Preschool Education

6 year-old children participate in municipal preschool education. If a 7 year-old child's school participation is delayed, they will also participate in preschool. If a decision of extended compulsory education has been made for a 5 year-old child, they may also participate in preschool.

The children attend preschool for four hours a day. Lunch is also provided. The preschool year mostly follows the working hours and holidays of school years.

Preschool participation is mandatory based on the Basic Education Act. The child's guardian is responsible that the child participates in preschool or in some comparable activity that achieves preschool goals during the year before entering basic education.

Pre-primary education in Oulu 2024-2025_0.pdf

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Signing up for preschool

Enrol your child in preschool education in eVaka's e-service.

In the year preceding compulsory education, the child must participate in a year-long pre-primary education or other activity that achieves the objectives of pre-primary education (Basic Education Act 628/1998).

The child is assigned a preschool place in his or her own local area according to the official home address entered in the population register. The local preschool place is not necessarily the nearest daycare centre or school with a preschool group. The wishes of guardians are taken into account as far as possible. A daycare centre to which the municipality must arrange transport is not designated as a place of pre-primary education if there is a daycare centre in the area to which there is no obligation to arrange transport.

You can also apply for a place in pre-primary education other than pre-primary education in your local area. In this case, you can submit a new application in the secondary application process after you have received a decision on your primary pre-primary education place. In this case, write down your wishes and justifications for a secondary preschool place in the application. Secondary places are allocated where possible. A secondary pre-primary education place granted to a child in connection with or in the vicinity of a particular school does not yet guarantee a place in that school.

If electronic filing is not possible, you can enrol your child in preschool education using a paper form.

For more information, please contact early childhood education service guidance

The service guidance team processes applications for early childhood education and preschool education and directs clients to the services they need.

Street address: Oulu10, Torikatu 10, 90100 OuluPostal address: P.O. Box 17, 90015 City of Oulu
Telephone service Tuesday-Thursday 9.00-12.00 tel. 08 558 45300 (press 1)

Early childhood care with preschool education

Daycare centres that provide preschool education also provide early childhood care in the mornings before preschool education and in the evenings after preschool education. A customer fee is charged for the use of early childhood care services which is 60 % of the full-time customer fee. If a preschool-aged child needs full-time early childhood care in the summer, the used care dates are charged.

Apply for supplementary early childhood care in eVaka.

Children have the right to supplementary early childhood care as well as to preschool education until the beginning of compulsory education.

Decision of preschool place

You will be informed about the granted preschool place by the end of March via the Suomi.fi service. If you have not registered into the Suomi.fi service, the decision will arrive via mail.

The preschool place will be chosen near the official address found in the population register. The chosen preschool might not be the nearest daycare or school that provides preschool education. The guardians’ wishes are taken into account if possible. If the child needs evening, weekend, nonstandard hour, or special care, the preschool place can be granted from other providers than the nearest preschool education provider.

A preschool education provider to which the municipality would need to arrange transportation will not be chosen if there is another preschool education provider nearby to which there is no need to arrange transportation.

The granted preschool place in a school or nearby a school does not guarantee a school place in that school.

Schools and daycare centres that offer preschool education

In Oulu, pre-primary education is organised in every residential area in such a way as to ensure that the child's learning path continues from preschool to school. Part of pre-primary education is procured as an outsourced service from private daycare centres. In other words, all pre-primary education is organised by the municipality, even if the pre-primary education place is in a private daycare centre.

Centralising pre-primary education in certain units ensures that the child has a sufficiently large peer group. This also makes it easier for the child to start school, because children move from the preschool group to the same schools. Children feel safer about starting school with friends they have already become familiar with during the preschool year.

Pre-primary education units from 1.8.2024

Northern Region:

Asema daycare centre (Haukipudas)
Herukka daycare centre
Jatulin Tarha daycare centre (Haukipudas)
Kello daycare centre
Kiviniemi daycare centre (Kello)
Kolistajantie daycare centre (Ritaharju)
Kuivasjärvi daycare centre
Kuivasranta daycare centre
Linnunrata daycare centre (Kello)
Länsituuli daycare centre (Haukipudas)
Martinniemi daycare centre
Merikotka daycare centre (Kaukovainio)
Palokka daycare centre (Pateniemi)
Pilke Usva daycare centre (Pateniemi)
Pöllökangas daycare centre (Kuivasjärvi)
Riekonmarja daycare centre (Herukka)
Ritaharju daycare centre
Ruiskukka daycare centre (Rajakylä)
Taikametsäntarha daycare centre (Haukipudas)
Tuulikello daycare centre (Teknologiakylä)
Touhula LystiVekara daycare centre (Ritaharju)
Touhula Ritaharju daycare centre

Eastern Region:

Alakylä school
Haapalehto daycare centre
Hintta daycare centre
Hiukkavaara community centre daycare centre Taikapolku
Hönttämäki daycare centre
Kiiminkijoki daycare centre
Laivakangas daycare centre
Mansikkamaa daycare centre (Kiiminki)
Metsämansikka daycare centre (Kiiminki)
Myllyoja daycare centre
Pilke Pikkukiulu daycare centre (Kiulukangas)
Pilke Soittajankangas daycare centre
Runokerä daycare centre (Kirkkokangas)
Saarela daycare centre
Satusiipi daycare centre (Haapalehto)
Soittajankangas daycare centre
Talvikangas daycare centre
Tipitii daycare centre (Alakylä)
Touhula Kivikkokangas daycare centre
Touhula Satumetsä daycare centre (Jääli)
Tuokkonen daycare centre (Jääli)
Vaskikangas daycare centre
Vekara-aho daycare centre (Kiiminki)
Vesala daycare centre (Ylikiiminki)
Välikylä daycare centre
Ylikiiminki daycare centre

Central region:

Allinpuisto daycare centre (Höyhtyä)
Heinätori daycare centre (Keskusta, open 24/7)
Kaarnalaiva daycare centre (Lintula)
Kaijonharju daycare centre
Kastelli Community Centre daycare centre
Kisakenttä daycare centre (Tuira)
Koskela daycare centre
Merikoski daycare centre (Tuira)
Meri-Toppila daycare centre
Mäntylä-Snellman daycare centre (Mäntylä)
Pikku-Aino daycare centre (Myllytulli, only English preschool education)
Pikku-Iikka daycare centre (Heinäpää)
Puolivälinkangas daycare centre
Sampola daycare centre (Kaijonharju)
Touhula Toppilansalmi
Villentarha (Isko)
Värttö daycare centre

Southern region:

Heikkilänkangas daycare centre
Kaakonpoika daycare centre (Kaakkuri)
Kirkonkylä school (Oulunsalo)
Knuutilankangas daycare centre
Kuukkelin daycare centre (Kaakkuri)
Maikkula daycare centre
Metsokangas daycare centre
Metsälinna daycare centre (Kaakkuri)
Mäntypelto daycare centre (Oulunsalo)
Neptunus daycare centre (Oulunsalo)
Niemenranta daycare centre (Oulunsalo)
Oulunlahti daycare centre
Pilke Viljami daycare centre (Kaakkuri)
Pitkäkangas daycare centre (Oulunsalo)
Salonpää daycare centre (Oulunsalo)
Sarasuo daycare centre (Kaakkuri)
Savotta-aukio daycare centre (Metsokangas)
Touhula Hiirulaisenkuja daycare centre (Hiironen)