Instruction preparing immigrants for basic education

You can enrol your child in preparatory instruction for basic education if your child does not have the necessary linguistic skills to participate in education in Finnish. This instruction is available to children and young people with an immigrant background who were not born in Finland and have not participated in preparatory instruction in pre-primary education.

You can enrol in school when your child has moved to Lappeenranta. It is not possible to enrol in advance from abroad.

School enrolment takes place at Customer Service Centre Winkki at the Main Library (Valtakatu 47, entrance through the main doors or via Valtakatu). Winkki’s opening hours and contact information can be found on the City of Lappeenranta website. You do not need to book an appointment.

The enrolment is usually done by the child’s guardian. You need a passport or other identity card or, for example, a certificate of application for a residence permit. This is to ensure that the name is recorded in the same way as in the Population Information System.

At Winkki, you complete a form with basic information about the child and the guardians for the school. The form has been translated into English, Ukrainian and Russian. The staff at Winkki speak Finnish and English.

The information will be sent to the child’s future school. The principal or teacher will contact the guardian or contact person about starting school once the preparations have been made.

The child will become a pupil of the school that provides preparatory instruction closest to the child’s place of residence.

Free school transport will be arranged if the school is more than 5 km away (bus card or school taxi). The school will provide instructions on the transport as needed.

Preparatory education is available to students of foreign background who were not born in Finland and whose proficiency in Finnish or Swedish, as well as other skills, is insufficient for studying in pre-primary or basic education groups.