The Steps Programme

The objective is to support families and highlight ways parents can support children on the cusp of adolescence with everyday matters, as well as to provide information about the changes and challenges of adolescence. The content of this step focuses on physical and mental well-being.

This step is implemented during the school year as an interactive parents’ evening, which pupils are involved in planning and executing with teachers where possible. The activity is organised by principals, class teachers, and members of the pupil welfare team. Various local actors, such as associations, businesses, and other partners, may also be invited to participate.

Themes include changes and challenges in adolescence, a summary and key findings from the school health survey, and social media.

This step is organised during the spring term, when grade 6 pupils also participate in the ‘Towards Secondary School’ fair. The aim of this step is to familiarise future grade 7 pupils with each other, initiate group formation within the class, and introduce them to their future form teacher, classroom, school, and professional networks.

This step covers matters related to the transition to lower secondary school, such as potential fears and myths about starting secondary school, general studies in lower secondary school, and the importance of hobbies and new opportunities for leisure time. Guardians have the opportunity to meet other guardians of their child’s future lower secondary school class and professionals working with young people, thereby lowering the threshold for making contact.

Themes include familiarisation with lower secondary school, changes brought about by the transition to lower secondary school, family ground rules, current substance abuse phenomena, and parent networking.

This step is organised at the very beginning of the autumn term. The aim is to facilitate class group formation through interactive methods and to familiarise pupils with each other. Group formation can prevent the emergence of peer pressure and school bullying. This step also addresses values and attitudes in a young person’s life. It initiates discussions related to healthy lifestyles, including substance use, sleep duration, diet, and exercise, as well as their effects and consequences in a young person’s life. An interim assessment of class group dynamics is conducted at the turn of the terms as an interactive lesson in cooperation with the form teacher.

The parents’ evening aims to provide tools for homes and spark discussions that parents and young people are encouraged to continue at home, as well as to offer an opportunity to see how young people generally relate to different issues and how they talk about them.

Themes include the new class, group formation activities, presentations of leisure activities, group dynamics assessment, and current substance abuse phenomena.

The objective is to highlight the most important current phenomena in young people’s lives and provide young people and parents with an opportunity to explore them in various ways. This step focuses on the well-being of young people: self-esteem, relationships, and lifestyles, according to the needs of the school and the young person.

This step encourages discussion between young people and parents so that they can also reflect on these matters at home. It also covers the responsibilities and duties of guardians. A programme related to well-being and community spirit is implemented at school with the pupil welfare team, peer support students, grade 8 pupils, and other staff. Methods for implementing school-related initiatives or advancing them are considered together with young people.

Themes include relationships, substance use, a summary and key findings from the school health survey, pupil involvement, and promoting school well-being.

The aim of this step is to focus on pupils’ own future choices and recognising their strengths, as well as to introduce them to available support services, for example, through the youth work initiative Ohjaamo. The content encourages both life management and responsible problem-solving. The responsibility of guardians in the continuation of compulsory education until adulthood is emphasised. School guidance counsellors are also involved in planning this step.

Themes include independence and responsibilities, summer jobs and job seeking, CVs, studies and the continuation of compulsory education until adulthood, and current substance abuse phenomena.