Our story

Our story began in 2015 when we (INTO SCHOOL’s founders, Janne Hiedanniemi, Kari Saarilahti and Tuomas Hiedanniemi, all teachers, some fathers, multiple Finnish Grammy-winning music producers, and most of all best friends) arrived at a collective realization: we had the ideas, passion, and expertise to revolutionize teaching and learning in Finland and around the world.

Working collaboratively, we devised an educational concept and practical model that helps children discover their innate creativity, and inspires teachers to fall in love with the educational potential of technology. As we began to develop and refine our idea, we became increasingly aware of an increasing need to imagine potent new teaching methods incorporating digital pedagogy.

Crucially, we saw that our ideas answered that need. Supported by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland, we founded INTO SCHOOL and started to organize teacher trainings for Finland-based teachers and educators, from early childhood education to secondary school, from Helsinki to Utsjoki up north.

As the awareness of our activities increased, so did interest and demand. Soon this demand extended beyond Finland’s borders and to date, we have delivered on-site and remote training throughout the world, in places such as Paris, Madrid, Cologne, Luebeck, Budapest, Belgrade, Dubai, Singapore and Beijing.

A music and creativity focused preschool was the next logical step of the INTO SCHOOL enterprise and one that we had considered from the outset. The idea often came up in internal discussions and we realized that clients and other partners frequently asked if we had any such plans.

Finally, in 2020 the opportunity arose to make this idea a reality.

In January 2021, the first INTO SCHOOL unit opened its doors in Lauttasaari , Finland welcoming our first preschoolers to personal development opportunities as limitless as the horizon of our sea view there.

In January 2024, the story continued when the new and exciting
INTO SCHOOL Herttoniemi opened its doors in two floors in Kauppakeskus Hertsi!

Our values

Children enjoyment, enthusiasm, learning, creativity and cooperative working skills

Staff professionalism, commitment, encouragement and responsibility

Continuous development work based on stakeholder feedback and social change

Sustainable development in all our activities

Everyone's well-being, mental and physical safety

Responsibility

Safe Learning Environment for Children

Every member of our staff is committed to caring for the well-being and safety of our children. All care and learning spaces are bright, spacious, and free from obstruction. As well as functional and safety considerations, our spaces have been designed with comfort, enjoyment and accessibility in mind. Indoor air quality is regularly monitored.

Working with Parents

We are committed to continuously monitoring and developing the quality of every aspect of the early childhood education and care that we provide, in cooperation with parents and the City of Helsinki. We strive to ensure that parents are always included and that their interest and input are appreciated and valued. The values and daily activities of our preschool are always visible through activities such as celebrations and theme days, through pedagogical documentation and feedback, and by actively and transparently communicating our activities.

Appreciating and Caring for Staff

We are immensely proud of the people that we employ at INTO SCHOOL and forever grateful to them for their vital role in all our achievements. Every successful endeavour is dependent on the quality of those working together to achieve its aims and to ensure that every worker is helped to produce awesome work for your children, we strive to ensure that every member of staff enjoys their work, knows that they are appreciated and cared for, and has the opportunity to develop and progress their role and skills.

High Quality Food

We ensure that our preschoolers are served a varied, tasty and healthy menu, lovingly prepared from fresh, mainly locally-sourced ingredients. Our food is provided by HSIS Catering, a family business based in Espoo with many years experience of catering to the early childhood education sector.

Responsible Partners

To ensure that our learning environments are safe and sustainable as well as comfortable and enjoyable, we invest in safe, ecologically responsible materials. Our walls are decorated using Uula iNTO Interior Paints, which are emission-free, odourless, and plastic-free. Our floors are Forbo, The Nordic Ecolabel (Nordic swan mark) awarded Marmoleum-linoleum flooring, responsibly manufactured from natural, durable and 97% renewable raw materials. The furniture at INTO SCHOOL is comfortable, practical and attractive. ByNiemi (Niemen Tehtaat Oy) from Sastamala supplies our furniture, all of which is manufactured in Finland.