VILLACH’S KINDERGARTENS - ONLY THE BEST FOR THE CITY’S YOUNGEST RESIDENTS
When you move to a new country as a parent, or want to return to work after staying home with kids, finding out which child care options there are becomes very important. Luckily, daycare centers, preschools, and kindergartens are plentiful in Villach, in part due to the City of Villach’s ongoing Kindergarten initiative.
In this blog post you’ll learn everything you need to know about child care and preschool in Villach - but first let’s have a look at what you need to know about child care in Austria in general.
DAYCARE, PRESCHOOL, AND KINDERGARTEN IN AUSTRIA
The care and early education of children in Austria who are not yet school aged is generally divided into two phases: daycare or crèche (Kinderkrippe), which are care centers for children under the age of three, and preschool or nursery school, called Kindergartens in Austria, which welcome children aged three to six. Very young children can also be looked after in small groups (on average four to five children) by an in-home daycare provider called a Tagesmutter.
Generally, these care and educational centers are either public (run by the state) or private. The final year of an Austrian Kindergarten, which is when a child is 5 years old and corresponds to the American kindergarten year or Year 1 in the UK, is mandatory and therefore free. On the other hand, early childhood education and other care options for younger children are not necessarily free, with costs depending on the province and the daycare center you are interested in.
Find more information about child care in Austria here.
CHILD CARE AND PRESCHOOL OPTIONS IN VILLACH
Hilfswerk is one of the largest non-profit providers of health, social, and family services in Austria. If you are looking for individual child care, with a lot of activities and a safe environment for your little ones, Hilfswerk is there to support you. Their daycare welcomes children from the age of one to three years old.
Although sending children to daycare or preschool before the age of 5 is not mandatory, the City of Villach offers one- to three-year-old children three daycare centers to choose from, in St. Leonhard, Auf der Tratten, and Fellach.
For parents who are returning to work after their parental leave, private daycare centers and preschools are often a good choice. Besides their more flexible hours, you’ll also be able to find centers that offer instruction and care in languages other than German, for example at the International Daycare Center. Find more information about Villach’s private child care centers and preschools here.
Additionally, the Carinthian International Center (CIC) has a list of the care and educational institutions that offer multilingual or special alternative pedagogical programs.
Once your child reaches the age of three, there is a wider choice of thirteen public Kindergartens in Villach. You can find detailed information about associated monthly costs here.
To conclude, the main reason why most parents choose public Kindergartens is that the costs are lower. The main difference is that private Kindergartens offer additional education and training for children such as English lessons, cooking, and so on.
REGISTRATION / ENROLLMENT
Remember that the registration period for Kindergartens is the last week of January to the beginning of February each year. Additional information on this topic is available on the City of Villach’s website.
AVAILABLE PLACES / OCCUPANCY
We know that securing a spot for your child in one of Villach’s Kindergartens might be quite a stressful experience, especially for people whose companies do not provide this child care option. However, according to official statistics published by the City of Villach, there are currently 1,141 Kindergarten spots in the city, and of these, 1,123 places were occupied in June 2022. This shows that there is enough space for every child!
Another great initiative by the City of Villach is its ongoing Kindergarten campaign, whose aim is to enhance the quality of child care for young children. This Kindergarten-Offensive aims to create 170 new daycare and preschool spots for children around the city. Among others, this includes 15 new spots for one- to three-year-olds in the Kindergarten in Fellach, as well as 25 new spots for three- to six-year-olds in the new Kindergarten on Schillerstraße in Landskron.
Last but not least, a new Kindergarten with four groups (90 new spots) is being built at the Technology Park Villach, and it will even have its own mini educational lab. This unique lab will support children in all “MINT” subjects - mathematics, IT, natural sciences, and technology - and will be available for use by all interested preschools in Carinthia. This new preschool will have three groups for three- to six-year-olds, as well as a daycare for one- to three-year-olds. The project is supported by the Carinthian Economic Development Fund (KWF) and is scheduled to be finished by the end of 2023.