Enroll your child in preschool from January 9 to 22

Your child born in 2017 will start preschool education on 14.8.2023. Enrolment in pre-primary education is 9.-22.1.2023.

According to the Basic Education Act, a child must participate in one-year pre-primary education or other activities that meet the objectives of pre-primary education in the year preceding the start of compulsory education. The responsibility for the child's participation lies with the guardian.

The child will be assigned a place in pre-primary education in their own local area according to the official place of residence entered in the population register. The place of immediate preschool education is not necessarily the nearest daycare centre or school with a preschool group.

You can also apply for a preschool place in a pre-primary education institution other than your local area. In this case, write down in the application your wishes and justifications for a secondary preschool place.

If possible, the wishes of the guardians are taken into account after the area's own preschoolers have been grouped. Secondary preschool education should not cause the need to create a new group.

Register your child for preschool education electronically in eVaka 9.-22.1.2023.

For those children (born in 2017) who in the fall of 2022 started two-year preschool education in a trial group, it is not necessary to fill out an application, since they have already been allocated a place in preschool education. If the guardians wish to change the child's place of pre-primary education, a new application must be submitted.

Supplementary early childhood education and care in addition to preschool education

Apply for early childhood education and care related to pre-primary education (full-time) using the same online application form as the pre-primary education place.  In addition to pre-primary education, children have the right to supplementary early childhood education and care until the start of compulsory education.

In daycare centres offering pre-primary education, early childhood education and care is arranged in the morning before the start of pre-primary education and in the afternoons after pre-primary education. The share of early childhood education and care is subject to a fee. The fee is 60 % of the full-time early childhood education fee.

What is preschool education? - Info for guardians

Oulu Early Childhood Education and Care Services organizes two Teams infos about preschool education with the same content on 10.1. at 17.30 and 17.1. at 17.30.  The events explain what preschool education means in practice, what changes at the start of preschool education, what benefits preschoolers receive and how to enroll in pre-primary education.

Participants have also the opportunity to ask preschool-related questions using the Teams messaging feature. The events will be held in Finnish.

Participation link for the info evening 10.1.2023: bit.ly/eoinfo1
Participation link for the info evening 17.1.2023: bit.ly/eoinfo2

For more information and help, please contact service guidance

If you need help filling in the application or want to discuss a suitable preschool place for your child, you can contact the early childhood education service guidance on weekdays from 9 am to 12 pm, tel. 08 558 45300, or send an email to varhaiskasvatus@ouka.fi.

More information about preschool education can be found on the preschool website: https://www.ouka.fi/oulu/english/preschool1