Is Age 4 Too Young for School? What Finland Gets Right About Childhood

School starting age: Why Finland waits until 7 – and the UK doesn’t

In contrast to our broken system, children in Finland don’t start formal schooling until age 7. Before that, children can attend daycare or preschool, where the emphasis is firmly on play, creativity, and social development rather than formal academics. This approach supports healthy emotional and cognitive growth in the early years. Despite the later start, Finland consistently ranks at the top of international education tables, showing that giving children time to play and develop naturally leads to excellent outcomes. In the UK, children can start school as young as 4 - even though the legal school age is 5. The English Compulsory School Age (CSA) system was introduced in 1870 not for the benefit of children, but to push mothers back into the workforce as soon as possible. Mass schooling in England wasn’t designed with childhood wellbeing in mind (and still isn't), it was built to shape the children of a once-free, rural population into obedient workers for the industrial age. This led to rigid classrooms, uniforms, strict discipline, and a one-size-fits-all model. And over 150 years later, we’re still doing it! Despite all we now know about child development, creativity, and mental health, our system continues to prioritise conformity, early academics, and control (what it is really about) - usually at the expense of curiosity, wellbeing, and any 'real' learning.

Of course, no system is perfect, including Finland’s, and it’s important not to idealise any country without context. What I’m really trying to highlight isn’t about saying “Finland is perfect”, it’s about how deeply broken the UK system is. Here in England, we push children into formal learning earlier than almost anywhere else in the world. Our system is overloaded with testing, pressure, behavioural control, and league tables - and it’s showing the strain. Rising numbers of children are struggling with anxiety, school refusal, unmet SEND needs, and burnout. Families are leaving the system not because it’s working, but because it’s failing them.

So comparisons like this aren’t about envy or romanticising. They’re about asking, honestly: why are we doubling down on a system that so clearly isn’t serving children well? Finland’s later school start, emphasis on trust, teacher autonomy, and play-based early years might not be perfect, but it reflects a radically different mindset. And sometimes, stepping outside our own model is the only way to see how much we’ve normalised harm.

Do watch this great video (linked below), it highlights the significant difference between schools in the UK and Finland. Using the teacher's first name, no uniform, free lunches and equipment for all children, going to the loo without asking... And the kids all look so engaged, relaxed and happy to be there.

Schooling in Finland | Darren McGarvey: The State We're In | BBC Scotland