Family life- the Swedish way
In the two sections below you will find information about the Swedish schoolsystem as well as parental and childring benefits.
For information on Dual Career please read more under the section Dual career and Spouse support.
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Preschool, preschool class, compulsary school and upper secondary school
Find collected Information about the Swedish school system (in English) on Utbildningsguiden by the National Agency for Education (Skolverket)If you have children, you should locate a preschool or school as early as possible. Contact the municipality where you are going to live in order to enroll the child, either to a Swedish-speaking preschool/school or an international preschool/school.
In Swedish preschools, play is a key component. There is a focus on basic values such as playing together, tolerance and consideration for others. Preschool is for children aged 1 to 5.
The year the child turns 6, the child is required to participate in preschool class (sexårsverksamhet) designed to help children meet future classmates and prepare for primary school without the stress of heavy studies or homework.
From the ages of 7 to 16, all children in Sweden are required to attend the compulsory school (grundskola), where they are taught a core group of basic subjects. Families can apply for before/after-school care for their children (fritids).
There is a charge for preschools and after-school care, but from the age of 6, all schooling in Sweden is free of charge and includes a hot lunch. Note, there is usually a fee for private schools and international schools.
Preschool (förskola) or day care allows you as a parent to work during the day while providing a safe and stimulating environment for your child. Your child can be at preschool from 6:30 to 18:30 (the opening hours can vary) every weekday except certain public holidays.
Fees are based on your household income as well as the number of children you currently have enrolled. All municipalities apply a system of maximum fees. This means that there is a cap on how high fees can be for a family. Every child is guaranteed a place in a preschool from the age of one, subject to certain regulations.
A lot more information about preschool can be found on Skolverket.se
Find out more about preschools in your city by contacting the university EURAXESS Centre
Preschool class is mandatory for all childrenfrom the autumn term of the year they turn 6 until they start compulsory school.
Compulsory school is mandatory and is open to all children aged 7-16. It is composed of 9 school years and each school year consists of a fall and spring semester.
Upper secondary school is for young people aged 16-20. The school is free, non-compulsory schooling that young people can choose after completing compulsory school. Upper secondary consists of national programmes, specially designed programmes and individual programmes.
In some municipalities there are Internaional schools, who are allowed to teach 50% of the curricula in another languages than Swedish, with English as the most common language.
Contact your municipality to find out more about schools in your area and to enroll your child.If your university is a EURAXESS Service Center, you can contact them as well for intormation about school system and international schools in the area. Find the EURAXESS Service Centers in Sweden
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Parental benefits
Parental leave is a central part of Swedish family life, as is maternity and child health clinics to make sure the parents and the child get the best start possible.
You will find more inforamtion for parents at The Swedish Social Insurance Agency (försäkringskassan)
The Swedish parental insurance entitles parents to 480 days of paid parental leave when a child is born or adopted. Each parent – should they be two – is entitled to 240 of those days.
If the child is born in 2016 or later, each parent has 90 days reserved exclusively for him/her. Should he/she decide not to take these, they can’t be transferred to the other parent. A single parent is entitled to a full 480 days.
Statistically, fathers in Sweden currently average around 30 per cent of all paid parental leave.
Parental benefit is money you receive to be able to be at home with your child instead of working, seeking work or studying. Parents are granted 480 days of leave per child. 390 of these days are income based and 90 days are at the minimum level. It is not your employer who covers the cost of your parent benefit but the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan). Read more about parental benefits and find out if you are elegible for it at www.forsakringskassan.se
The maternity clinic (MVC) mödravårdscentralen, is primarily for pregnant women. You go to the maternity clinic throughout your pregnancy to check that both the child and you yourself are doing well. Visits to the maternity clinic are free.
As a parent, you can get help at the child health centre, or barnavårdscentralen (BVC). You can get tips about your child’s development, breast-feeding, food and illnesses. When you come home after the childbirth, you can contact the child health centre yourself to make an appointment for a first meeting. The first meeting is often held at home. At the meeting the nurse tells you about the child health centre and looks to see how your baby is doing.
Child allowance is financial support that is automatically paid out to parents who live and have children in Sweden. Read more
If you work in Sweden and need to take days off to care for a sick child, there is compensation through the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan), which is available for parents with children under 12 years of age. For children aged between 12 and 16, the parents need to get a doctor’s certificate for the sick child to be entitled to compensation.