Early Childhood Education

The City of Turku has roughly 50 day-care units that may consist of several separate day-care centres or a nursery school, for example. We have operations in over 90 branches.

The City of Turku Department of Early Childhood Education offers part-time and full-time day-care activities, evening and 24-hour day-care services, preschool education as well as supplementary day-care either in connection with day-care centres or schools. Family day care is organised in the carer’s own home or in the homes of the children. There are also many private day-care units in Turku, where families may acquire day-care with support from the city.

Open early childhood education covers nearly 30 playgrounds all over the city. Playschools and family clubs, sometimes organised in cooperation with parishes or the third sector, are also part of open early childhood education. Some playschools are even organised outside.

Early childhood education also organises language immersion courses and pre-schooling in Swedish, as well as English language activities and pre-schooling. Additionally, our tasks include supporting children in cultural minorities in growing as a member of their own culture and the Finnish society.

Early childhood education services include various forms of support designed for individual children available in their day-care centre or in special regional groups. Special needs teachers support children, the staff and families by consulting and participating in everyday activities in day-care centres.

Many projects promoting children’s sports and activities focused on children’s everyday athletics in corporate  early childhood education. Turku also offers language showers and pre-schooling in English. Pri-vate day-care centres also offer day-care in French, English or Russian.

Early childhood education private services service area director is Vesa Kulmala.