Coming with a Family [City of Tampere]

Tampere is a great place for a family to live in. Family is so important to us in Finland that we do our best to provide the best support and assistance for families, such as flexible and reasonable working hours so you have a chance to spend time with your family, a combined 14 months maternity/paternity leave and more.

Tampere is also a great place for a child to grow up in and we believe in ensuring that our services provide safety and comfort to every child living here. In Finland, we believe that easing the life of a parent makes a happy family. How serious are we about ensuring the safety of our children?

You can find out more about general family support and services, and read about how we safeguard the children’s rights through acts and decrees at Bringing up children in Finland (infofinland.fi).

For more information on benefits for families, refer to Families (Kela.fi).

Services for Families

Finland provides a lot of support and services for mothers-to-be and new mothers, from consultancy regarding pregnancy, childbirth and taking care of a new baby to interpreter for your childbirth and free health and dental care for your children up to 15 years old. You can find out more about Finland’s services in general at Pregnancy and childbirth (infofinland.fi). Select ‘Tampere’ to get local services and contact details.

In Finland, we do our best to ensure the comfort and convenience for a family with a newborn baby. Therefore, a family who is registered with a permanent municipal residency (EU or non EU) can choose to claim either a maternity grant or a maternity package if they are giving birth here in Finland.

The Wellbeing services county of Pirkanmaa is responsible for the healthcare, social, and rescue services for the residents of the Pirkanmaa region. There are many services available for children, young people and families. Find out more at Services for children, young people and families - pirha.fi.

As mentioned above, children are very important to Finland and we do everything we could to protect them and ensure their safety and happiness. If your child is registered as a resident in a municipal, he/she has the right to free public health services. The parents also have the right to stay at home to take care of a sick child for up to 4 days, please check the respective collective agreement or the company’s HR to find out if it will be a paid or unpaid leave. For more information on the different services Finland offers for children, please click to Children’s health (infofinland.fi).

The Wellbeing services county of Pirkanmaa is responsible for the healthcare, social, and rescue services for the residents of the Pirkanmaa region. There are many services available for children, young people and families. Find out more at Services for children, young people and families - pirha.fi.

Not only does Finland not discriminate a person with disability, we also do our best to provide the best possible care and services for those with disability. We believe that a disabled person has the right to live their life as normal as possible, such as studying, working or even start a family. The city of Tampere offers services, such as transportation and assistance services. If you are registered here with a permanent local address, you are entitled to the disability services. You can find out more at Disabled persons (infofinland.fi).

The allowance and services are divided in 3 tiers:

Day Care

Tampere aims to provide a high-quality, goal-oriented early childhood education and care that supports children's growth, development and well-being. The child's learning conditions are supported through pedagogical activities. Early childhood education and care combines care, education and teaching by trained early education teachers and child nurses.

Parents normally enroll their children in preschool education in January or February. Check the time well in advance with your local school services (koulutoimi) or education services (sivistystoimi).

Preschool education is free-of-charge. During the day, the child will receive a free meal. If the child lives far away (over 5 km) or the route is difficult, he or she will receive free transport.

Parents can choose the type of day care services and support that best suits their child from the following options:

Municipal day care or family care: all children under school age (7) are entitled to receive municipal day care. More info below about the day care centres in Tampere.
Child home care allowance is provided if one of the parents or, for example, a relative takes care of the child/children at home and the youngest child is under 3.
Private day care allowance is provided through Kela if the child’s care provider is a private service supplier approved by the municipal authority. More information on Kela allowance at Private day care allowance | Kela
Play club activities, in which case the child’s right to the child home care allowance is maintained.

Find more information about the Early childhood education in Tampere.

Tampere has 82 municipal day care centres. They provide whole-day and part-time day care as well as shift and evening care. A child’s care days and hours are arranged together with the parents. In addition to municipal day care centres, there are multiple private day care centres.

If you are looking for a day care group in some other language than Finnish, there are for example:

English-speaking day care Sunshine Early Learning Centre

English-speaking day care The English School of Tampere aka “Enkku”
Bilingual (Finnish & French) group at Amurin päiväkoti
Bilingual (Finnish & German) speaking group at Kissanmaan päiväkoti

Find more information about the Daycare centres in Tampere.

The early education fee depends on the family’s income, family size, and how many hours a week your child will attend early childhood education. A discount is granted for the day care fees of any siblings. If the family has a very low income, early childhood education may be free of charge.

Apply for a municipal early childhood education place from your municipality at least four months before your child is due to start day care. A place can be granted within two weeks if the parents get a job or a student position.

Get more information and apply by contacting Early Childhood and Preschool Education Customer Service.

Email [email protected]
Tel. 040 800 7260, calls Mon–Fri 9 am – 12 am
Opening hours of the office: Mon–Fri 9 am – 4 pm
Frenckellinaukio 2B
33101 Tampere

Find more information about the Early childhood education in Tampere.

Preschool Education and Basic Education

In Finland, preschool and basic education is compulsory for all children. Normally, children enter preschool education at the age of six and comprehensive school at the age of seven. The basic education normally lasts for nine years. The school attended is one close to the child’s home. The school year starts in August and ends in May or June. The Christmas holiday divides the school year into the autumn semester and the spring semester.

Age:

Pre-school 6
Comprehensive school 7-17

Cost:
Free-of-charge

Preschool and Basic Education

The pupils whose native language or one of their languages is other than Finnish, Swedish, or Sámi are multilingual. Pupils whose language skills are not yet sufficient to follow basic education in one of the native languages start their schooling in preparatory instruction. Find out more at Preparatory instruction for pupils with an immigrant background | www.tampere.fi.

The aim of instruction preparing for basic education is for the pupil to learn the basics of Finnish, learn about Finnish school and develop their studying skills. After completing the Preparatory education, students will continue to study in the schools of their area. In addition to the native languages, basic education is provided in English, French, and German.

All children must attend preschool education or other similar activities for one year before compulsory education begins. Preschool education prepares children for comprehensive school, and it is organized by the municipal authority.

Basic education is obligatory for all 7-17 -year-olds in Finland. The Finnish comprehensive school is free of charge. In addition to teaching, other services, such as health care - health check-ups, consultations with the school nurse and the services of a school doctor - are free of charge. School meals are also free.

In Tampere, basic education is mainly provided by the city’s primary and lower secondary schools. There are 30 schools in the City of Tampere basic education system. Apart from basic education in Finnish, we provide basic education in foreign languages, preparatory instruction for basic education for immigrants, as well as flexible and subject-emphasis education.

More information on Studies in basic education [City of Tampere].

In addition to the schools maintained by the city, comprehensive education is also provided by Normaalikoulu, which is a state-maintained school for teacher training. There are also three privately-run comprehensive schools: Tampere Rudolf Steiner school, The Swedish Comprehensive School (Svenska Samskolan) and Tampere Christian School in Aitolahti.

The City of Tampere offers general upper secondary education for approximately 4,000 students in upper secondary day schools and for 600 students in a general upper secondary school for adults.

There are six city-maintained general upper secondary schools and a general upper secondary school for adults in Tampere. Additionally, there is Normaalikoulun lukio (Teacher Training School of the University of Tampere), which is a state-maintained general upper secondary school for day students, where teacher training also takes place. There are also four privately-run general upper secondary schools. Furthermore, in the city-maintained general upper secondary school of Tampereen lyseon lukio, it is possible to choose the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.

More information on General upper secondary education [City of Tampere]

Upper Secondary School (Age: 15-18)

The City of Tampere offers general upper secondary education for approximately 4,000 students in upper secondary day schools and for 600 students in a general upper secondary school for adults.

There are six city-maintained general upper secondary schools and a general upper secondary school for adults in Tampere. Additionally, there is Normaalikoulun lukio (Teacher Training School of the University of Tampere), which is a state-maintained general upper secondary school for day students, where teacher training also takes place. There are also four privately-run general upper secondary schools. Furthermore, in the city-maintained general upper secondary school of Tampereen lyseon lukio, it is possible to choose the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.

More information on General upper secondary education [City of Tampere]

Tampere Vocational College Tredu is a regional upper secondary level vocational college with approx. 17 000 students. Tredu has 14 different locations across the Pirkanmaa region and offers a wide range of vocational and further qualifications. Find out more about Tredu here.

Other Vocational Institutions in Tampere City Region

Tampere Adult Education Centre offers integration training for migrants and vocational training in Finnish language.
SASKY Municipal Education and Training Consortium offers vocational education and training in 12 different locations in the Tampere City Region.
Tampere Conservatoire offers music and dance education from early childhood education all the way to full time vocational education.
Varala Sports Institute is an official education provider in the field of physical education and sports.

More information on General upper secondary education [City of Tampere].

Spouse Programme – Jobs for International Spouses

Support in settling in and finding employment opportunities for international spouses! The Spouse Programme is designed to help the spouses of those who are working or coming to work in the Tampere region. It is intended for spouses who are not yet residing in Finland.

Networking, mentoring and professional development for spouses

The Hidden Gems initiative and its activities aim to facilitate networking and full integration of international spouses in the Tampere Region. Furthermore, the Hidden Gems initiative promotes growth and internationalisation by enabling local companies to tap into the “hidden” expertise of spouses.

Hidden Gems - Empowering International Spouses