Preschool education in Swedish

Children attend one year of pre-primary education before their compulsory education starts. Your child will receive preschool education in schools and day cares. Preschool schedule mostly follows the work and holiday schedule of comprehensive schools. Contact your child’s preschool using eVaka online services.

Your child has a right to preschool education. That means that your child must take part in preschool or other comparable activity, that fulfils the goals of preschool education, the year before the start of basic education. Your child has a right to supplementary early childhood education in addition to preschool education. Preschool education follows the preschool curriculum of the City of Turku.

Getting into preschool education in Swedish

You can choose in which pre-primary education you enrol your child. The goal is an uninterrupted path of learning, so each child starting their pre-primary education connected to a school can continue going to that school for their basic education.

If there are more applicants than available places, selection criteria are looked at in the following order:

1. Health reasons and needs
2. Preschools accessibility. (The evaluation is based on Föli’s journey planner. The evaluation will be made primarily based on safe walking routes and after that on a safe route using public transportation.) The accessibility is calculated using each school’s address.
3. Siblings in the school
4. Draw lots

To fulfill the first requirement, you must have decision about special needs or other certificates. The sibling criterion is applied if there are siblings in the same school during the starting year of the pre-primary education.

Supplementary early childhood education

If needed, your child can be in early childhood education before and after preschool education. Supplementary early childhood education happens at the same place as your child’s pre-primary education, so your child does have to move from one place to another during the day. You have to pay a fee to take part in supplementary early childhood education. If your child needs this service, fill out an early childhood education application form in eVaka online services. The fee is based on your family’s income.

Transport subsidy

Your child may be entitled to a travel allowance if the distance to the nearest pre-school is more than 5 km, and your child does not participate in early childhood education.

Preschool education is provided for residents aged 6 years. Preschool education is also available to 7-year-olds whose school entry has been postponed. Preprimary education is also available to 5-year-olds who have been subject to a decision on extended compulsory education.

Contact your child’s preschool using eVaka online services.