Applying for early childhood education

Vantaa also offers families the possibility to select the early childhood education hours:

• a maximum of 20 hours a week, or
• more than 20 but fewer than 25 hours a week, or
• more than 25 but fewer than 35 hours a week, or
• at least 35 but fewer than 50 hours a week. 

The selected early childhood education hours can be used according to the family’s needs on a daily basis or just a few days a week.

Family day care is available between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the family day carer’s home and in group family day care centres. Early childhood education in day care centres is mainly available between 6 a.m. and 5.15 p.m.

In addition, Vantaa has day care centres that offer night care (5.15 p.m. – 10 p.m.) and day care centres that are open 24/7, even in the weekends.

Early childhood education during evenings, nights and weekends is available for families who need it for their child because of the parents’ work or studies. The need is demonstrated with a certificate from the employer or school which must indicate the work or study schedule of the parent.

With an early childhood education application, you can apply for a place for your child in a municipal day care centre, group family day care and family day care as well as a service-voucher private day care centre and group family day care. Early childhood education is organized in English only in Y.E.S. Day Care Centre and in a private day care centre, Pilke Pohjantähti. You can apply for a place in clubs with club application.

You can apply for a place in a private day care centre, group family day care and family day care that operates with private day care allowance (Kela’s website) by contacting the day care centre or family day care provider directly.

The service voucher 

Private day care allowance

Decisions on municipal early childhood education are made approximately one month before the desired start time. However, for those starting in August, the decision is made already before Midsummer.

If you have applied for early childhood education for your child from a private day care centre or group family day care operating with service vouchers, you will receive a decision approximately one month after you submit the application. Urgent applications are processed immediately.

Read more about service vouchers >

Vantaa Info assists families in e.g. filling in applications for early childhood education, making income declarations related to customer fees as well as online services. Guidance is available in all Vantaa Info locations as well as by phone and email. Vantaa also has several early childhood education service counsellors (”palveluohjaaja” in Finnish). A service counsellor presents the various early childhood education options for families and helps them apply for a place in early childhood education.

If guardians wish to change the child’s current early childhood education place, a transfer application is to be prepared together with the daycare director, who submits the application on the guardian's/guardians’ behalf through the early childhood education customer system.  For service voucher clients, the transfer application is submitted on their behalf by the early childhood education service coordinator.  This procedure applies until guardians are able to submit transfer applications themselves directly in the customer system. 

For transfer applications, the following guiding principles are applied when assigning an early childhood education place:

• in case the family moves to another locality, the transfer will be implemented as soon as possible if it is not possible for the family to continue in the current early childhood education place, for instance, due to travel connections.
• if the opening hours of the child’s current unit are insufficient, the transfer will be implemented as soon as possible
• transfer applications for siblings are processed before other transfer applications
• a transfer is pursued if the distance between the home and the early childhood education place is more than 1.5 km
• as a last resort, a lottery is used as a guiding principle
• transfer applications are processed twice a year, in connection with the August and January decision-making periods. Moreover, transfer applications are processed before handling new early childhood education applications
• transfer applications must be submitted by March 31 for the August decision-making period and by August 31 for the January decision-making period
• local transfers (less than 1.5 km) are carried out if there are available places after new applicants have been placed.

Early childhood education places are assigned in accordance with the statutory application timelines. Places are granted according to the guardian’s/guardians’ preferences whenever possible.  All options listed by the guardian in the application are considered equal during the decision-making process.
 

When there are more applicants for a specific early childhood education place than available spots, the following guiding principles are applied:

• priority is given to placing siblings of the same family in the same daycare center or family daycare.
• known child-specific special needs. In these cases, the placement and required support measures are prepared in cooperation with the guardian(s), service guidance, the coordinating special education teacher for early childhood education, and any other relevant experts.
• formation of functional child groups and appropriate use of available places.
• transportation connections
• lottery. 

In addition, the following factors related to the nature of the service are considered when there are more applicants than available places:

Swedish-language early childhood education

• the guardians, or one of the guardians, speak(s) Swedish to the child
• the child has previous experience with a Swedish-speaking environment
• a sibling is enrolled in Swedish-language early childhood education.

Swedish-language immersion

• the child’s native language is a language other than Swedish
• the child is five years old when early childhood education begins
• the child’s sibling is in Swedish-language immersion education.

Go to early childhood education homepage >