School health care is intended for children and young people in basic education as well as their families. It is provided as statutory preventive primary health care that is free of charge and primarily available at schools during the school day.

The role of school health care is to

• promote the pupils’ growth, development, health and well-being
• support parents and guardians in the children’s upbringing
• recognise a pupil’s need for special support or examination early on and provide support accordingly
• support the care of a child with a long-term illness in cooperation with others who participate in the provision of student welfare services and, if necessary, direct the child to further examinations and treatment
• promote and monitor the healthiness and safety of the school environment and the school community’s well-being
• arrange the examinations necessary to determine the pupil’s state of health
• oral health care

Pupils attend a periodical health examination every year. The health checks for pupils in Year 1, 5 and 8 include an extensive health examination with both a nurse and a doctor, and the pupil’s guardians are also invited to attend. The extensive health examination evaluates the well-being of the entire family. It includes an interview with the pupil and his or her parents as well as a teacher’s assessment of the pupil’s coping at school. If necessary, the health examination will be performed in cooperation with others who participate in the provision of student welfare services.

Periodical health examinations by school health care

Health examination	Nurse	Doctor
Year 1, extensive	x	x
Year 2	x
Year 3	x
Year 4	x
Year 5, extensive	x	x
Year 6	x
Year 7	x
Year 8, extensive	x	x
Year 9	x

Oral health care examinations are usually performed during the school day at Kalajoki Dental Clinic. An oral health examination is performed by a dentist for pupils in Years 1, 3, 5 and 7. During an oral health examination, the dentist assesses the pupil’s need for treatment and prepares a further treatment plan.