Clubs in early childhood education
The Finnish early childhood education in Espoo organises free-of-charge clubs activities for small children. The annual application period for the new term of clubs in early childhood education is in March. You can apply for places in clubs that may become available later during the club term.
The Finnish early childhood education in Espoo organises free-of-charge clubs for 2–5-year-old children. The club term begins in August and ends in late May.
In the club, the children make friends and have the opportunity to practice social skills and how to act in a group. The clubs offer high-quality and meaningful activities and they are intended for children who live in Espoo and are being cared for at home. The operations support the growth and development of children and the upbringing work of families. Clubs offer an alternative to full-time or part-time early childhood education.
The clubs are held on 2–3 days a week, for 2–3 hours at a time and the children attend the club without their guardians. The club is instructed by two competent professionals. The group size is 8–14 children, depending on the age of the children. In the clubs, we do all sorts of fun things and activities; we play, sing, craft, read, are physically active and spend time outdoors, for example. The children are insured for the duration of the club activities.
There is also a snack break when children can eat the snacks they have brough from home. For this purpose, the guardians prepare a small snack for the child, for example, a beverage, piece of fruit and bread roll.
Club activities are mainly held before noon, in the facilities of day-care centres and residents’ parks around Espoo. The clubs are in Finnish, but all children are welcome regardless of their native language.
Club holidays and applying to a club
The early childhood education clubs follow the holidays of schools and pre-primary education, which means that there are no club activities during the autumn, Christmas and winter breaks as well as in the summer. The holiday periods of clubs are listed here.
The annual application period for the new club term is in March, but places that may become available can be applied for all year round.
The decision to grant a place in a club is made for one term, which means that a new term always requires a new application.
Clubs on a map
You can find all the early childhood education clubs in Espoo in this map view.(external link, opens in a new window) Select ‘club’ in the map menu.