The most common vacation times bring changes to the opening hours of early childhood education. During the autumn break, at Christmas, during the winter and summer holidays, municipal daycare centres are open so that groups and daycare centres close to each other combine their activities. In family daycare activities, activities are reduced due to personnel’s holidays. Private service providers inform their customers on their opening hours.
Early Childhood Education – exceptions to the opening hours during autumn 2018 – summer 2019
- Autumn break 22 Oct. – 28 Oct. 2018 (week 43): daycare centres are mainly open, but groups and daycare centres close to each other may combine their activities.
- Christmas 24 Dec. 2018 – 6 January 2019: Daycare centres are mainly closed and daycare is offered as a centralised service in each area in the following daycare units:
Central Oulu: Värttö (extended opening hours Mon.-Sun.), Ainola and Varpula (24-hour service)
Southern Oulu: Pitkäkangas, Vaskitie, Maikkula, Lämsänjärvi and Kuukkeli. In Kuukkeli, groups with extended opening hours are open even on 22 – 23 Dec. and all weekdays 27 Dec. 2018 – 6 Jan. 2019. Kuukkeli is closed on 24–26 Dec.
Eastern Oulu: Saarela (extended opening hours), Välikylä (extended opening hours), Kirkonkylä group family daycare centre (extended opening hours) and Pikku-Vesainen (extended opening hours)
Northern Oulu: Länsituuli (extended opening hours Mon.–Sun.) and Kuivasranta (extended opening hours Mon.–Fri.)
- Winter holidays 4 Mar. – 10 Mar. 2019 (week 10), daycare centres are mainly open, but groups and daycare centres close to each other may combine their activities.
- Summer on-call 1 Jul. 2019 – 4 Aug. 2019. Summer on-call is offered as a centralized service in so called on-call daycare units. During these times, daycare services are offered for only those who really need them, i.e. for children whose parents work or study during on-call times.
Exceptions to opening hours: extended opening hours and night-care
Extended opening hours and night-care is offered at all other times except Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. During Easter and Midsummer, Varpula in Ainola daycare has extended opening hours.
Pre-school education and open early childhood education in autumn 2018 – spring 2019
Autumn term 13 Aug. – 21 Dec. 2018
Spring term 7 Jan. – 31 May 2019
Holiday times with no pre-school education or open early childhood education:
- Autumn break 22 Oct. – 28 Oct. 2018 (week 43)
- Independence Day 6 Dec. 2018
- Friday after Independence Day 7 Dec. 2018
- Christmas break 22 Dec. 2018 – 6 Jan. 2019
- Winter holidays 4 Mar. – 10 Mar. 2019 (week 10)
- Easter 19 – 22 Apr. 2019
- Labour Day 1 May 2019
- Ascension Day 30 May 2019
Best wishes,
Director of Early Childhood Education
Ulla Rissanen
For more information, please contact your child's daycare centre.
