Daycare

Every child needing daycare is guaranteed a place through either private or public services. The system is flexible and able to react quickly if there is an increase in the need of daycare. There is also an open daycare facility with supervised activities for both children and adults. These also provide a meeting point for parents that share a similar life situation. In addition, there are four private daycare facilities in Rauma, including the English Kindergarten and Lastentalo Musikatti, which focuses on music education. The church provides also club activities for children.

Children that require special care mainly attend normal kindergarten groups, but there are also special groups available.

Basic education

The network of comprehensive schools is quite extensive. This ensures that small children can go to school near home, also in the non-built-up areas. Normaalikoulu in Rauma is the practicing school of the University of Turku, where part of the education is available also in English. There are also schools that focus on music, arts or mathematical subjects.

Afternoon activities are organised for the smaller schoolchildren by various organisations, utilising the facilities of the schools and the church. 

For non-Finnish speaking pupils, remedial education is available at first to help them to learn the language and to keep up in the various subjects, and later to maintain their mother tongue. 

Rauma provides also adapted education and education for children with special needs.

All the various levels of the Finnish education system are represented in Rauma region, from pre-school education to higher education and research.

The education administration is responsible for comprehensive and upper secondary school education, for the operation, development and control of adult education centres, vocational education and other forms of adult education, and for ensuring that all the students receive appropriate education of a high standard. 

Upper secondary education

Upper secondary education includes general and vocational upper secondary education.
General upper secondary education is general education preparing for the matriculation examination. The principal objectif of the vocational studies is vocational competence.

In Rauma there are three upper secondary schools and one vocational institution.

Higher education

Universities

Higher education is provided by several different units in Satakunta. The oldest is the University of Turku's Department of Teacher Education in Rauma, which was established over a hundred years ago. The Tampere University of Technology and the Turku School of Economics and Business Administration run courses in the University Unit of Pori. The University of Turku also provides education in Satakunta in humanities. The University of Turku's Rauma Unit of the Centre for Maritime Studies provides education in close cooperation with the Rauma Unit of Maritime Management of the Satakunta Polytechnic. Higher education is also provided in the Summer University of West Finland as well as in the regional adult education institutes. 

Polytechnics

There are two polytechnics in the area, the Satakunta Polytechnic and the Pori Unit of the Diaconia Polytechnic. Satakunta Polytechnic is one of the largest polytechnics in Finland (ca. 6000 students) and in 2001 was elected one of the polytechnics with most influence on regional development (by the Ministry of Education). The Polytechnic has units in five localities in Satakunta: Pori, Rauma, Huittinen, Harjavalta and Kankaanpää. The Polytechnic offers degree programmes in business and administration and tourism, social services and health care, as well as technology and maritime management. It is also possible to take the international BBA degree. The Polytechnic is well known for active international student exchange.www.samk.fi 

Adult education

There are ten post-graduate educational institutes in Satakunta that provide basic and advanced education in almost all fields. In Rauma region there are two such institutes, the Eurajoki Christian Folk High School and the Rauma Adult Education Centre. In addition, there are four vocational adult education centres in Satakunta, of which the Adult Education Centre of West Finland operates in Rauma and Laitila. Adult education is organised in close cooperation with the employment authorities and can provide vocationally skilled labour force for the needs of e.g. the industry at a short notice. Apprenticeship training is provided by the Satakunta Apprenticeship Centre and the Rauma Apprenticeship Office. 

Research and development

Research and development activities are in Rauma region carried out by the Rauma Research Unit of the Department of Electronics of the Tampere University of Technology and the research and development unit of handicraft teaching that operates in the University of Turku's Department of Teacher Education in Rauma. In addition, the Pyhäjärvi Institute and several other units in Satakunta engage in research and development activities in the food sector.

For more information on the Finnish education system, please click on the sites of
the Finnish National Board of Education .