How to apply for a place in early childhood education? Starting early childhood education is a big step for both the child and the entire family. At Pilke, we welcome your child genuinely and take account of their unique skills and interests. We ensure that group education is as individual as possible.
This page contains information on applying for the first daycare place and starting early childhood education at Pilke’s daycare centres. See also frequently asked questions at the end of the page!
Pilke engages in the world’s most important work with heartfelt passion.
A good, every day
Our most important task is to provide the children attending our daycare centres with a good day, everyday – jointly with families. Pilke engages in the world’s most important work with heartfelt passion.
Information on daycare centres and early childhood education and application instructions are also available on your municipality’s website. There are both municipal and private daycare centres. Pilke’s private daycare units offer early childhood education with various learning orientations, such as music, science and English. Each family can choose which daycare centre to apply for primarily.
If you cannot find an answer to your question, don’t hesitate to contact us!
Our daycare centres’ practices are guided by the Pilke identity: we provide children with good days for active learning through high-quality early childhood education and ensure that there is always a safe lap to sit on.
The setting for a good day is created by providing children with opportunities to learn, explore, ask questions, play and grow in the presence of safe and reliable adults. We find it important to ensure that our staff has time to encounter children and families genuinely and individually.
The best way to familiarise yourself with our activities is to come visit one of our daycare centres. In the articles linked below, our good day makers describe the daily life at our daycares in a hands-on manner. Read the articles here and agree on a familiarisation visit to the closest Pilke daycare centre.
How to apply for a daycare place at Pilke?
Before making the decision on applying for a daycare place, you can familiarise yourself with the Pilke daycare centres in your area using our website’s search tool. You can also read about families experiences about Pilke’s daycare centres.
The early childhood education at Pilke emphasises different learning orientations depending on the unit. Our daycare centres’ orientations include languages, science, nature, sports, music as well as art and expression. Read more here.
You are most warmly welcome to come visit our daycare centres before applying for a place. Please contact the daycare centre manager to agree on a visit. Daycare centre managers’ names and contact details are available on each unit’s site which can be found using the daycare centre search tool.
After finding a daycare centre suitable for your child, apply for a daycare place using the electronic form on our website.
After submitting the application, a confirmation is sent to your email. We will contact you within two days
Pilke’s values convey the significance of our work
Pilke’s values explain how we perform our work and for whom. We implement our values through everyday activities while playing, learning, dressing waterproof dungarees, searching for lost mittens or giving a warm hug.
SAFETY “Listening to an adult.” Nuutti, 6 years
Safety consists of the physical, psychological and social learning and working environments. These environments cover the inspected and supervised daycare centre premises and materials, common rules and the educators’ genuine interaction and attendance
TOLERANCE “That it’s foggy.” Dani, 6 years
Each child is accepted as a unique individual. Parents, children and colleagues are respected and treated equally. Self-respect is also valued. We place emphasis on professional, confidential interaction between the personnel, parents and children.
POSITIVITY
“Insect.” Luka, 6 years
The educator’s role is to listen, give time and encourage. Our humorous atmosphere ensures that every day is a good day for the children. We cherish solution-centred working methods and see challenges as opportunities.
PARTICIPATION “That you know things.” Ella, 6 years Each child is considered an active individual and learner. The experience of participation and the opportunity to influence one’s surroundings help both children and adults commit themselves to the daycare centre’s everyday activities.
INNOVATIVENESS “That you get excited about a surprise.” Scarlett, 6 years
The inspiration and courage to try and do things in a new way are great sources of innovation. The assessment and development of operating methods is part of our work culture.
What are the differences between private and municipal daycare centres?
The same objectives and quality indicators of early childhood education and care, including personnel allocation and qualification requirements, apply to all daycare centres – both private and municipal. All of Finland’s early childhood education professionals are trained in compliance with the same curricula in the same educational institutions.
The quality of private daycare centres is monitored and supervised in a similar manner as that of municipal early childhood education and care. In practice, this means that municipal authorities perform monitoring and control visits as well as audits at Pilke’s daycare centres. In addition, our daycare centres prepare own-check plans that are updated annually and can be read by the children’s guardians at their daycare centre.
In Finland, hundreds of private daycare centres provide tens of thousands of children with education and care every day. Private daycare actors have formed an integral part of Finnish early childhood education and care since its conception in the 19th century.
Private daycare centres serve families flexibly by, for example, providing early childhood education with various learning orientations. Pilke’s learning orientations include languages, science, nature, sports, music as well as art and expression. Read more about Pilke’s learning orientations here.
At Pilke, we constantly endeavour to improve our operation to better meet families’ everyday needs. We constantly develop our pedagogical activities and novel, innovative services.
Pilke’s daycare centres are meeting places for the families in their area.
What is the price of a place in private early childhood education?
The client fee of both municipal and private early childhood education and care is based on the family’s size, the parents’ income and the length of the child’s days at daycare. The price of private daycare services is not necessarily higher than that of municipal early childhood education as most municipalities provide service vouchers or the opportunity to apply for private daycare allowance from Kela to cover the client fees.
Service vouchers: Most Finnish municipalities use service vouchers to cover the costs of private early childhood education. With the help of service vouchers, the costs of private daycare services are often equal to those of municipal early childhood education. In some municipalities, private daycare centres are allowed to charge client fees slightly higher than the service voucher’s value.
Private daycare allowance: If your municipality does not use service vouchers, you can apply for private daycare allowance from Kela to cover the costs of using private daycare services.
You can request further information from the closest Pilke daycare centre or your municipal authority.
Tip: Early childhood education and care fees are governed under Finnish law. You can check the current fees at the Ministry of Education and Culture’s website.
Pilke’s personnel – good day makers
We call our employees good day makers as their primary task is to provide the children with a good day, every day.
In Finland, daycare centres’ personnel allocation and the employees’ qualification requirements are subject to the Act on Early Childhood Education and Care (540/2018).
At Pilke, the daycare centre tasks are assigned among early childhood educators, managers and daycare assistants so that everyone has time to focus on performing their job to the best of their abilities.
Watch the video and get to know Pilke’s good day makers!
“Planning and pedagogical activities, including assessment and development, are what ensure that daycare centre operation conforms to the principles of early childhood education and care.”
Mirka Laaksonen, Head of Early Childhood Education, Pilke Daycare Centres
What is the difference between daycare and early childhood education and care?
Early childhood education and care is a rather new term that entered common usage after the reform of the Act on Early Childhood Education and Care in 2016. Prior to that, it was common to use the term daycare. Early childhood education and care refers to a planned, goal-oriented complex of upbringing, education and care that emphasises pedagogical approaches.
On the municipal level, education authorities are responsible for early childhood education and care activities whereas daycare used to fall within social services. For the youngest children,
care is the most important aspect of a good day, but as the child grows, increasing emphasis is placed on education and upbringing.
All of our activities at Pilke’s daycare centres are guided by pedagogical, that is, educational principles. If you wish to know more, further reading about our pedagogical principles is available here.
Peek into the daily life at our units
Everyday life at Pilke’s daycare centres is full of activities. Take a peek into our good days through social media.
