After-school activities for schoolchildren are intended for pupils in grades 1 and 2 and special support pupils. The programme includes fun guided activities for the child after the school day.
After-school activities include playing, movement and outdoor activities. Your child will get to spend time with other children and make new friends. The activities also include a balanced snack.
− There’s lots of fun things to do!, says seven-year-old Ava, who participated in the after-school activities.
− An important part of the activities is spending time with friends. Guided and meaningful activities as well as a safe environment support children’s well-being, says Tarja Tapper, Manager of Basic Education Leisure Services at City of Helsinki.
After-school activities make families’ daily life easier, and parents in Helsinki have been extremely satisfied with the quality of the activities. In a 2024, the after-school activities received an excellent score in the basic education customer experience survey. After-school activities are subject to a fee.
Guardians of future first-graders can register for a Wilma ID as of 17 March
Guardians will apply for the after-school activities in Wilma, where most of school-related matters are taken care of. Guardians who do not yet have a Wilma ID but whose child will start school next autumn can create a Wilma ID with the help of Suomi.fi identification as of 17 March 2025.
This way, the guardian will have access to Wilma before the child starts school. Guardians of future first-graders who already have access to Wilma can also add the future first-grader to their Wilma user profile.
Instructions for how to create a Wilma ID is available at hel.fi/wilma.
If a guardian cannot apply for after-school activities in Wilma, the application can also be submitted as a PDF form. Further instructions are available at hel.fi/afterschoolactivities.
All applicants applied during the application period to be offered a place
After-school activities are organised at schools and near schools at approximately 250 locations around the city. Depending on the location, the guided activities last until 16.00 or 17.00.
Approximately 11,000 children in Helsinki participate in the activities each year. All pupils in grades 1 and 2 who have applied for a place during the application period will be offered a place. If no place is available at your chosen location, your child will be offered a place in another location in your area.
In terms of allocating places, it does not matter when you send in your application, as long as you submit it during the application period. If a location receives more applicants than places available, first-graders and pupils requiring special support are prioritised. All pupils who applied for a place will be assigned one in one of the area’s locations.
After-school activities are subject to a fee, which includes a snack and insurance. If the child stays until 16.00, the monthly fee is 100 euros. If the activities last until 17.00, the fee is 120 euros per month. The guardian can apply for a reduction of or an exemption from the fee based on their income.
Further information on the website
More information about after-school activities at hel.fi/afterschoolactivities.
Information about the locations and organisers of the activities at hel.fi/afterschoollocations.
