Support for customer fees in private early childhood education and care
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.
With a service voucher or private daycare allowance, the family’s customer fee for Pilke daycare will not necessarily be higher than for municipal daycare.
The practices vary greatly between municipalities, but Pilke daycare centre managers are very familiar with them. We are happy to answer any questions you might have – just get in touch!
On this page, we’ll explain the forms of support for customer fees for private daycare, and answer some frequently asked questions. We have also gathered some application information for families in Espoo and Helsinki.
The fees for ECEC are determined based on the family’s situation
Customer fees are charged for ECEC at all municipal and private daycare centres. The final fee is determined by the parents’ or guardians’ income, the size of the family, and the length of the child’s stay at daycare.
In some municipalities, private daycare centres have been given permission to charge a slightly higher fee for the service they provide. Check with the Pilke daycare centre of your choice to find out the amount of any additional fee.
Ask the Pilke daycare centre manager for more information about whether your municipality uses a service voucher or private daycare allowance. At the same time, you’ll be given more detailed information on the amount of the customer fees for daycare for your family.
Both municipal and private daycare centres charge customer fees, which are determined by the size of the family, the parents’ income, and the amount of time the child spends at the daycare centre each day. Information about the daycare centre’s customer fees can be found on the website for each daycare centre - find your nearest Pilke daycare centre here.
You can receive either a service voucher for ECEC or Kela’s private daycare allowance to help cover the cost of private daycare. When you apply for a place at a Pilke daycare centre, you will receive more information from the daycare centre manager about the support your municipality provides for the cost of private early childhood education and care. You will also be given information about how and when to apply for support.
Practices vary greatly between municipalities, but Pilke daycare centre managers are very familiar with them. We are happy to answer any questions you might have – just get in touch!
You can find the contact details for our daycare centres using the Pilke daycare centre search function.
The customer fees that a family pays for early childhood education and care is determined by the family’s income, the size of the family, and the child’s need for ECEC, i.e., the length of the time the child spends at the daycare centre each day.
Most municipalities grant a service voucher for early childhood education and care that covers the price of private daycare, or the family can apply for Kela’s private daycare allowance; read more about the different types of support for daycare fees here.
You can find out the precise amount that your family will receive as a service voucher or private daycare allowance by contacting your municipality or Kela. The managers at your local Pilke daycare centre are also happy to help, as they have expert knowledge of the situation in their area.
In practice, the family pays a deductible as a customer fee for daycare; the municipality pays for the amount awarded as a service voucher, and correspondingly Kela pays private daycare allowance directly to Pilke.
Families whose child attends a private daycare centre and who have a Finnish personal identity code.
The amount of support awarded is determined by the family’s income, the size of the family, and the child’s need for early childhood education and care, i.e., the length of time the child spends at the daycare centre each day. You can find out the precise amount that your family will receive as a service voucher or private daycare allowance by contacting your municipality or Kela. The managers at your local Pilke daycare centre are also happy to help, as they have expert knowledge of the situation in their area
Families can only receive one type of support at once. It is not possible to receive both types of support at the same time.
Service voucher for early childhood education and care - good to know!
- The service voucher is a way for municipalities to organise various services for their residents alongside their own service provision. In early childhood education and care, the service voucher is a way to support families in using private daycare services.
- Service vouchers are applied for from the municipality of residence. Service vouchers are not used by all municipalities or by all daycare centres. If service vouchers are not used, a family can apply for private daycare allowance from Kela.
- You can apply for a service voucher as soon as your child has received a daycare place and you have made a service agreement with Pilke.
- Municipalities contact families directly to notify them that a service voucher has been awarded.
- The family’s income, the size of the family, and any other siblings in private ECEC all affect the value of the service voucher and thereby the total amount of customer fees that the family has to pay for early childhood education and care.
- How to apply: Service vouchers are awarded by the municipality in which the family resides.
- Ask your municipality’s customer services or Pilke for more information about applying for a service voucher.
Early childhood education and care service vouchers are available for daycare centre customer fees in municipalities and daycare centres that use service vouchers. Service vouchers are not granted at the same time as other support, such as private daycare allowance. A family can either apply for private daycare allowance or a service voucher, depending on the municipality and daycare centre.
The value of the service voucher varies. This is determined by the size of the family, the family’s income, and the length of time the child spends at daycare. In some municipalities, private daycare centres have been given permission to charge an additional fee for the service they provide. With a service voucher, the amount of customer fees paid by the family is usually the same as for municipal daycare. Ask a manager at the Pilke daycare centre of your choice for more information!
You can apply for a service voucher as soon as your child has received a daycare place and you have made a service agreement with Pilke.
Apply for a service voucher from your municipality. When you apply for a place at a Pilke daycare centre, the daycare centre manager will provide you with more information on how and when to apply for a service voucher in your municipality.
Different municipalities have made different decisions on the support for private daycare fees for families. Not all municipalities use service vouchers. If your municipality does not use service vouchers, you can apply for private daycare allowance from Kela.
Private daycare allowance - good to know!
- Private daycare allowance is a way to reimburse families for the costs of using private daycare services.
- Private daycare allowance is applied for from Kela.
- You can apply for private daycare allowance as soon as your child has received a daycare place and you have made a service agreement with Pilke. Private daycare allowance should be applied for no later than six months from the start of private daycare, and it is also paid retrospectively.
- You can check whether a decision has been made to award the allowance on Kela’s website, and a letter will also be posted to you.
- Private daycare allowance comprises a statutory care allowance and a care supplement, which is tied to income.
- In addition to private daycare allowance, some municipalities also use what is known as a municipal supplement. More information is available from the Pilke daycare centre of your choice or by contacting your municipality.
- How to apply: Private daycare allowance is awarded by Kela. Read Kela’s instructions on how to apply for private daycare allowance here, or ask us at Pilke for more information.
You can either receive a municipal service voucher or Kela’s private daycare allowance to cover the costs of customer fees for Pilke daycare centres. You can obtain more information about how your municipality provides support for customer fees for private early childhood education and care by contacting the manager at the daycare centre of your choice. We are happy to provide advice and guidance on applying for support, so don’t hesitate to contact us!
You can receive private daycare allowance once your child is attending a private daycare centre. You cannot receive the allowance at the same time as you receive other support, such as a service voucher. A family can either apply for private daycare allowance or a service voucher, depending on the municipality and daycare centre. The allowance will not be paid if either parent or guardian is paid child home care allowance.
Private daycare allowance comprises a statutory care allowance and a care supplement, which is tied to income. Some municipalities also pay a municipal supplement. Once private daycare allowance has been awarded, the final amount of customer fees to be paid by the child’s parents or guardians is determined based on the family’s income, the size of the family, and the length of time the child spends at daycare each day. In some municipalities, private daycare centres have been given permission to charge an additional fee for the service they provide. Ask a manager at the Pilke daycare centre of your choice for more information!
You should apply for private daycare allowance as soon as you have made a customer agreement with Pilke.
You can apply for private daycare allowance using the form on Kela’s website. If the allowance is granted, it will be paid directly to the daycare centre. The child’s parents/guardians are left to pay a customer fee, the amount of which is determined by the size of the family, the parents’ income, and the length of the child’s day at the daycare centre.
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