Admission requirements and choice of ECEC setting

In the German-speaking Community, all kindergartens are school-based institutions and are always attached to primary schools; together, they form what is referred to as primary schools. 

There is a relatively high density of schools. Each of the nine municipalities of the German-speaking Community organises primary schools or branches of primary schools in all larger villages – even if they have fewer than a dozen kindergarten pupils and fewer than 20 primary school pupils. 

The number of children enrolled in kindergartens varies significantly from school to school: in the 2024–2025 school year, enrolment ranges from five children in the smallest to 182 children in the largest kindergarten. In total, the German-speaking Community has 2,798 kindergarten pupils in 2024–2025. 

From a geographical perspective, access to educational institutions, including the nine secondary schools located in the four largest towns, is not problematic thanks to a well-organised school transport system. 

Most primary schools are autonomous institutions. The municipal schools (OSUW) often have small school branches in various villages; in the GUW (Community schools) and the FSUW (Catholic schools), the three GUW and two FSUW primary schools are attached to secondary schools.

Pre-primary education is aimed at children aged two and a half to six years. Since 1 September 2024, children who have reached the age of two and a half may begin attending kindergarten on the following entry dates:

• on the first school day after the school holidays (All Saints, Christmas, Carnival, and Easter holidays);
• on the first school day of February;
• on the first school day after Ascension Day.

Children from the age of three may continue to start kindergarten on their third birthday.

All kindergartens admit both girls and boys without distinction. No entrance test is required to start kindergarten.

If a six-year-old child has not yet reached the necessary level of school readiness, the class council and Kaleido Ostbelgien may issue a substantiated opinion recommending that the child remain in kindergarten for another year. The final decision lies with the parents or guardians.

The School Pact obliges the Communities to ensure that parents are free to choose their child’s school. The law distinguishes between denominational, non-denominational, and pluralistic schools. The latter have not yet been organised in Belgium. In principle, non-denominational community schools must admit all pupils, while denominational municipal schools are only required to admit children from their own municipality, and children from neighbouring municipalities if the school is the nearest one for the pupil. Free subsidised denominational schools may only refuse a pupil’s enrolment if the parents are unwilling to accept the school’s educational project. In practice, however, most schools enrol all pupils, not least because funding and subsidies are tied to pupil numbers.

Group size and child-to-staff ratio

In larger kindergartens, age-homogeneous groups or classes (horizontal grouping) are formed. However, mixed-age (vertical) grouping is also common. There are no regulations in this regard. The school head decides, where applicable in consultation with the school provider and based on the available staff, how to divide the groups, and thus also determines group size. In rural areas, where small schools often do not have enough pupils to form multiple groups, children of different ages are often taught together in a single class. This vertical grouping is becoming increasingly common, even in larger institutions. The vertical class structure – which is occasionally also used in primary education – is valued for its pedagogical benefits. It is also expected to help reduce the number of pupils falling behind and to promote the development of a more holistic learning process. This structure allows educational units to be spread over two or more years.

The individual development of each child is encouraged: each child should experience developmental stages at their own pace and acquire knowledge and behaviours in line with this rhythm.

Class size depends on the number of available posts, and the number of posts depends on the number of enrolled pupils. The allocation of posts for kindergarten teachers is based on a staffing system as follows: 

• 6 to 19 children = 1 post
• 20 to 32 children = 2 posts
• 33 to 55 children = 3 posts

From 146 children onwards, one additional full-time post is allocated for each group of up to 20 children: that is, 146 to 165 children = 8 posts; 166 to 185 children = 9 posts, and so on. 

The key date for calculating the staffing quota is 15 March of the previous school year. Only children who were present for at least five half-days during that month are taken into account. The number of posts determined in this way may be revised during the course of the school year following a recalculation on the last school day of September, on the fifth school day of January, and on the fifth school day after the Easter holidays. For these recalculations, only children who were present for at least five half-days during the relevant month are considered.

Annual, weekly and daily organisation

The start and end of the school year, as well as the dates of school holidays, are determined each year by the Government of the German-speaking Community. In the German-speaking Community, the school year officially begins on 1 September (in practice, on the first working day of September) and ends on 30 June (in practice, on the last working day of June) of the following calendar year. In addition to the two-month summer holidays (from 1 July to 31 August), pupils (and teachers) have two weeks of Christmas holidays (Christmas and New Year week), two weeks of Easter holidays, and two additional one-week breaks (around 1 November and after Carnival). A school year must include between 178 and 184 teaching days, and over a reference period of five years, the average must be 181 school days. 

The following days are recognised as public holidays (or non-school days) in the education system of the German-speaking Community: Easter Monday, 1 May, Ascension Day, Whit Monday, 1 November, 11 November, and 15 November (official holiday of the German-speaking Community), as well as 24, 25 and 26 December, and 1 January.

Each school is allocated three pedagogical conference days. Since 2019, schools have also been given the option of organising a fourth internal conference day dedicated to a topic that is relevant and current for the development of the education system in the German-speaking Community. The topic of this fourth conference day is determined annually by the Government of the German-speaking Community. The government approves a school’s request to hold a fourth pedagogical conference day based on a recommendation from the school inspectorate.

The school week consists of five days, which also applies to kindergarten. In Belgian schools, lessons usually take place on five mornings (Monday to Friday) and four afternoons (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday) each week. These are also the opening hours for kindergarten. 

The start and end of lessons must, according to legal regulations, take place between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm and are determined by the headteacher. In most primary schools, lessons usually run from 8:30 am to 12:00 pm in the morning and from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm in the afternoon. These times also apply to kindergarten. The lunch break must last at least 60 minutes. Children are only required to attend school from the age of five, and from that point onwards they must attend kindergarten full-time. Younger children often attend kindergarten only in the mornings, as they are not of compulsory school age and are therefore not required to be present.