At the beginning of the year, Turku introduced a new way of leading and developing services for children and young people on a regional basis. Closer cooperation benefits children, young people and families.
Turku has transitioned to a shared regional model for early childhood education, basic education and youth work. Basic education regional headteachers, early childhood education regional managers and youth services managers form teams of three in their areas, which jointly plan and coordinate services for children and young people in their areas.
– Other providers of services for children and young people in the city, such as morning and afternoon activities for schoolchildren, sports and cultural services, as well as third-sector operators in the area, will also be included in the core teams, says Anu Parantainen, Director of Children and Youth Services.
In the regional model, the city is divided into southern, northern, eastern and western areas, with approximately eight schools and 12 daycare centres operating in each area. Swedish-language services will continue to operate as a separate area.
– Thanks to the regional model, we are working more closely across administrative boundaries and together with organisations, the wellbeing services authority, businesses and other actors.
Turku is a city for children and young people
The aim of closer cooperation is to provide better services that are targeted at different areas and to strengthen the support received by head teachers, nursery managers and youth work coordinators.
Jointly led issues include increasing children's physical activity, improving learning outcomes, safety and strengthening staff well-being.
For example, strengthening youth and cooperation with organisations in schools is an important issue that affects not only children and young people but also the everyday lives of school staff. In practice, strengthening cooperation means that we have more adults involved in everyday school life.
On 1 June 2025, the City of Turku reorganised its structure to serve the well-being and participation of children and young people more effectively. At that time, a service package for children and young people was launched as part of the city organisation, covering early childhood education, morning and afternoon activities, basic education, upper secondary schools and general adult education, vocational education, Swedish-language services and youth work.
– Together, we are building an even stronger Turku for children and young people, and the regional model will improve our opportunities to do so, Parantainen believes.
Increasing well-being, reducing regional segregation, improving knowledge-based management, implementing regionally targeted measures and reviewing school catchment areas are already on the agenda for this year.
TEXT: TEIJA MURMANN
The article has been published in Finnish in Turkuposti 1, 2026.