Childcare and Schools

In the city of Kalmar, an overall approach to the development and upbringing of children and young people between one and sixteen is applied to all activities at pre-school and compulsory school. The units are individually responsible for drawing up activities programmes and may adapt them to local conditions as they may see fit.
 
All children between the ages of one and five are entitled to take part in pre-school activities, although in some cases participation is restricted to only three hours a day. Notification of your childcare requirements should be submitted to the closest pre-school – a special form is available for the purpose. Your child will usually be offered a place at a pre-school within three or four months of the date of application. There are also several private pre-schools and parents’ cooperatives in the City, each with its own responsibility for queuing and placing the children. Activities at these schools are paid for out of public funds and are organised under the supervision of the local authorities. If you are considering sending your child to one of these schools, ask the headmaster or headmistress for further details.

Pre-school

Pre-school is intended for children between the ages of one and five. Some pre-schools keep open at night and have special sections for children with hearing impediments or allergies. There is a volountary public pre-school available for all four to five year olds.

Home daycare nursery

Daytime child-minders care for children aged one to five, sometimes outside normal working hours.

Open pre-school

Open pre-schools serve as a complement to home daycare nurseries and are a popular meeting place for stay-at-home parents. The Municipality runs three open pre-schools for children aged up to six years old.

Daytime recreation centres

Daytime recreation centres are open to children aged between six and ten, and sometimes up to the age of 12, outside school hours and during school holidays. Recreation centres usually stay open all the year round.

Alternative childcare

Kalmar also has several parents’ cooperatives at which the parents themselves work for an agreed number of days per year in return for a reduction in childcare fees. There are also a Montessori pre-school, a Waldorf pay-school and three private pre-schools.

Pre-school classes

All six-year-olds are entitled to attend pre-school classes for three hours a day during the school term.

The page has been reviewed 2010-08-06 Comment on the page