Swedish for parents: förskola, school, vab and talking to teachers

Why parents need their own Swedish

Having children in Sweden pulls you into Swedish faster than almost anything else. Messages from förskola, absence reports at 7.30 in the morning, a parents' meeting where everyone speaks fast, a note about head lice: this is real-life Swedish, and it rarely comes with an English version.

This guide explains how the system works and gives you the words and sentences to handle it. Schools are run by municipalities (kommuner) and independent providers (fristående skolor), so routines, apps and dates differ from place to place. We say where. All phrases use du, which is how parents and teachers talk to each other.

The Swedish school system in brief

Children must go to school (skolplikt) from the autumn of the year they turn six, starting in förskoleklass. That makes compulsory schooling ten years in practice. A reform decided in 2025 takes this further: from autumn 2028, förskoleklass is replaced by a new year 1, grundskola becomes ten years long, and the year numbers shift by one.

The school year has two terms: hösttermin (autumn term, from mid-August to just before Christmas) and vårtermin (spring term, from early January to mid-June). Pupils get grades (betyg) on a scale from A to F, with F as a fail, every term from the autumn of year 6. In the years without grades, the teacher writes a skriftlig individuell utvecklingsplan (IUP), a written plan of how your child is progressing. Nationella prov (national tests) are taken in years 3, 6 and 9.

A few more things that surprise newcomers: school lunch (skollunch) is free in grundskola, and since 1 August 2026 schools must, as a main rule, collect pupils' mobile phones at the start of the school day and give them back at the end.

Förskola

Children have a right to a förskola place from the age of one if their parents work or study, and from the autumn term of the year they turn three, every child gets at least 525 hours a year free of charge (allmän förskola), roughly 15 hours a week. You apply through your municipality, usually online.

Inskolning: settling in

Inskolning is the settling-in period when your child starts förskola. A parent stays with the child at first, and the time apart grows gradually. Some förskolor spread it over one or two weeks; many now use föräldraaktiv inskolning, where a parent spends full days at förskola for about three days. Plan for time off work.

Förskola vocabulary

At drop-off and pick-up

Reporting absence: sjukanmälan and frånvaroanmälan

When your child is sick, you report it to förskola or school, usually in the morning before the day starts. This is a sjukanmälan (sick report) or frånvaroanmälan (absence report; frånvaro means absence). Most municipalities and schools use an app or web system for it, such as Skola24, Vklass, Unikum, InfoMentor or the municipality's own app. Others want a phone call or a text. Ask at the start which system your school uses, and log in with BankID.

You may also need to report absence to fritids separately. If your child is going to be away for other reasons, such as a trip, you apply for leave (ansöka om ledighet). The principal (rektor) decides.

For written messages to school, our Swedish email templates have ready-made versions you can adapt. The guide to Swedish at the doctor covers symptoms and calling 1177.

Vab: staying home with a sick child

Vab is short for vård av barn (care of a child) and means staying home from work to look after a sick child. The verb is vabba, and February, when everyone is sick, is jokingly called vabruari. While you vab, you can get tillfällig föräldrapenning (temporary parental benefit) from Försäkringskassan, the Social Insurance Agency.

How it works, in outline:

1. Tell your employer the same morning, following your workplace's routine.
2. Apply to Försäkringskassan, online at Mina sidor or in the app. For days from 1 April 2026, you must apply within 30 days of the first day you were at home (it used to be 90 days).
3. If your child is sick for more than seven days, you need a certificate (intyg) from a doctor or nurse from day 8.

Vab is mainly for children under 12; for older children, special rules apply. If you are unemployed and in a programme with Arbetsförmedlingen, you must report the vab to them first.

Fritids

Fritidshem, always called fritids, is after-school care at the school, before lessons start, after they end, and during most holidays. Children can attend from förskoleklass up to and including the spring term of the year they turn 13, if their parents work or study (or if the child needs it). You apply through the municipality and pay a fee based on household income.

Talking to teachers

Utvecklingssamtal and föräldramöte

The utvecklingssamtal (progress meeting) is a meeting between the teacher, your child and you about how your child is doing, both with schoolwork and socially. In grundskola it must happen at least once a term; in förskoleklass and förskola, at least once a year. A föräldramöte is a parents' meeting for the whole class or group, usually once or twice a year.

You can ask for an interpreter (tolk) for these meetings. Tell the school in good time.

Who is who at school

Useful phrases with teachers

Mother-tongue tuition

If your child speaks another language at home, they may have a right to modersmålsundervisning (mother-tongue tuition) in grundskola. The main conditions are that at least one guardian has a mother tongue other than Swedish, the child uses the language every day at home and has basic knowledge of it. The school only has to arrange it if at least five pupils want tuition in that language and there is a suitable teacher. For the national minority languages (Finnish, Yiddish, Meänkieli, Romani Chib and Sami), the rules are more generous. Tuition is voluntary, you apply through the school or municipality, and deadlines vary, so ask early.

Children who are new to Swedish can also get studiehandledning på modersmålet, study support in their own language, and svenska som andraspråk (Swedish as a second language) instead of the subject Swedish.

Messages and letters from school

Most school communication comes through the school app or email. These words come up constantly:

To work through a long message, paste it into the click-to-translate reader. Letters from the municipality or Försäkringskassan are covered in our guide to decoding letters from the authorities, and abbreviations like fr.o.m. and t.o.m. in the list of Swedish abbreviations.

School holidays

The dates are set locally, and sportlov in particular moves by region, so that not all of Sweden heads for the ski slopes in the same week. Check your municipality's school calendar, or see our overview of Swedish holidays and school breaks.

Keep learning alongside your children

Children in Swedish schools often overtake their parents within a year. You can keep up: a little Swedish every day goes a long way, and the vocabulary in this guide is the kind you will use every week. For more everyday phrases, see essential Swedish phrases, and practise numbers, dates and times with the numbers tool and the telling time tool. If you have just arrived, our guide to learning Swedish when you move to Sweden explains SFI.

Season 1 of our course, Complete Swedish, is free in full: video lessons with synced Swedish transcripts, so you can learn at home in the evenings, at your own pace.

FAQ

What does vab mean in Swedish?

Vab is short for vård av barn and means staying home from work to look after a sick child. You can get temporary parental benefit for it from Försäkringskassan, mainly for children under 12.

How long do I have to apply for vab?

For days from 1 April 2026, you must apply to Försäkringskassan within 30 days of the first day you were at home with your child. Before that, the limit was 90 days.

Is förskoleklass compulsory in Sweden?

Yes. Since autumn 2018, compulsory schooling starts in förskoleklass in the autumn of the year a child turns six. From autumn 2028, förskoleklass is replaced by a new year 1 in a ten-year grundskola.

When do Swedish children get grades?

Pupils get grades on a scale from A to F every term from the autumn of year 6. Before that, teachers write an individual development plan instead.

What is an utvecklingssamtal?

An utvecklingssamtal is a progress meeting between the teacher, the pupil and the parents about how the child is doing. In grundskola it is held at least once a term.

Does my child have a right to mother-tongue tuition?

Often, yes, if a parent has another mother tongue, the child uses the language daily at home and has basic knowledge of it. The school has to arrange it if at least five pupils want the language and there is a suitable teacher.

Sources

Last checked 7 October 2026.

• Försäkringskassan: Vård av barn (vab) and Kortare tid att ansöka om vab, 10-dagar och kontaktdagar (26 February 2026).
• Skolverket: Utvecklingssamtal och skriftlig individuell utvecklingsplan (IUP), Rätt till modersmålsundervisning and Aktuella regeländringar (mobile phones from 1 August 2026).
• Regeringen: Klubbat i riksdagen: tioårig grundskola från hösten 2028.
• Government bill prop. 2017/18:9 Skolstart vid sex års ålder (compulsory förskoleklass from autumn 2018).
• Skollagen (2010:800): förskola (chapter 8), fritidshem (chapter 14), free school meals (chapter 10).
• SCB: Grundskolan: betyg årskurs 6.