School and Childcare in Sweden

Sweden is regarded as particularly family-friendly. Childcare is well developed and affordable, school is free, and parents have generous entitlements to parental leave. Even so, the system is unfamiliar to families moving to Sweden. This page explains the individual stages.

Förskola: childcare from the age of one

The förskola combines nursery and kindergarten in one. Children can be admitted from the age of one, and the municipality must offer working or studying parents a place within a few months. Almost all Swedish children attend a förskola.

• Costs: the fee depends on income and is capped by a national maximum (maxtaxa). It is lower for additional children.
• Free hours: from the autumn of the year in which a child turns three, part of the childcare time is free of charge.
• Daily life: children spend a lot of time outdoors in almost any weather. Rain gear and wellington boots are part of the basic kit.

Förskoleklass: the year before school

At the age of six, children attend the preschool class. It is compulsory and forms a gentle transition between play and learning. This is when compulsory schooling begins.

Grundskola: nine years together

Compulsory school covers years 1 to 9. All children learn together until about the age of 16; there is no division into different types of school as in some other countries.

• Free of charge: lessons, books and a hot lunch are free.
• Grades: report-card grades are only given from year six, on a scale from A to F.
• Manners: teachers are addressed by their first names, informally.
• Foreign languages: English starts early, and a second foreign language is added later, often German, French or Spanish.
• After-school care: for younger pupils there is fritids, the after-school club at the school.

Choice of school and independent schools

Parents are free to choose the school. Alongside municipal schools there are independent schools (friskolor), which are run by private operators but publicly funded and may not charge tuition fees. Home schooling is practically not permitted in Sweden.

Gymnasium

After year nine comes the three-year gymnasium (upper secondary school). It is voluntary, but almost all young people attend. Students can choose between programmes that prepare for university and vocational programmes. Dual vocational training combining company and school, as found in some countries, is hardly widespread. Depending on the programme, the gymnasium diploma qualifies students for university studies.

Children who do not speak Swedish

Newly arrived children are entitled to special support. Many municipalities offer preparatory classes in which Swedish is learnt first. In addition, under certain conditions there is a right to mother-tongue tuition. Younger children usually learn the language in förskola within a few months. Stockholm also has a German School, where German qualifications can also be obtained.

Parental leave and family benefits

Parents are entitled to a combined 480 days of paid parental leave per child. Part of this is reserved for each parent and cannot be transferred. There is also child benefit (barnbidrag) and the right to stay at home with pay when a child is ill. The responsible agency is the Social Insurance Agency, Försäkringskassan.

Registration

For förskola and school, you register your child with the municipality (kommun), usually online. As a rule, registration in the population register is a prerequisite. You can read more about the first steps on the page Moving to Sweden.