Helsinki has many public and private daycare centre options from which you can choose. They all follow the same pedagogical principles, and the staff are always qualified professionals.
All children have the right to attend daycare in Helsinki. The employment status or income of parents or guardians does not affect this. Read on to find out how to enrol your child in daycare in Helsinki.
Early childhood education in Finland emphasises learning through play and developing social skills. A typical day at a Helsinki daycare centre (päiväkoti) includes plenty play and outdoor activities. Children are provided with breakfast, a warm lunch and an afternoon snack, and younger children usually take a short nap.
When starting daycare, children usually have an introductory period during which parents or guardians can join them as the family gets to know the new routines. This gives you an opportunity to see how things work and ask questions.
Most children attend daycare in Finnish or Swedish, while some private daycare centres offer early childhood education in other languages, including English. Learn more about early childhood education in different languages.
If you work evenings or shifts, the city also offers round-the-clock daycare, including overnight care when needed.
If you and the daycare staff do not share a common language, support is available. Some municipal daycare centres have multilingual instructors who speak Somali, Arabic or Russian. They help children settle into daycare and support communication between families and staff. You can also ask the daycare staff to arrange an interpreter when needed.
Children should have appropriate clothing for long periods of outdoor play in all kinds of weather. Ask your daycare centre staff for a list of the items required.
Public daycare in Helsinki is affordable, 0–300 EUR a month, and low-income families may not have to pay a fee at all. The fee depends on your family’s income and size and the number of hours your child attends daycare. Use the city’s daycare fee calculator to estimate your fee.
Private daycare usually costs more, but financial support is available. Kela provides a private daycare allowance(Link leads to external service), and the City of Helsinki also provides financial support for private daycare.
Public daycare centres are scattered around every neighbourhood of the city, within walking distance of most homes. Use Helsinki’s daycare search tool to find your closest daycare centre: Daycare centres | City of Helsinki
Most families in Finland choose their local daycare centre that is a short walk from their home as it is very convenient in terms of transport.
Helsinki offers several alternatives to daycare centres, including family daycare and group family daycare.
You can also choose a private daycare centre. Applications are made directly to the daycare centre.
If you care for your child at home, municipal playgroups offer children aged two to five opportunities to play and spend time with other children. Playgroups usually meet for 2.5–3 hours a day several days a week and follow the school year, with breaks during school holidays and summer.
Helsinki’s playgrounds and family houses also offer free-of-charge activities for children and families.
Compulsory pre-primary education (esiopetus or, more familiarly, eskari) in starts in the year the child turns six in Finland. Children attend eskari at a daycare centre or primary school.
A day in eskari consists of four hours of instruction, after which most of the children remain in daycare for the afternoon. Eskari is free of charge. However, if the children stay for the afternoon, parents or guardians are required to pay a fee. The curriculum of pre-primary education focuses on preparing the children to start their journey in primary school. There are specific learning goals for the year, but no formal assessments.
If your child starts pre-primary education without Finnish or Swedish language skills, the city provides what is known as preparatory education to help the child learn the language. This instruction is available several hours a week at no cost.
Need help?
If you have questions about daycare, pre-primary education or education in general, get in touch with Education Division's advisory services:
- Call us on +358 9 310 44986(Link starts a phone call), Mon-Fri 10.00–12.00 and 13.00–15.00, or
- Come visit us at our service point on Tuesdays and Thursdays 10.00–12.00 pm and 13.00–15.00 at Työpajankatu 8, 00580 Helsinki.
