Applying for a kindergarten place in your local authority
All children living in Estonia have the right to quality early childhood education and local authorities have an obligation to ensure that all children aged 1.5 to 7 living in their area have access to nursery, day care or kindergarten. Attendance at nursery school is not compulsory. To apply for a nursery place, you must submit an application to your local authority. Whether you can get a place in a nursery school for the current school year or have to wait until the next school year depends on the individual nursery school.
Local authorities consider parental preference when allocating kindergarten places. The municipality first accepts a child who lives in the area served by the kindergarten, giving preference where possible to children whose other children in the same family attend the same kindergarten.
More information on applying for a kindergarten place, kindergarten fees, early childhood education, etc. can be found on the subpage of the state portal eesti.ee.
This page is a summary of useful information for parents whose child goes to kindergarten in Tallinn.
Access to education
Rajaleidja Center
Rajaleidja Center is a nationwide network providing free educational counselling for adults – parents, teachers, support professionals and others - who support children in their education.
Educational guidance helps to identify learning or behavioural difficulties that may be holding back a child's educational progress. It then advises the adults around the child on how to support the child's development and coping, how to organise teaching and education, and what support services the child needs on a permanent basis.
If during the course of the educational counselling it becomes clear that a formal decision or administrative act is needed to organise a suitable educational path for the child (e.g. to assign a child to a special group or a special group in kindergarten, to postpone school attendance, to implement simplified learning at school), such a decision is made by an out-of-school counselling team of three support specialists from the Regional Support Service on the basis of the parent's request..
If an accident occurs in a school or nursery school that prevents normal learning activities from continuing, the Rajaleidja crisis teams provide crisis assistance to educational institutions. They advise all parties involved, guide teachers and prepare them to talk to pupils about difficult issues, report sad news.
The social worker supports the child and the adults around the child in case of social problems - for example, coping with special needs or health problems, bullying or behavioural problems, if the child does not want to go to school, etc. The social worker can also provide crisis support.
The special needs teacher identifies the level of development and learning skills of the child who is experiencing learning difficulties and advises on the choice of learning methods, materials and environment that are appropriate for the child.
The speech and language therapist assesses the child's speech and communication skills and makes recommendations for developing the child's speech and creating a suitable communication environment. The speech and language therapist also assesses the child's school readiness.
The psychologist assesses the child's mental capacity and development and the factors affecting mental health, for example if the child has anxiety, fears, mood problems, relationship problems, and advises the adults around the child on appropriate solutions and interventions. The psychologist also provides crisis support.
To register for counselling, parents need to provide their child's details and their contact information. To book an appointment, use the e-booking system or call (+372) 735 0700.
Minukarjäär.ee
On the Unemployment Insurance Fund's career website minukarjäär.ee, you can find out which educational path suits you best and what educational choices to make if you want to build your career on it later.