Apply for an early childhood education place

Children are entitled to early childhood education from the beginning of the calendar month in which they turn nine months old. The municipality does not have to provide early childhood education for the period for which parental allowance is paid. However, early childhood education and care must be provided for the period for which parental allowance is paid on a part-time basis because of part-time work. The right to the same place of early childhood education and care is maintained even if the child is absent from early childhood education and care during the period for which parental allowance is paid, if the absence lasts for a continuous period not exceeding 13 weeks.

You can apply for an early childhood education place all year round, but at least four months before you need it. If the child needs early childhood education and care because of the carer’s employment, education or studies and the timing of the need cannot be predicted, the application must be made at least two weeks before the child needs the place.

You must be notified within one week of receiving the decision if you have been granted an early childhood education place.

The start of early childhood education and care may be postponed by up to one month from the date of the start of the early childhood education and care.

For more information on services and how to apply for them, please contact a service adviser.

Applying for early childhood education/preschool enrolment

Early childhood education and care places are applied for electronically, and pre-school enrolment is also done electronically (recommendation: use a computer to apply).

Use the links below to apply for an early childhood education place and enrol in pre-primary education.

Application for an early childhood education place

Enrolment in pre-primary education

The application for free pre-school transport is currently only available in paper form:

Application for free pre-school transport, pdf

If the web form does not open or work, for example due to a refresh, try again the next day.

If the online application still fails, please contact us: