Early Childhood Education and Care places are granted in Vaasa’s Early Childhood Education and Care in accordance with the joint principles approved by the Education Board.
Requests made by guardians
A guardian can state one to four preferences for Early Childhood Education and Care service locations in the application. Preferences are considered in the order given in the application.
Service locations can be:
- municipal daycare centres
- family day care places
- private daycare centres
Start date for Early Childhood Education and Care
When granting an Early Childhood Education and Care place, consideration is given to when the child needs care. When processing applications, the following are observed:
- a four-month application period
- a two-week deadline in sudden and unforeseen situations
Siblings
Siblings are given priority to be allocated a place at the same service location when possible.
There may be exceptions, for example when the child is:
- in pre-primary education
- in non-Finnish (English-language) Early Childhood Education and Care
- in language immersion Early Childhood Education and Care
In these situations a sibling cannot always be granted a place at the same service location.
Home address and availability of places
An appropriate Early Childhood Education and Care place is sought for the child according to the guardian’s preferences or, for example, as close to home as possible. The availability of places at service locations is taken into account when allocating.
Sudden and unforeseen need
If the need for Early Childhood Education and Care has not been foreseeable, an application must be made as soon as possible, but no later than two weeks before the start of care.
In this case the guardian must provide documentation that the need is due to, for example:
- employment
- studies or training
- a move to another municipality due to work or studies
Changing Early Childhood Education and Care place and closure of a service point
If the family requests to change the child’s current Early Childhood Education and Care place to another, the same allocation criteria apply as for new applicants.
If an Early Childhood Education and Care service point is closed, an attempt will be made to allocate a new place for the child:
- according to the guardian’s stated preference or
- as close as possible to the child’s home address
The availability of places at daycare centres is taken into account when allocating a place.
How to apply
1
Log in to the Edlevo service
The application is made in the Edlevo app or in a browser. Completing the application requires strong identification with Suomi.fi credentials. If you cannot access Edlevo, please contact the service guidance team.
Select the child for whom you are applying and submit a new application.
2
Fill in the application details
The application asks for:
- guardian’s and child’s contact details
- the child’s address
- desired start date
- extent of care (how much care is needed)
3
Indicate your location preferences
- You can choose an area or an individual service location.
- You can state 1–4 place preferences.
- You can also apply generally to an area without specifying a particular service location.
4
Add attachments and additional information if necessary
- You can attach, for example, a certificate of study to the application.
- In the additional information you can write matters relevant to the application, such as upcoming work or study situations.
- Do not write sensitive personal data.
5
Review and submit the application
Check the application details in the summary and submit the application.
Application processing and decision
- All applications are processed by Early Childhood Education Service Coordination.
- The application is valid for one year from the date of submission.
- You can see the status of your application in the Edlevo service.
- The family will be contacted approximately 3–4 weeks before the desired start.
- The decision on an Early Childhood Education and Care place is usually given about three weeks before the start.
Once the decision has been made, you can no longer change the start date yourself. In that case, contact service coordination. If the granted place is not accepted, the guardian must inform of it as soon as possible and no later than one week from receiving the information. If the place is not accepted, the application is no longer valid.