coherence with the curriculum.[2]
Education is free for all levels, and students can receive financial aid including a study grant, state-guaranteed student loan, and housing support.[4] In higher education, free healthcare are provided to all students of all levels. Children receive free dental care until the age of 18 and vaccinations are given with parental consent. Free school meals are provided for students through the end of upper secondary education, while higher education students can receive meal aids through the national social security institution, Kela.[5] These welfare services are aimed to reduce socio-economic disparities and promote equity in learning environments. However, recent years have faced challenges, particularly in mental health service access, with reports of long queues for youth psychological support and uneven availability of school-based mental health professionals across municipalities.[6]
The 2025 Finnish Government, led by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, plans to reform how student welfare services are organized and delivered. Early in the government term, a full review was carried out to examine how effective and cost-efficient current services are. The results may lead to changes that allow municipalities to take a larger role in organizing student welfare. The government also plans legislative updates to make services more consistent across the country, improve information sharing between authorities, and ensure students can access support without long waiting times. Cooperation between different agencies will be strengthened. In addition, the Finnish Student Health Service (YTHS) will be more closely linked with the wider health and social welfare system so that student health care is better coordinated. These reforms are intended to clarify the roles of central government, municipalities, and wellbeing services counties in supporting children and young people.[7]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Rawkins, Christa; Figueroa, Diana Toledo (June 2020). "OECD Education Policy Perspectives No.14: Education Policy Outlook in Finland" (PDF). Retrieved 3 December 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Pupil and student welfare - Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö". Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö. Archived from the original on 2025-06-26. Retrieved 2025-12-03. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Yada, Akie (2020). "Different Processes Towards Inclusion: A Cross-Cultural Investigation of Teachers' Self-Efficacy in Japan and Finland". JYU Dissertations. ISBN 978-951-39-8073-3 – via ResearchGate.
- ↑ "Finnish education system - Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö". Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö. Archived from the original on 2025-09-01. Retrieved 2025-12-04. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Finnish education system - Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö". Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö. Archived from the original on 2025-09-01. Retrieved 2025-12-04. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe (2025). "Improving access to mental health care for children and adolescents: lessons from Finland". (Improving Affordable Access to Health Care Series) – via Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
- ↑ Finnish Government Helsinki Finland (2023). A strong and committed Finland Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's Government 20 June 2023. Helsinki Finland: Publications of the Finnish Government 2023:60. ISBN 978-952-383-818-5. Search this book on
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