Education Committee

The Education and Teaching Board is presented with a decision on a service purchase agreement for Vesimaailma Louhela swimming hall operator services, which would last five years from 1.2.2026–31.1.2031. According to the agreement, the municipality would pay 500,000 euros annually, of which the education and teaching sector's share would be 100,000 euros for reduced swimming hall fees and services. The agreement would enable more affordable swimming hall fees for different target groups and activate the municipality's various service areas to utilize swimming hall services. The agreement aims to improve Lempäälä's sports facilities and particularly support the use of the swimming hall by schools and educational institutions.

The committee addresses the approval of the agenda at the beginning of its meeting, where the matters to be discussed and their order are confirmed. According to the proposal, the agenda would be approved as is following normal procedure. The committee may, if desired, change the order of consideration of matters or take up new matters for discussion that were not included in the meeting invitation.

The committee is requested to approve the teaching hour framework for pre-primary and basic education for the academic year 2026-2027 in the first phase, which includes basic hours, division hours, and language and religious education. As student numbers decrease by 100 students in total in grades 1-6, the teaching hour framework will be reduced by 112 annual weekly hours, resulting in savings of 336,000 euros. At the same time, a new pre-primary education group is proposed for Saikan koulu and a sixth special support group for Lempoisten koulu. In May, the teaching hour framework for learning support will be addressed separately based on monitoring data.

The Education Director presents several current matters to the board for information, including the progress of the Hakkari school basic renovation project for the years 2026–2027. The meeting also addresses new fees for morning and afternoon activities starting from August 2026, as well as matters related to school transport. Additionally, the early childhood education placement situation, the supervision program for private early childhood education, and the budget implementation for early 2026 are presented. The board notes these information items and prepares for upcoming decisions to be addressed in the next March meeting.

Official decisions from the period January 8 – February 11, 2026 are presented to the Education and Training Board for information. According to the decision proposal, the board would note these decisions made by the education director and other officials and would not take them up for separate consideration. This is part of the regular supervision procedure where the board monitors what decisions have been made under its authority. The decision list has been provided to board members for review.

Fees for morning and afternoon activities for school children are proposed to be increased starting from 1.8.2026, when a statutory change will raise the maximum fee amounts by approximately 23 percent. The new monthly fees would be 148 euros for 60-hour activities, 197 euros for 60-85 hour activities, and 237 euros for activities exceeding 85 hours, replacing the current fees of 120-200 euros. Fee exemptions can still be granted to low-income families as well as recipients of income support or housing allowance. The increase is due to government cuts to municipal state subsidies, which are being compensated through fees charged to families.

Updates are proposed to Lempäälä municipality's morning and afternoon activities action plan, which would come into effect in August 2026. The key changes proposed include that establishing a group requires a minimum of 10 registered children, and if the number of participants decreases, the group can be merged with another school. Activities are organized primarily for 1st-2nd grade students and pupils with special support needs, and opening hours are determined according to the needs reported by parents. The plan also clarifies the organization of activities in different schools and supports the implementation of equality.

In Lempäälä, a well-being at work survey for municipal corporation personnel was conducted in autumn 2025, with 66.2 percent of employees from the education and teaching service area responding. Based on the results, it is proposed that the education and teaching service area focus on maintaining a high level of trust in work communities and developing professional development and feedback provided by supervisors. The survey results are intended to be acknowledged and used as a foundation for well-being at work development efforts. Going forward, work units will prepare their own development objectives and plan measures for implementing them.