The Finnish-language Children and Young People's Services Committee has decided that a new international day care centre will be opened in Turku in August 2026. Applications for the new daycare center can be submitted starting in January 2026.
The international day care centre will open on 3 August 2026 at Lemminkäisenkatu 30. The same premises will also house the comprehensive education of Turku International School starting from 1 January 2026.
The new facilities will accommodate 450 pupils of the Turku International School and 84 children in early childhood education.
– There is a great need for early childhood education in English, as there are families constantly moving to Turku from abroad. English-language early childhood education serves both immigrant families and Finnish families returning to Finland whose children have attended international day care abroad, says Vesa Kulmala, Service Area Director for Early Childhood Education.
The day care centre is planned to have four groups of children and 12 employees. Every third employee will be a teacher in early childhood education and care. The new international day care centre will be Turku's first municipal English-language day care centre.
– At least in the beginning, in some of the groups, say two, the operational language is going to be English. In the rest of the groups, the intention is to implement large-scale bilingual early childhood and preschool education, says Anu Oksanen, Regional Manager of Eastern Early Childhood Education and Care.
The selection of children for the international day care centre will focus on children whose one or both parents speak English. It will also prioritise children who would benefit from English language skills in the future, for example if the family is planning to move to an English-speaking country.
The international day care centre will follow the same national and municipal early childhood education plan as other municipal day care centres in Finland.
Administratively, the international day care centre will be part of Tuomaansillan päiväkoti.
Applications for the new day care centre can be submitted via eVaka starting from January 2026.
- Meeting agendas and minutes (In Finnish)
- Log into the eVaka-service