Pre-school education

In Varkaus, applications for pre-primary education are made in week 7.Applications for pre-primary education are made according to the instructions that are mailed to homes. You can apply for supplementary early childhood education with the same application. Printable applications and forms for pre-primary education can be found here.

The decision on the pre-school place and the possible additional early childhood education place will be sent to the family in the spring. Confirmation of acceptance of the place is required.

For more information on pre-school education in nurseries, please contact the nursery directors, and for pre-school education in schools, please contact the head of pre-school education in the schools.

Pre-school education is provided in Varkaus in four schools and two day-care centres in the city, as well as in the Touhula Taikapolu day-care centre (a private day-care centre).

You can find out more about the pre-school places via the links below.

Kankunharju day nursery, pre-primary education
Pre-school education at Könönpellö school
Lehtoniemi school pre-school
Repokanka school pre-school
Taulumäki kindergarten, pre-school education
Pre-school education at Waltteri school

Private pre-school education in Touhula Taikapolu

Determination of fees

The maximum monthly fee for full-day care for the youngest child in a family is EUR 311. For the second child, the fee is 40% of the full-day fee for the youngest child, up to a maximum of €124, and for the other children 20% of the full-day fee for the youngest child, up to a maximum of €62. The lowest fee is €30.

Family size

Under the Early Childhood Education and Care Fee Act, the size of the family is taken into account for persons living in a joint household in a married or unmarried state and their minor children. Entitlement to an early childhood education place starts at the beginning of the calendar month in which the child reaches nine months and ends at the beginning of compulsory education.

Family income

The family income is taken into account as taxable income, including earned income, capital income and tax-exempt income. Either 4% or 5% of the holiday allowance is added to the earned income.

Income does not include childcare allowance (but flexible and partial childcare allowance is taken into account) and child benefit, disability allowance under the Disability Benefits Act (570/2007) for persons under 16, disability allowance for persons aged 16 and over, care allowance for pensioners and dietary allowance, child supplement under the National Pensions Act (568/2007), housing allowance, medical care and examination expenses under accident insurance, military allowance, front-line allowance, study allowance under the Study Allowance Act (65/1994), adult education allowance, income support, maintenance allowance for labour market support or education support, study grants and other similar allowances, and reimbursement of family care costs. The deduction from income takes into account maintenance payments made for children outside the family and other similar costs arising from the actual family relationship, as well as the prosecution costs.

From 1 January 2021, the City of Varkaus Early Childhood Education will receive salary, pension and benefit data from the Incomes Register.

The consent of the guardians must always be obtained before income can be checked in the Register of Income.

Entrepreneurs' income is not reported to the Incomes Register, so customers must report their business income themselves. Capital income (e.g. rental income, interest income, dividend income), forest income, union daily allowances and maintenance payments agreed between guardians must also continue to be declared by the client.

Income from wages and salaries does not come automatically from the Income Register, but must always be checked by the Welfare and Education Division.

Families are obliged to report any changes in income or family composition, such as returning to work after unemployment, becoming unemployed, taking maternity or parental leave or leave to care for a child at home, starting or leaving education. These changes are not reported to Welfare and Education, so the responsibility for reporting changes in income and family size remains with families.

If the child's guardians live at different addresses, but the child is provided with early childhood education in only one municipality, the fee is based on the income of the family with which the child has his/her place of residence in accordance with the Act on the Population Information System and the Population Register Centre's certification services (661/2009).

If the report is not submitted by the end of the first month of care or is incomplete, the highest fee is charged. The difference between the highest fee and the fee based on the statement of results is not refundable.

July is free of charge

July is free of charge in 2025 if the child has been in continuous care since August 2024.

Absences

If a child is absent due to illness for more than 10 days per month, half of the monthly fee will be charged. If the absence due to illness lasts 10 days or less, the full monthly fee is charged.

If the child is absent for the whole calendar month due to illness, no fee is charged. If the child is absent for all the days of the month for reasons other than illness, half the monthly fee is charged. In other cases, the full fee will be charged. This means that even one day of attendance can result in the full monthly fee being charged.

Rehabilitation treatment.

Rehabilitative early childhood education provided free of charge as special care for children with developmental disabilities will be phased out in accordance with the Disability Services Act, which came into force on 1 January 2025. The right to free rehabilitative early childhood education for a child with a developmental disability who started early childhood education before 1 January 2025 remains and is free of charge to the extent specified in the child's special care programme. For children who started early childhood education after 1 January 2025, a customer fee is charged in accordance with the Early Childhood Education Customer Fee Act.

For changes to the due date of the early childhood education invoice, queries about payments made and collection: Wakaus Keski-Savon tilipalvelut Oy, talous@wakaus.fi

Contribution rates and income limits from 1.8.2024.

If the family size exceeds six, the income limit is increased by €275 for each subsequent minor child in the family.

For example, for a family of 4 (both parents and two children under school age), the early childhood education fees are as follows:

Gross family income per month €6237€-5956€ (income limit according to the table) = €281 of which 10.7% is €30.00/month.

The amount of the contribution is rounded to the nearest euro.