Early childhood education

Municipal and private daycare centres provide early childhood education and care on a full-time and part-time basis.  

Full-time early childhood education and care 
Care time more than 5 hours a day, the child may be present for every weekday of the month. 

Part-time early childhood education and care 

contracted days

• 10 d/m, 10 days a month, client fee 50% of the full-time fee 
• 15 d/m, 15 days a month, client fee 75% of the full-time fee 

Early childhood education and care time up to 5 h/day 

• The child may attend early childhood education and care for up to 5 hours a day. The client fee is 60% of the full-time fee. 

Early childhood education time up to 20 h/week 

• The child may The child may attend early childhood education and care for up to 20 hours a week. The client fee is 50% of the full-time fee. 

The municipality also provides evening and round-the-clock care. 

Day care centres

The eVaka Tampere online service

The City of Tampere early childhood education and care services provide family daycare that primarily takes place at a child minder’s home. 

Family daycare

Application and termination 

Private family daycare takes place both at a child minder’s home as well as in a group family daycare format. 

Pirkanmaan Yksityiset Perhepäivähoitajat ry

The services offered include activity clubs for young children and open family clubs. 

Open early childhood education is a good choice for families with no need for full-time early childhood education and care, but who want their children to be able to attend group activities on a regular basis. The clubs’ education activities are compliant with the City of Tampere early childhood education plan. 

The children’s play clubs are intended for Tampere children between the ages of 2 and 5. In the clubs, the children are accompanied by a carer throughout their stay. You may apply for a place in the club through an online form in the early childhood education services’ eVaka Tampere online service. One session of the club takes about three hours. A child may take part in up to 12 sessions a month. These clubs are free of charge. 

In an open family club, both children and parents attend together with a club counsellor. There is no need to apply for a place in an open family club; they are open to all families with children on a walk-in basis. 

eVaka Tampere - The online service for early childhood education and care 

One of the parents or another carer such as a relative may care for a child at home, benefiting from child home care allowance. This allowance can be applied for by a family with a child under the age of 3 who does not attend municipal early child hood education or receive a private daycare allowance. The application for child home care allowance is made directly to the Social Insurance Institution (Kela) and includes a fixed care allowance as well as a care supplement adjusted by income. 

Kela: child home care allowance

Allowances for the home care of children

Childcare allowances include the child home are allowance, the private daycare allowance, and any municipal supplement to a disability allowance for a person under 16 years. 

Finnish residents have a subjective right to daycare, which means families have the opportunity to apply for a place in municipal daycare, child home care allowance, or private daycare allowance. The allowances for the home care of children permit a child to be card for at home by one of the parents or, for example, a childcare worker hired to attend them at home. 
 
The Tampere supplement to the child home care allowance was discontinued starting in 2014 as a result of the 2014 city budget. 
 
Children who are cared for at home through the child home care allowance are nevertheless eligible to participate in early childhood education through the open club activities. 

Private daycare allowance and municipal supplement 

Municipal supplement to a disability allowance for a person under 16 years 

Paternity leave and early childhood education 

Caring for your child at home

A family that hires a childcare worker or other carer to attend their child at home is eligible for the private daycare allowance. The allowance is made up of a fixed care allowance, a care supplement adjusted by income, as well as a municipal supplement. Eligibility for the allowance requires the municipality to approve of the employment of the carer. 

The family must find and contact the carer themselves. The carer must be over 18 years of age. The carer may not live in the same household, nor may they be on parental leave while being paid parental allowance. 

Two or more families may jointly hire a carer for their children if the total number of children under school age to be cared for is four or less. 

After concluding an employment contract with the carer, the family will set up a meeting with an early childhood services customer service coordinator. 

The carer is obliged to attend the meeting, to provide proof of identity, and potentially a criminal record extract (employment for more than 3 months). 

An application for the private daycare allowance should be filed with the Social Insurance Institution (Kela) using Form WH1. In addition, Form WH2 must be filed by the coordinator, registering the municipality’s approval of the employment contract. 

The private daycare allowance applied for by the family/families will be paid by Kela directly to the provider. Kela will withhold the tax prepayments on this amount (WH1). 

It is the duty of the family to make the tax prepayments for the rest of the carer’s wage, as well as the legally mandated employer’s fees on the entirety of the wages. These include the pension (TAEL), accident insurance, unemployment insurance, group life insurance, and social security fees. 

More information about private daycare allowance and the municipal supplement

Kela (Social Insurance Institution of Finland): Private daycare allowance

Occupational safety and health divisions at the Regional State Administrative Agencies
Information on employment, employment legislation, and employment contracts. Forms necessary for employment. 

Employment contract form 

Temporary early childhood education and care may be provided for no more than five (5) days a calendar month. Inquiries should be made directly with the daycare centre manager. Temporary early childhood education and care has no effect on Kela family allowances.  

The cost of temporary early childhood education is a fixed 20 euros / day / child. 

Early childhood education and care plan

Tampere early childhood education and care – working together for the best of the child