Primary and lower secondary education is based on the principle of an equal and adapted education for all in an inclusive unified school.
The introduction of the reform "Knowledge Promotion" has provided all grades with new curricula with clearly stated competence objectives. The curriculum has emphasised basic skills in being able to express oneself orally and in writing, in reading, in numeracy and in the use of digital tools.
The municipalities fund primary and lower secondary education and have a great deal of freedom when it comes to organising the education. Compulsory schooling in Norway lasts for ten years, and the children start school the year they are six years old.
