How to apply for a place at a daycare
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Want to know more about kindergartens – about applying for and starting at a daycare, ask us anything!
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Come to visit us
Welcome to visit us!
You are always warmly welcome and get to know us.
Please contact us, and we’ll arrange a time for a visit for you and your child.
Send daycare application
Applying to us is easy – with no commitments.
You can apply anytime, and we will promptly confirm the daycare for you.
Applying for a daycare place for the first time? Applying for and finding a daycare spot is relevant for families about 4–10 months before starting early childhood education.
However, we recommend submitting your application as soon as the need is known, to ensure a spot at your desired daycare. In some cases, your child could even start at a Pilke daycare as soon as the next business day.
This page contains information on applying for the first daycare place and starting early childhood education at Pilke’s daycare centres.
Starting early childhood education is a big step for both the child and the entire family.
At Pilke, we welcome your child genuinely and take account of their unique skills and interests. We ensure that group education is as individual as possible.
Please contact us anytime for further information, daycare places etc. – we are happy to help you.
Here is how to apply for a place at Pilke daycare
Are you familiar with the Pilke daycares in your area?
Before you decide to apply, you can find out more about Pilke daycares in your area and their activities by using the map search on our website. You can also find out what families with children have experienced at Pilke daycares.
Pilke daycares offer different focuses depending on the daycare. Our daycares focus on languages, science, nature, sports, music, art and expression – read more about the learning orientations here.
You are very welcome to visit our daycares before applying for a place.
Please contact us. We’ll get back to you, and let’s chat for more and we’ll arrange a personal visit and meeting at a Pilke daycare.
How to apply for a daycare centre at Pilke
On each Pilke daycare centre’s own page you will find more detailed information on how to apply.
You can fill in the application form quickly and easily online in just a few minutes. No attachments are required, the application form asks for them:
- information about the child
- contact details
- details of the guardian(s)
- care needs (full-time, part-time, pre-school, other)
- preferred starting date
- additional information (allergies and other additional wishes and concerns).
You will receive an email acknowledgement once you have submitted your application.
You will be contacted within 2 working days by the manager of the daycare centre.
Sending your application is not binding. We will conclude a service contract when you decide to accept the offered place in the daycare.
Choose the right daycare for your family
In Finland there are municipal and private kindergartens, like Pilke. All of them comply with the Finnish Early Childhood Education Act and the operations are guided by the national early childhood education plan.
It is up to each family to choose which daycare they prefer.
You can also find lots of information about daycare and early childhood education and how to apply for a place on your own municipal or city website.
All Pilke daycare centres offer innovative early childhood education and pre-school education based on active learning and professional teaching in our day care centres across Finland.
Pilke early childhood education focuses on ensuring that children are always safe and well – and that our professional adults know how to meet, activate and listen to them in the right way
Care and education, hand in hand
For us, quality early childhood education involves learning through play and gentle interaction.
We see and recognize each child’s unique talents and support their strengths. We are passionate about our work and build safe and inspiring learning pathways for everyone.
It is important to us that our staff have time to meet children and families in a genuine and individual way. Welcome to Pilke!
What are the differences between private and municipal daycare centres?
The same objectives and quality indicators of early childhood education and care, including personnel allocation and qualification requirements, apply to all daycare centres – both private and municipal. All of Finland’s early childhood education professionals are trained in compliance with the same curricula in the same educational institutions.
The quality of private daycare centres is monitored and supervised in a similar manner as that of municipal early childhood education and care. In practice, this means that municipal authorities perform monitoring and control visits as well as audits at Pilke’s daycare centres. In addition, our daycare centres prepare own-check plans that are updated annually and can be read by the children’s guardians at their daycare centre.
Private daycare as an option
In Finland, hundreds of private daycare centres provide tens of thousands of children with education and care every day. Private daycare actors have formed an integral part of Finnish early childhood education and care since its conception in the 19th century.
Private daycare centres serve families flexibly by, for example, providing early childhood education with various learning orientations. Pilke’s learning orientations include languages, science, nature, sports, music as well as art and expression. Read more about Pilke’s learning orientations here.
At Pilke, we constantly endeavour to improve our operation to better meet families’ everyday needs. We constantly develop our pedagogical activities and novel, innovative services.
What is the price of a place in private early childhood education?
The client fee of both municipal and private early childhood education and care is based on the family’s size, the parents’ income and the length of the child’s days at daycare. The price of private daycare services is not necessarily higher than that of municipal early childhood education as most municipalities provide service vouchers or the opportunity to apply for private daycare allowance from Kela to cover the client fees.
Families are supported with private daycare customer fees in two separate ways. Depending on where the family lives, they may be provided with a municipal service voucher or Kela’s private daycare allowance.
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