Pre-school education is intended for six-year-olds, who will start their compulsory education in the following year. Participation in pre-school education is voluntary, and it is provided in day care centres and in pre-school classes operating in connection with comprehensive schools.

The objective of pre-school education is to create a playing and learning environment offering inspiring activities and providing children with opportunities to develop holistically together with their peers. The aim is also to involve the children and their parents in the planning of pre-school education.

In Finland, pre-school education means the systematic education and instruction provided in a day care centre or a comprehensive school in the year preceding the beginning of school. Consequently, the term 'pre-school education' lays emphasis on the preparation for school, as opposed to early childhood education in which children participate before pre-school education. Participation in pre-school education is voluntary. Day care centres charge a reasonable fee for instruction, depending on the parents' means. 

A core curriculum was drawn up for pre-school education. The general principles set forth in the core curriculum also emphasise the child's individuality and the significance of active learning and functioning as a group member. The core curriculum does not divide instruction into subjects or lessons, but it does include various subject fields and objectives. These subject fields are: language and interaction, mathematics, ethics and philosophy, environmental and natural studies, health, physical and motor development and art and culture.

Pre-school education is based on the child's own knowledge, skills and experiences. Its focus is on play and a positive outlook on life. The methods and activities in pre-school education are made to be as varied and versatile as possible. From the educational point of view, working methods that accustom children to teamwork are of the utmost importance. Another central consideration is to promote the child's own initiative and to emphasise its significance as the foundation for all activities.

Pre-school education does not have an official evaluation system, but children's development is keenly monitored. Special attention is paid to individual children's readiness for school attendance, i.e. the phase of their emotional, social and cognitive development.