Before and Afterschool Activities in Finland

1
Before- and After-school Activities in Finland

• A Meaningful Free Time Every Childs RightThe
  ENSAC 2005 ConferenceCopenhagen, Denmark, June
  16-18 2005

Aulikki Etelälahti www.oph.fi
2
Before- and After-school Activities

• The law came into force on 1 August 2004
• The local authority may provide and acquire
  activities according to the law
• Voluntary for the local authority (no obligation)
  
• Shall be available to first- and second-year
  pupils of the school and to third- to ninth-year
  pupils in special-needs education
• To attend activities is voluntary for children

3
The Aims of the Law

• To clear the division of labour and
  responsibility
• To secure the base of financing
• To define the objects of the activities and the
  central contents
• To define the qualification required of
  instructors
• To improve the quality

4
The Aims and Guidelines of the Before- and
After-school Activities

• To support the schools and homes educational
  work and the development of the childs emotional
  life and ethical growth
• To promote childrens welfare and equality in
  society and to prevent beforehand exclusion and
  promote inclusion
• To offer children varied opportunities to
  participate in guided, refreshing, safety
  activities and to enable rest in calm
  surroundings under the supervision of a competent
  person suitable for the task
• The National Board of Education has produced
  guidelines for before- and after-school
  activities (the aims and central content of
  activities referred to the law)

5
Provision and Extent of Before- and After-school
Activities

• The local authority
• may arrange activities alone or jointly with
  other local authorities or purchase services from
  public or private service provider
• may acquire services by granting subsidy to a
  service provider for the purpose
• shall ensure that the services acquired by it are
  arranged according to the law
• shall provide information about the venues of
  activities, their starting and ending times and
  the procedure for applying for activities
• The selection criteria shall be applied equally
  to all children

6
Provision and Extent of Before- and After-school
Activities

• Shall be offered at least 570 hours during the
  school year to each participating child
• May be principally arranged between 7.00 and
  17.00 on week days
• The planners of the activities must cooperate
  with pupils families and the service providers

7
The Qualifications required of Instructors

• Suitable higher academic degree (160 credits),
  i.e. the Master's degree, vocational initial
  qualification or special vocational qualification
  and the skill to act as an instructor of the
  group of children
• Until the year 2009 qualified is a person who has
  the skill to act as an instructor of the group of
  children acquired by education or by experience
  and is suitable for the task
• Qualification attended by practical skills tests
  (Guidelines 1.1.2005)

8
Fees

• A monthly fee may be charged for activities
• The local authority shall determined the monthly
  fee, which may be 60 euros at a maximum (for 3
  hours per week day)
• The local authority has possibility to determine
  different monthly fees according to the
  activities
• The fee may be left uncharged or be reduced when
  warranted by the parents/carers obligation to
  provide maintenance, income or care-related
  consideration

9
Financing of The Before- and After-school
Activities

• Statutory state aid for the operating cost (57 )
  is paying for local authorities
• Statutory state aid is paying also the local
  authorities who grant subsidy to a service
  provider for the purpose
• Statutory state aid depends on the affirmed
  amount of hours of the activities and on the unit
  of statutory state aid
• During the year 2005 the unit is 20,46 euros per
  the hour of instruction

10
Evaluation of The Before- and After-school
Activities

• The local authority shall evaluate the activities
  provided or acquired by it
• The local authority shall take part in external
  evaluation of its activities
• The account of activities
• Parliament demands that the government will
  follow the development of the extent, the
  quality, the versatility of the service and the
  effects on the financing and fees
  
• The account must be given in spring 2006