Efter mötet säger läraren till rektorn att hjälpen var viktig.

Because Swedish uses V2 word order in main clauses. That means the finite verb must come in the second position.

Here, Efter mötet is placed first:

• Efter mötet = first element
• so the verb must come next: säger
• then the subject comes after it: läraren

So:

• Efter mötet säger läraren ...

If there were no opening time phrase, you would normally get:

• Läraren säger till rektorn att hjälpen var viktig.

This is a very common feature of Swedish and often feels unusual to English speakers.

It means after the meeting.

• efter = after
• mötet = the meeting

This is a time expression placed at the beginning of the sentence. It tells you when the teacher speaks to the principal.

Because mötet is the definite form, meaning the meeting.

In Swedish, definiteness is usually shown by an ending on the noun:

• ett möte = a meeting
• mötet = the meeting

So Efter mötet means after the meeting, not just after a meeting or after meeting.

That -en is the usual definite ending for many common-gender nouns in Swedish.

Examples here:

• läraren = the teacher
• rektorn = the principal / the headteacher
• hjälpen = the help

This is one of the main ways Swedish marks the. Unlike English, Swedish often attaches the definite article to the end of the noun.

Because Swedish usually expresses the by adding a suffix to the noun.

So instead of:

• the teacher

Swedish says:

• läraren

And instead of:

• the principal

Swedish says:

• rektorn

A separate word like den/det is used in some situations, especially with adjectives, for example:

• den viktiga hjälpen = the important help

But without an adjective, the ending alone is usually enough:

• hjälpen = the help

Because säga till någon means say to someone.

So:

• säger till rektorn = says to the principal

English often uses tell where Swedish uses say to:

• The teacher tells the principal ...
• Swedish: Läraren säger till rektorn ...

So the till marks who receives the speech.

In this sentence, it basically means says to / tells the principal something.

That matters because säga till can also be a more fixed expression meaning things like:

• tell someone off
• tell someone to do something
• speak up / say something

But here the structure is straightforward:

• säger till rektorn att ...
• says to the principal that ...

So in this sentence, it is best understood simply as says to or tells.

Att here means that and introduces a subordinate clause.

So:

• att hjälpen var viktig = that the help was important

In English, that is often optional:

• The teacher tells the principal the help was important
• The teacher tells the principal that the help was important

In Swedish, att is often used clearly and naturally in this kind of sentence.

Because hjälpen is a common-gender noun.

In Swedish, adjectives agree with the noun in some contexts:

• common gender singular: viktig
• neuter singular: viktigt
• plural / definite forms in some contexts: viktiga

Since hjälpen is common gender, you get:

• hjälpen var viktig = the help was important

If the noun were neuter, you would use viktigt:

• stödet var viktigt = the support was important

Because the teacher is speaking now / after the meeting, but what the teacher says concerns something in the past.

So the timeline is:

• the meeting happened
• the help was important at that time
• after the meeting, the teacher says this to the principal

That is why Swedish uses:

• säger = says
• var viktig = was important

This is very natural and works much like English:

• After the meeting, the teacher says to the principal that the help was important.

Yes, depending on meaning.

• var viktig = was important
• har varit viktig = has been important

Var viktig presents the importance as belonging to a past situation. Har varit viktig can connect that past importance more strongly to the present.

In your sentence, var viktig is a simple and natural choice.

Because the sentence refers to specific help that both speaker and listener can identify.

• hjälpen = the help
• hjälp = help in a more general sense

So:

• att hjälpen var viktig = that the help was important

This suggests some particular help, probably help connected to the meeting or a known situation.

It usually means the principal, the headteacher, or the school director, depending on the school system and translation style.

For a learner, principal is usually the safest basic translation, but in some contexts headteacher may sound more natural.

You know mainly from word order and prepositions.

In this sentence:

• läraren is the subject, because it is connected to the verb säger
• rektorn comes after till, so it is the person the teacher is speaking to
• hjälpen is the subject of the subordinate clause att hjälpen var viktig

So the structure is:

• Efter mötet = time phrase
• säger = main verb
• läraren = subject
• till rektorn = to the principal
• att hjälpen var viktig = content of what is said

Yes, often you can.

A natural English translation might be:

• After the meeting, the teacher tells the principal that the help was important.

A more literal one is:

• After the meeting, the teacher says to the principal that the help was important.

Both capture the meaning. English usually prefers tell someone that..., while Swedish often uses säga till någon att...

Because Swedish usually does not require a comma after a short introductory phrase like that.

So:

• Efter mötet säger läraren ...

is normal Swedish punctuation.

English sometimes uses a comma more freely:

• After the meeting, the teacher tells the principal ...

But Swedish is usually less comma-heavy.

No. Efter mötet clearly means the speaking happens after the meeting.

If you wanted during the meeting, you would say something like:

• Under mötet ... = during the meeting

So the time relation is unambiguous here.

It is singular:

• läraren = the teacher

The plural would be:

• lärarna = the teachers

So the sentence is about one teacher speaking to one principal.

Yes. That would also be correct.

Compare:

• Efter mötet säger läraren till rektorn att hjälpen var viktig.
• Läraren säger till rektorn efter mötet att hjälpen var viktig.

Both are grammatical, but the first version puts special focus on the time phrase after the meeting by placing it first. That is a very common reason to move an adverbial to the front in Swedish.