Swedish Association of Independent Schools
INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS
IN SWEDEN
Magnus Johansson
Gudrun Rendling
Swedish education system
Intro
 Since 1992
 Compulsory and upper secondary schools
 School choice for all
 Increased diversity
 Competition for quality
 Steady increase in schools and pupils in
ind. schools
Schools - Compulsory school
 709 schools
 15% of all
 small schools
Schools - Upper secondary school
 458 schools
 47 % of all
 Small schools
School types – Comp.
Types
 5% Waldorf
 9% Religious
 86% ”Regular”
50 % profiled towards
subject, language or teaching method
Pupils - Compulsory school
 96 000 pupils
 11% of all
 + 25% in 5 years
Students - Upper secondary school
 86 000 students
 22% of all
 + 100% in 5 years
Type of organisation
Swedish Association of
Independent Schools
 Voluntarily
 800 schools / 500 operators
 350 preschool
 500 compulsory schools
 250 upper secondary school
 Small units and large chains
Swedish Association of
Independent Schools
 Guidence & Advice
 Information & Education
 Influence politics and public opinion
INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS –
LEGISLATION AND FINANCING
Legislation
 Parliamentary bill on a new Act of
Education
 Common regulatory framework/same
rules for both public and independent
schools
 Decision of the Riksdag (parliament) in
June 2010, come into force July 2011
Legislation
 Today: independent schools have a
regulatory system of their own with only a
few paragraphs, but are compared to the
public school system and rules for public
schools.
 Independent schools must be on the same
level (quality) as and correspond to the
public school and give the pupils equal
conditions
(This actually means the same
framework and legislation)
Legislation
 Act of Education – a special chapter for
independent schools (in other respects the
comparison to public schools)
 Ordinance for Independent schools
 National curriculum for the compulsory
school system (and non-compulsory)
 National syllabi
Legislation
 National legislation rules the schools, both public
and independent. Decisions about curriculum
and syllabi are made by the Riksdag
(parliament) and the Regering (government)
 Municipalities in Sweden are responsible for the
public schools and have to see to that there are
schooling possibilities for every pupil in the
municipality. This includes all school forms, from
pre-school to upper secondary schools
Requirements for independent
schools
 Independent schools must apply for
license, approval from the Swedish
Schools Inspectorate
 Must be open to everyone (no possibility
of choosing pupils)
 Are not allowed to charge fees
 The same basic objectives as a municipal
(public) school
Requirements
 May have a special profile, as a teaching
approach or method, or a specific religious
character, but must teach according to
national syllabi
 Must provide for pupils who need extra
resources (children with physical or
mental handicaps and children with
learning and behavioural difficulties)
 Must give grades according to national
syllabi and guidelines (exceptions for
some schools, as Waldorf)
Approval of Independent
schools
 Application to the Swedish Schools
Inspectorate
 Examination of the organiser’s ability to
run the school from a long-term
perspective
 No causing of considerable negative
consequenses for the municipal schools
 Examination of the correspondancy to
municipal schools in objectives and the
pupils right to equal learning conditions
Approval of Independent
Schools
 The Swedish Schools Inspectorate’s
decision of approval includes two parts:
- an approval of the ability to run an
independent school
- a right to be financed by the municipality
– a voucher
Supervision and inspection
 Independent schools, as public schools,
are under the supervision of the Swedish
Schools Inspectorate
 Regular supervision with visits and
inspections of the actual school.
 An inspection always results in a decision,
such as which measures to take or action
required by the authority/party responsible
for the school.
Supervision and inspection
 The Inspectorate also investigate
complaints filed by pupils, parents or
others. The Inspectorate may criticize the
authority/party in charge of the school and
demand measures to remedy the situation
 For independent schools, inspection or
investigation of complaints could also
result in a decision to withdraw the
school’s license to operate or it’s right to
receive subsidies.
Financing
 The voucher system:
 A compulsory transfer payment according
to the Act of Education
 The municipality where the pupil lives is
responsible for financing the voucher
 Equal terms for public and independent
schools
Financing
 The municipality must provide resources
to the independent school equivalent to
those provided to its own schools
 On a per-pupil basis
 Extra resources for pupils with extra
needs
 The independent school have the right to
file complaints on the voucher sum, if it’s
not calculated on basis of equal terms
Financing
 Fees are generally not allowed
 Sponsoring is allowed, as long as it’s not
directed to an individual pupil