New in Sweden with a child aged 6–16
Do you have a child between 6 and 16 years of age? Then your child has the right to go to school. For children are or will be registered in Sweden, school attendance is compulsory, which means they are required to go to school, from preschool class to Year 9. On this page, you can read more about what the school can do to support your child, and what is expected of you as a guardian.
You need to be involved in your child's schooling
In Sweden, school attendance is compulsory for children between 6 and 16 years of age. This means that they have both the right and the obligation to go to school. As a parent or guardian, you are responsible for ensuring that your child goes to school and gets there on time.
The school will inform you about how your child is doing at school. This may be at parent-teacher conferences or parent meetings. At parent-teacher conferences, you meet with your child's mentor and talk about how your child is doing at school. At parent meetings, you meet with teachers and other guardians.
It is important that you come to these meetings to receive the information you need and so that the school and you, as a guardian, can work together to support your child's education. If you do not understand Swedish, you have the right to get help from an interpreter. Contact your child's school if you need the help of an interpreter.
There is always a teacher responsible for your child at school. This teacher is often called their mentor. Contact your child's teacher or mentor if you have any questions about the school and your child's schooling.
Compulsory school attendance and right to education, skolverket.se
Parent-teacher conferences and written individual development plan, skolverket.se
The school assesses your child's knowledge level
If your family is new to Sweden, the school needs to determine which school year your child should start in, and the level of studies they need. To do this, the school assesses your child's previous schooling, knowledge level, experience and interests. An interpreter may be involved in the assessment. The interpreter is impartial and has no influence on the assessment.
Knowledge level assessment for newly arrived pupils, skolverket.se
Study guidance in the mother tongue
Your child may receive study guidance in their mother tongue. This is a way of helping your child to develop their knowledge of different subjects and to progress as far as possible towards their educational goals. In some cases, a child may need study guidance in a language other than their mother tongue. This may be the case, for example, if your child attended a school where subjects were taught in a language other than their mother tongue and your child knows that language better.
Study guidance in the mother tongue, skolverket.se
Swedish as a second language
Your child can receive tuition in Swedish as a second language. Swedish as a second language is Swedish that is taught to pupils who do not speak Swedish as their mother tongue. The subjects Swedish and Swedish as a second language are very similar and provide the same qualification for upper secondary school. In Swedish as a second language, there is a greater focus on developing Swedish language skills, such as speaking, listening, reading and writing. There is also a focus on vocabulary and pronunciation.
Swedish as a second language is intended to give your child the opportunity to develop their Swedish language skills so that they can express themselves in different contexts.
There are two cases when your child can study Swedish as a second language in compulsory school: 1) their mother tongue is not Swedish, or 2) their mother tongue is Swedish and they attended school abroad. In addition, your child may need tuition in Swedish as a second language to improve their ability to think and learn in a new language.
The decision on whether your child should receive Swedish as a second language tuition is made by the headteacher of your child's school.
Mother tongue tuition in compulsory school
If either of your child's guardians has a mother tongue other than Swedish, your child may be entitled to mother tongue tuition from Year 1 of compulsory school.
Your right to learn your mother tongue in compulsory school
Preparatory class
When your child is very new to the Swedish school system, they may study some of their subjects in a preparatory class. In some schools, pupils who are new arrivals to Sweden study almost all of their subjects in a preparatory class, while in other schools it is just a few subjects. The headteacher of the school will decide how this will be structured in your child's particular situation.
The purpose of the preparatory class is to help your child to become able to study all subjects in their regular class as soon as possible.
Your child can attend preparatory class for a maximum of two years. Some schools do not offer preparatory class.
Preparatory class, skolverket.se
Individual study plan
The school is required to draw up an individual study plan for your child if your family are new arrivals to Sweden and your child is attending Years 7–9 of compulsory school or compulsory special needs school. This is a long-term plan that describes how your child will become qualified for admission to a national programme in upper secondary school based on their own goals. The plan is to follow your child throughout their studies, and the school is required to update it when necessary. The plan is usually drawn up by a teacher together with the pupil, but it is the headteacher who is responsible for ensuring that the school draws up a plan and that the pupil is involved in drawing it up.
Individual study plan, skolverket.se
Prioritised timetable – to focus on learning Swedish
If your family is new to Sweden, your child may be given a prioritised timetable.
With a prioritised timetable, your child is given more teaching in Swedish or Swedish as a second language than other pupils in the same year. The school does this by “borrowing” time from other subjects. Your child can have a prioritised timetable for a maximum of one year. During that time, the school may not give your child less teaching overall than other pupils in the same year.
A prioritised timetable may be useful if the school believes that the child has the potential to catch up in the other subjects if they first receive more teaching in Swedish or Swedish as a second language.
Prioritised timetable, skolverket.se
Adapted timetable – to help the pupil qualify for upper secondary school
Pupils in lower secondary school (Years 7–9) or compulsory special needs school can be assigned an adapted timetable if the school believes that they will have trouble qualifying for a national programme in upper secondary school.
With an adapted timetable, you child may study fewer subjects at one time, but be given more time for these subjects. The adapted timetable must be designed to ensure that your child is taught the subjects needed to qualify for upper secondary school. The subject of physical education and health may not be eliminated. You child must receive the same total contact time as other pupils in the same year.