Finnish Education in Wales
Wales introduced its biggest curriculum reform in decades in September 2022, built around trust in teachers and connected learning rather than fixed content. It shares real ground with Finnish pedagogy, even though the two reforms were never built together.
- The Curriculum for Wales became statutory for schools from September 2022, replacing a National Curriculum that had been in place since the late 1980s.
- It groups subjects into six broad areas of learning and experience rather than a long list of separate subjects, encouraging schools to connect topics in a way similar to Finnish phenomenon based units.
- The reform is explicitly built on trust and professional judgement for teachers and schools, moving away from a managerial, tightly prescribed system, a principle Finland has held for decades.
- The Curriculum for Wales was itself partly modelled on Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence, which in turn followed a reform process OECD reviewers have compared to Finland's own.
- Independent reviews of the early rollout, including work summarised by the OECD, have flagged uneven implementation across schools as one of the main challenges Wales now faces.
A reform built on similar principles
The Curriculum for Wales asks teachers to design learning around six broad areas of learning and experience rather than deliver a fixed content list, and it places significant trust in schools to interpret that framework locally. That trust based design echoes a principle central to Finland's own system, described in Finnish teacher autonomy and curriculum freedom, where a detailed national core curriculum still leaves real room for classroom level judgement.
Both systems also treat connected, cross subject learning as more valuable than isolated topic coverage, the same instinct behind phenomenon-based learning in Finnish primary schools.
Where Wales and Finland diverge
The two systems still differ in important ways. Wales inspects schools through Estyn, while Finland has deliberately built a system with no external school inspections at all, relying instead on highly qualified teachers and trust in the profession, as explained in how Finnish schools ensure quality without inspections. Teacher preparation differs too: every Finnish class teacher completes a research based master's degree before entering the classroom, a requirement Wales does not currently match.
Formal schooling also starts earlier in Wales, where children typically begin reception at four, compared with Finland's later start at seven after several years of play based early education.
Early implementation is still the main challenge
Because the Curriculum for Wales is new, its biggest current gap with Finland is not philosophy but consistency. Independent reviews have found that how thoroughly schools have adopted the new approach varies considerably, a familiar challenge for any large reform in its first years. Finland's consistency, by contrast, is the product of decades of stable policy and a teaching workforce trained to a uniform, demanding standard from the outset.
What schools can borrow now
Schools do not need to wait for full national consistency to introduce specific, well evidenced Finnish practices inside the Curriculum for Wales framework. Formative, low stakes assessment in place of frequent testing, genuine teacher autonomy over pacing, and cross subject phenomenon based units are all compatible with the six areas of learning and experience already in place. See how Finland assesses without exams and how to bring Finnish education to your school for practical starting points.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Curriculum for Wales based on Finland's education system?
Not directly. It was developed mainly with reference to Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence, which itself followed a reform process OECD reviewers have compared to Finland's, so the connection to Finland is philosophical rather than a direct copy.
What is the biggest structural difference between Wales and Finland?
School inspection and teacher training stand out. Wales inspects schools through Estyn, while Finland has no external school inspections and instead requires every class teacher to hold a research based master's degree.
Why has the rollout of the Curriculum for Wales been uneven?
Independent reviews, including OECD analysis, have found that schools have adopted the new framework at different speeds and depths, which is common in the early years of a major curriculum reform.
Can a Welsh school introduce Finnish style teaching without waiting for national changes?
Yes. Practices such as phenomenon-based learning and formative assessment fit inside the existing six areas of learning and experience and can be introduced at school or classroom level.
Related reading
Bring Finnish pedagogy to your school
OPPI affiliates a selective cohort of schools each year for its K-5 Finnish-pedagogy programme, backed by Education Finland. Tell us about your school and our team will reach out.
Backed by Education Finland. Over 20 schools have already affiliated, including DPS, Radcliffe and Sanctus. Places in each cohort are limited.
Apply to the affiliation cohort →