Join our mission to help children become joyful lifelong learners


Kipinä is Finnish for "the spark"

Our mission is to ignite that spark in children to foster lifelong learning, critical thinking, independent enquiry and empathy.  The best time to do this is when children are under the age of 5 or 6. That's why our slogan is

"Start at the Finnish"

In a world where nobody knows what technologies will be important in the future, we have to teach children to teach themselves. Transferring knowledge is not enough. Children also need skills, attitudes and values to thrive.

Kipinä has developed, tested and perfected, a 21st Century Enhanced Finland Curriculum that's supported with amazing tools and resources.

Unique Enhanced Finland  Curriculum

 (in English, French, Russian, or Arabic)

The Kipinä curricula cover six key learning areas (which are mapped to Finland's Transversal Competencies) including: Literature, Communication & Language, Relationships & Character Development, Cultural Awareness & Diversity, Numeracy, Cognitive Development through Play and Exploration, Physical Development & Wellness Awareness.


Using this as a starting point Kipinä adds Focused Instruction, STEAM elements, executive functioning and 21st century skills.


Kipinä is a teacher-led learning framework where all the activities are play-based but learning is intentional, measurable, and scaffolded. 

Easy-to-use Teacher Tablet App (Android)

The teacher app works on any late model android tablet with a screen size of 10 inches. Teachers simply download the app from Google Play, enter their login credentials, and wham! - they can see their classroom, their kids, their lesson plan for the day, and all the skills they are tracking to ensure children are progressing. Using the app they can share text messages, videos, photos, voice notes, journal activities, badges and progress reports, directly with a single parent, or with multiple parents, instantly. Just by touching a few icons. Your teachers will thank you for the time they save and for removing tedium administration they are usually forced to do.

World Class Operations Documentation

Owning or managing a kindergarten is becoming increasingly difficult and you may be hit with legal claims by parents, or compliance issues with licensing authorities, at any time. Kipinä provides you with world-class document templates for every imaginable use - from Policies & Procedures to Emergency Response, HR, Operations, Consent Forms - we have you covered.

Online Resource Centre

Owning or managing a kindergarten is becoming increasingly difficult and you may be hit with legal claims by parents, or compliance issues with licensing authorities, at any time. Kipinä provides you with world-class document templates for every imaginable use - from Policies & Procedures to Emergency Response, HR, Operations, Consent Forms - we have you covered.

200+ Weekly Lesson Plans. Your Teachers Will Love You

Finland is blessed with largely free or highly subsidised education. Consequently, Finnish teachers are highly educated (usually to Master's degree level) and they are exposed to many disciplines and learning pathways. Kipinä has created more than 200 weekly lesson plans for children aged from birth to 6 years. Teachers can use these lesson plans to deliver expertly crafted activities that guide children on their learning journeys.

Real-Time, Live Feed, Parent Apps (iOS + Android)

Parents download their app from Apple or Google Play. It works seamlessly with any modern late model smart phone. They enter their login details and wham! - their screen is automatically populated with their child's information and a daily feed. Here they can see photos, videos, messages, diary notes, and progress reports that have been shared by their child's teacher in real-time. They can see activities their child is doing today and how that relates to the curriculum, lesson plans and learning objectives.

Complete Branding & Architect Designs

Complete Branding & Architect Design

We take away all the guesswork by providing you with our Start-Up Guide, full design elements for every classroom, piece of furniture, IT, shade cloth, paint colour, playground ... and we direct you to the vendors so you can source everything at the best price.


Always-Free Fast-Track Teacher Training from Kipinä

Our Online Academy provides video-based, self-paced, professional training in Finnish Pedagogy and the latest research and tools used by Kipinä. Onboarding new staff (or replacing staff who leave) is easy and painless, with no downtime.

Onsite Teacher-Training Workshop & PR Activities

If you need it (although we think you won't), Kipinä can provide a custom onsite teacher training workshop for your staff at your school. The workshop usually takes 5 to 8 working days. 

Exclusive Territory

& Protected Brand Name

Kipinä® and 'Start at the Finnish'® are registered, protected trademarks, which means only fully-licensed and approved early childhood facilities can use the Kipinä name and benefit from its reputation.


Together, we agree on a protected territory around your school so you'll be the only one in your catchment offering the Kipinä program.

Simple Management Software. Cloud-based. Always Secure.

Administrators use the desktop version. It's securely hosted in the cloud and can be accessed from any computer and any browser that has an internet connection. This is where you adjust settings and enter some simple key data such as: open hours, term dates, classes, staff profiles, parent info, and of course child profiles (including medical records and consent forms). Any paper documents can also be scanned and uploaded, keeping all your records in one place.


Information recorded by teachers using their app, such as attendance, activities, daily journal (eating, sleeping etc), as well as photos, videos and messages to parents, are automatically saved to the child's file for administrators to monitor and review.

Dedicated Software & Academic HelpDesk Support

Guaranteed Software & App Helpdesk with ticketing system, and hotline for Academic support to keep your kindergarten running smoothly.

Website, Social Media & Email Set Up for you

Within 48 hours we'll have your website and social media sites up and running and ready to begin pre-marketing even while you are finalising your property. Not only that, we pay for hosting and maintaining your website.


University-Certified Teacher Training

(in Finnish Pedagogy)

All your teachers can receive post-graduate level online training in Finnish Pedagogy & Finnish Academic Leadership through our university partners Häme (Finland). We provide 3 different modules that have been specially designed for teachers outside Finland. Average completion time is 6-8 weeks. 

Our success is evident

19 SCHOOLS

12 COUNTRIES

3000+ CHILDREN

500+ TEACHERS

7 LANGUAGES

MORE PLANNED

Some of our nurseries and preschools

Meet our Global Academic Director, Jeannine Laubner.

Jeannine is a fourth generation teacher, and mother of two Kipinä-educated kids. Hailing from San Francisco, USA, she is a successful leader in education with over 18 years experience. She holds a Masters degree in Teaching, a Bachelors degree in Psychology, and Cross-Cultural Language and Academic Development certification. Jeannine is currently working on constantly enhancing and developing teaching tools for the Kipinä Enhanced Finland Curriculum. She is the author of “Millennials Guide To Early Childhood Education.”

What do our franchise partners say?

Working with Kipinä has been a great pleasure. Kipinä brings the highest standards and best international practices across all areas from project management to design to teacher training and marketing. The directors are experts and are always happy to share their knowledge. They have been beside us every step of the way and share our commitment to Indonesia and our excitement in already opening  4 beautiful new Kipinä campuses with another 4 by mid 2023. Our schools are fully subscribed and parents love our facilities.

Sudino Lim

Executive Director Kipinä Preschools Indonesia, Director Pradita University, Director Tzu Chi School Pik



We are thrilled to be part of the big Kipinä family. Since day one, Kipinä directors took charge of our project and supported us every step of the way, from developing the architectural plans, internal design, the list of suppliers, internal processes, marketing strategies to the Full Curriculum and lessons plans - being part of the Kipinä family is the best choice we have made.

Imane Boucharra

Director Kipinä Preschool Dar Bouazza, Morocco

Kipinä Franchise

  • Initially for 10 years and can be extended up to 40 years
  • Full start up and operations assistance
  • Options from a single school franchise to a city-wide or country-wide Area Developer Franchise