Providing private early childhood education

Instructions for starting, modifying and terminating your operations is available in the Starting or ending private early childhood education operations and changes in operations 

Espoo supports the setting up of a private day-care centre or group family day-care centre by providing a start-up grant.

Private early childhood education operations are supported by paying private day care allowance for children in private early childhood education.

Providers of private early childhood education can apply for a start-up grant from the City of Espoo to help with setting up new operations. The start-up grant can be applied for all year round.

To what is the start-up grant meant for?

The start-up grant is granted for costs arising from acquiring and modifying the premises of day-care centres and group family day-care centres operating with the help of the private day care allowance as well as for acquiring the movables, operating equipment and materials required in starting the operations. The start-up grant is granted for premises acquired by early childhood education providers or leased by them for at least three years.

The purpose of the start-up grant is to support the creation of early childhood education places in areas where there is particular demand for new places. Private day-care providers acquire their premises by themselves. The early childhood education expert of the area in question must be contacted prior to applying for the start-up grant (see the bottom of the page). An assessment of the suitability of the premises for use as early childhood education premises must be requested from the expert.

How much is the start-up grant?

The maximum amount of the start-up grant is €3,000/early childhood education place to be established for children living in Espoo. For the purpose of acquiring operating equipment and materials, the maximum amount is 15% of the €3,000/place to be established. The start-up grant cannot exceed the actual start-up costs/place to be established.

What is needed in the application?

• start-up grant form
• plan for the use of the start-up grant
• valid registration extract
• budget for operational economy
• operating plan
• lease (for at least three years)
• tax debt certificate
• bank security in the euro amount corresponding to the applied support
• plan for ensuring the high-quality of the services
• statements by the fire, health and early childhood education authorities
• permit by the building inspection authority to use the premises for day care
• report of any other possible information that the applicant wishes to resort to
  
   

In addition, a separate commitment is required from a private early childhood education service provider stating that he/she will return the start-up grant if the operations are not launched within one year or if the operations are discontinued within two years from their launch. If the operations are discontinued within three years from their launch, the early childhood education service provider must return half of the start-up grant.

The decision about granting a start-up grant is taken by the director of Finnish Early Education.

The recipient of a start-up grant must provide all the information seen necessary by the city for processing the start-up grant application, granting the start-up grant and monitoring its use.

Further information:

Early Childhood Education District Manager Kirsi Tarkka tel. +358 40 6369379

Read more about starting as a private family day-care provider here.

Visit the website of private family day care providers association in Espoo(external link, opens in a new window).

Finnish Early Childhood Education
vaka.yksityinen@espoo.fi(external link, opens in a new window)

Swedish speaking early childhood education
Lucia Bigos
puh. +358 50 3216919
lucia.bigos@espoo.fi

A service voucher is one way of providing a municipality’s statutory early childhood education. In connection with approving the budget, the Espoo City Council decided to introduce service vouchers as of 1 August 2021. Service vouchers will be available for early childhood education services provided by private day care centres. Each service provider can choose whether they want to become a service provider in the service voucher system.

The maximum value of a service voucher for early childhood education at a day care centre is EUR 927 per month per child for an over 3-year-old child. The price ceiling for a service voucher for early childhood education is EUR 50 per month, which means that a service provider can charge an early childhood education fee that is EUR 0–50 higher than that charged for municipal early childhood education.

• The coefficient for a child who has turned three is 1.00
• The coefficient for a child under the age of three is 1.55

• The coefficient for full-time early childhood education is 1.00
• The coefficient for part-time early childhood education (max. 25 hrs/week) is 0.60
• The coefficient for early childhood education connected to pre-primary education is 0.50

Service providers can join the service voucher system through the PSOP system(external link, opens in a new window)(external link, opens in a new window) (a system for service vouchers and outsourced services). They will need to add the required information and attachments through the system.  The status of an application can be checked through the PSOP system. Service providers will receive an extract of an office holder’s decision record.

Families can apply for a service voucher for a private service voucher day care centre that have been approved by the city of Espoo. Families can apply for a service voucher in the same way as they would apply for municipal early childhood education, by filling in an application through the City of Espoo’s online system (eVaka). The applicant will receive an email instructing them to contact the day care centre. If the applicant has not contacted the day care centre, the service provider will contact the applicant.

The service provider (the director of the day care centre) will see a summary of each application concerning their day care centre through Espoo’s online system immediately after a family has submitted an application. Espoo’s Early Childhood Education Service Guidance will make a placement proposal to the day care centre. After the service provider has accepted the proposal, the family will receive an approved service voucher decision. The family will then accept or reject the service voucher through the online system or by submitting a paper acceptance notification to the day care centre.

Service providers can send questions related to early childhood education in Espoo by email to vakapsop@espoo.fi.

Play parks are public playing areas built by the City of Espoo meant for use by the residents. Private play park carers may offer their services in the play parks. The activities are subject to a fee and the play park carers choose themselves the children attending the activities. The city monitors the play park carer activities.

Further information: vaka.yksityinen@espoo.fi

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