A hobby for everyone – Porvoo’s hobby model

You can only enrol your child in one club in the context of the hobby model.
Registration for the 2025–2026 school year starts in August.

You can find the range of activities offered by primary schools by school. The primary school hobby groups are primarily intended for pupils from the school in question, but pupils from other schools can also join the groups. There are also remote hobby activities for pupils in grades 3–6, which are common to all children in primary schools and can be attended remotely from the home. 

Activities offered at lower secondary schools are intended for all pupils in grades 6–9 in Porvoo. These activities are organised in different lower secondary schools and in public City facilities. In addition to this, children and young people can participate in ‘remote hobby clubs’ at home, with activity guidance provided online. These activities are open to all schoolchildren in Porvoo.

Please note that in addition to the clubs in Porvoo’s hobby model, schools also offer club activities supported by the Finnish National Agency for Education as well as paid activities, which the school will provide further information on.

Registration for hobby groups takes place before the start of the hobby and is announced separately in Wilma and the hobby calendar. You can enrol your child in one hobby model club to make sure there are enough places for everyone. Activities for children of primary school age take place on the school premises after the school day. The activities offered by each primary school are primarily intended for pupils from that school, but if there is room in the activity groups, pupils from other schools can also take part. If a child is enrolled in another school’s club, the parents are responsible for the child’s transfer and transport. If the club does not start immediately after the school day, you cannot stay on school premises to wait for the club, as no supervision is provided at the schools. Pupils in grades 6 to 9 can choose from the entire range of activities offered throughout the city. These activities are offered both at schools and in other City recreational facilities.

Schoolchildren’s hopes and wishes for leisure activities were mapped on the basis of a survey conducted in schools. Each participating school has collaborated on drafting a hobby calendar including different activity groups and other activities for different target groups based on the wishes expressed in the survey on the pupils.

Participants in hobbies are covered by the City’s accident insurance, similarly to during school hours. The journey home immediately after an activity is also covered, as are journeys home directly after school. In the event of an accident during a hobby activity, the instructor will know what to do. The guardian will be informed immediately after the incident and an agreement will be reached on how to proceed. After any incidents, the instructor will complete an accident report and submit it to the hobby activity coordinator.

• I am friendly to everyone
• I practise good manners
• I listen to the club instructor
• I follow the rules and guidelines
• I clean up after myself
• I give others space to work
• No inappropriate behaviour or bullying is tolerated at the club

The range of activities will be published in the week starting on 3 August at:

Register from 18 August 2025 onwards

Hobby activity terms:
Autumn term 8 September–12 December 2025
Spring term 12 January–15 May 2026

Activities are not organised during school holidays or public holidays.

Policy on participation in after-school clubs and hobby model clubs for the 2025–2026 school year:

A child participating in an after-school club (IP-kerho) can participate in hobby model activities organised in their own after-school club, but not in other hobby model activities.

Pupils are not entitled to chartered school transport after the hobby model club, but Matkahuolto primary school travel cards and mobile tickets can be used until 18.00.

You can ask the school contact person about issues related to the facilities. They are also responsible for internal communications within the school and support communications and marketing as regards pupils and guardians.
If the instructor is not present when the club starts, please contact the hobby activity instructor, the school contact person or the project coordinator, and we will sort it out.

The project coordinator will answer your questions about registration, club content and club instructors.

You can also reach the contact persons via Wilma.

• The instructor can be a club or association instructor or a private operator.
• The instructor must be 18 years of age or older.
• The instructor is expected to have a professional approach to instructing children and young people and the desire to interact with and educate respectful children and young people. They are also expected to provide an extract from their criminal record before working with children. 
• The City is responsible for the facilities, accident insurance for children and young people and enrolment.
• Once the club has started, the instructor is responsible for informing guardians, children and the school about any changes.
• If you are interested in mentoring hobby clubs and are not yet involved, you can contact the project coordinator.

Harrastamisen Suomen mallia koordinoi Porvoon nuorisopalvelut.
The Finnish model for leisure activities is coordinated by Porvoo Youth Services.
Hobby activities are organised and managed by local clubs, organisations, associations and private service providers. Hobby instructors are experts in the activities they supervise and have the necessary skills to instruct children and young people. All counsellors are of age, bound by confidentiality and obliged to act in accordance with Finnish law and the code of ethics for youth work (nuorisotyön ammattieettiset ohjeet). The contact details of the hobby instructors are provided to the guardians when they register for the hobby groups, and the hobby instructor is responsible for communications with the guardians.
If a place becomes available in a hobby group, the hobby instructor will notify the next person in line of the available place. If a child has been absent from the club three times in a row, the hobby coordinator will contact the guardians and ask if the child will continue in the club. The parent or guardian is obliged to inform the school if the pupil does not participate in the activity or stops it altogether. If the activity has to be cancelled, the instructor will inform the guardians, the school contact person and the coordinator. Information will be provided by email, SMS or other agreed means.

Porvoo’s hobby model is looking for service providers for the 2025–2026 school year. Read more about the call for tenders and how to submit a tender. 

The compensation for instruction paid by the client to the suppliers is €50.00/hour. 

Travel expenses will be reimbursed as follows: €0.59/km if the return journey to the school where the club is organised exceeds 10 km. In the calculation, the starting point of the journey is Raatihuoneenkatu 9, 06100 Porvoo. 

Material allowances are paid against the costs incurred for craft, visual arts, cooking and baking clubs. 

The order of preference of suppliers is determined by the quality score for each activity. Quality is assessed on the basis of the description of the hobby activities offered. The evaluation will take into account the diversity of the activities, the ambitiousness and innovation of the activities, the engagement and involvement of pupils, and the training and experience of the instructors. 

The call for tenders can be found on HILMA (hankintailmoitukset.fi). 

Click on ‘Offer’ on the front page of the call for tenders to access the Cloudia Supplier Portal, where you can submit your tender. A message will appear on the screen indicating that you are about to enter the Cloudia Supplier Portal. Click OK and you will be taken to the front page of the call for tender in the Cloudia Supplier Portal.  
If you have not previously created an account with the Cloudia Supplier Portal, click on ‘Register’ and fill in the requested information as instructed.

The Finnish model for leisure activities is a project that provides children and young people with free hobbies that they have asked for during the school day. In the long term, the model aims to improve the wellbeing of children, young people and families. The objective is also to find a meaningful hobby for every child and young person. The model strives to ensure that schoolchildren have a say in the activities that are organised for them, so that they can each find a hobby they enjoy.

Activities are designed in consultation with children and young people. The activities provided include crafts, sports, arts and culture and IT. One of the cornerstones of the Finnish model for leisure activities is that hobbies should be equal and should not depend on the financial situation of the family or e.g. on the lack of transport or hobby equipment. Participation in the activities is free of charge and does not require any special clothing or equipment. Activities are carried out in Finnish and Swedish and take place on school premises or in the surrounding area.