Support for learning and student welfare services

The core elements for the support for learning and school attendance are teaching arrangements that support the conditions for learning, such as the formation of teaching groups so that the objectives in instruction can be achieved and teachers can take the needs of the group they are teaching properly into account.

The primary forms of support that all students are entitled to are group-based. These consist of targeted instruction in specific subjects, targeted instruction in the language of instruction and instruction given by a special educational needs teacher in connection with other instruction.

If group-based support proves to be insufficient, students can receive student-specific support that is regular and based on individual needs for support. These include support measures partly in a small teaching group and, if necessary, entirely in a class for students with special educational needs as well as student-specific augmentative and alternative communication service and/or student-specific assistant service.

Team for support for learning at the city of Kokkola offers flexible support for the needs identified by the school community, the child or guardians. The consultative support provided by the team promotes, in a preventive manner and through pedagogical means, children’s ability to cope in school and creates the necessary network cooperation to support the child, the family and the school community.

The team consists of two learning support specialists and two school assistants.

More information: learning support specialists Petra Weckström (tel. 050 4732 204) and Hanna Nygård (tel. 040 8050 827)

Flexible basic education is intended for students in grades 8–9 who underperform and have poor study motivation, as well as for students who are in danger of being excluded from further education and working life.

Flexible basic education is aimed at strengthening the students’ study motivation and life management skills. In addition to completing the compulsory comprehensive education, the students are supported in the transition to the next educational stage, and their readiness to succeed in future studies is promoted. The teaching is implemented as contact learning at school and guided studies at a workplace or in other learning environments.

Flexible basic education is organised in Finnish in Kiviniitty school and in Swedish in Donnerska school. For more information, please contact the schools.

Hospital schooling is organised for children and young people in specialist medical care. The hospital school is open to all schools and students in the hospital district. Hospital schooling is organised in Finnish and Swedish.

The provision of hospital schooling is governed by law. There is great variety in the students’ ability to operate and attend school, which means that in order to organise teaching, a decision on special teaching arrangements referred to in section 18 of the Basic Education Act is often also needed. The students remain registered in their local schools throughout the hospital schooling period.

The students can study in accordance with the general curriculum. They may also have an individual learning plan or a plan on individual teaching arrangements, or they may proceed according to a study programme that is not tied to grades. Additional information is provided by Merituulten school.