Principal calls Finland’s home education system legal neglect

A school principal says Finland’s home education system can leave children without adequate education, as teachers warn that oversight is too weak. The concerns were reported by Yle’s investigative programme MOT.

Jari Andersson, principal of Sylvää School in Sastamala, says he would ban home education in Finland. He is also responsible for checking whether home-educated children in his area have learned the subjects and skills set out in the national curriculum.

Andersson says families sometimes repeatedly postpone supervision meetings, which may be the only opportunity for education officials to meet children who do not attend school. A family scheduled to meet him did not appear on the day Yle visited.

MOT spoke to 22 teachers who monitor home-educated children. They took part anonymously to protect the children’s privacy, as small numbers of home-educated pupils in some municipalities could make them identifiable. Ten teachers, as well as Andersson, described difficulties and concerns about the system.

Seven of the teachers said families had cited values, religion or ideology as reasons for choosing home education. One teacher in North Ostrobothnia said several families had strong Christian beliefs. A teacher in Uusimaa said home education should not be based on parents’ convictions or interests.

Families also choose home education for reasons including wellbeing, neurodivergence, school facilities, bullying and poor indoor air quality. Some teachers worry that children taught at home may encounter only one way of looking at the world. Andersson said certain communities may take pupils into their own care.

Teachers also questioned how they could confirm that children had learned what was required. One teacher in North Ostrobothnia said a child might be unable to answer simple questions even when a family presented detailed plans and portfolios. More than half of the teachers who responded to MOT’s survey, 13 in total, reported good cooperation with parents, particularly those who had monitored only one home-educated pupil.

Finland had 945 home-educated pupils last year, three times as many as seven years earlier. Parents can notify their municipality that they intend to educate a child at home. The parent is responsible for the child’s learning, while a monitoring teacher follows progress. The law does not specify in detail how often or how monitoring must take place, and authorities cannot order home education to stop. Education is required to follow the goals and content of the national curriculum, but pupils do not usually take exams.

Supervision meetings are often held once to three times a year, and some take place remotely. Many families compile portfolios documenting the child’s studies.