2025

Amendment to the Act on Children's Groups

The amendment to the Act on Children’s Groups came into effect on 1 May 2025. The amendment establishes neighbourhood children’s groups (sousedská dětská skupina) as a new form of ECEC, the mandate for municipalities to guarantee a place in ECEC to those three-year old children, who were not admitted to a catchment nursery school, and delivers an adjustment to the financing of children’s groups.

Neighbourhood children’s groups (home-based provision)

• new type of children's groups for up to 4 children, including the provider’s own
• care can be provided in the person’s household or other spaces;
• smaller groups and the option to provide care in a household lead to different space requirements;
• other requirements are the same as for regular children’s groups;
• providers are entitled to operating contributions paid from the state budget (same as regular children’s groups).

Mandate for municipalities to guarantee early childhood care (effective 1 January 2026)

As established in the Education Act, municipalities are responsible for providing a place in a nursery school (mateřská škola) to every child with permanent residence in its territory who has reached 3 years of age prior to 1 September (the beginning of the school year). The amendment to the Act on Children’s Groups establishes:

• The mandate for the municipality to provide placement in a children’s group to a child who has not been admitted to a catchment nursery school as of their 3^rd birthday.
• If such placement is not possible, the municipality will provide financial compensation for the cost of childcare in a children’s group or nursery school paid for by the parent.

The aim of this reform is to provide every parent with a place in an ECEC facility starting with the child’s 3^rd birthday.

Changes in financing

• operating contributions to children’s groups providers to be paid monthly instead of quarterly;
• adjustment to the upper limit of parental contributions for the care in a children’s group in cases where the place is also subject to state subsidy;
• The upper limit of parental contributions is newly bound to monthly minimum wage;
• clear rules have been set for calculating the upper limit of parental contributions for those parents using the service for less than 5 hours per day or fewer than 3 days per week.

For more information see:

Amendment to the Act on Children’s Groups

Act on Children's Groups and associated legislation

Amendment to the Education Act: Postponement Amendment

In addition to the “major amendment to the Education Act”*, the so-called “Postponement amendment to the Education Act”** was also approved. It fundamentally changes the rules in the area of ​​nursery and basic schools. For more details, see chapter 13.2.

Revision of the Framework Education Programmes for Pre-primary and Basic Education

At the beginning of 2025, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, together with the National Pedagogical Institute, introduced revised framework education programmes for pre-primary and basic education. This is the biggest change in school education in the last 20 years. 

The aim of the revision is to ensure that education from nursery schools (ISCED 0) to upper secondary schools (ISCED 3) forms a logical whole, i.e. to define clear outcomes for each stage and create conditions for the smooth development of every pupil.

The Framework Education Programme for Pre-primary education (FEP PpE) defines the main requirements, conditions and rules that promote the harmonious development of pre-school children. The new FEP PpE significantly strengthens the principles of inclusive education and respect for diversity. It is simpler, clearer, and unified with the Framework Education Programme for Basic Education (FEP BE). The intention is to contribute to a stronger link between pre-primary and basic education, i.e. to enable a smooth transition of the child from nursery school to basic school.

All eight key competences defined in the new FEP PpE are thus in line with the revised FEP BE. Each of the competences has its own newly formulated expected learning outcomes, which are the basis for pedagogical diagnosis. A new feature is the inclusion of the cultural and digital key competences.

The educational content is newly organised into four educational areas (1. The child and his/her body, 2. The child and his/her psyche, 3. The child, the other and society, 4. The child and the world), which are interconnected and create conditions for the comprehensive development of the child’s personality. Expected learning outcomes are also set for each of these four areas. 

Particular attention is then paid to the definition and development of two basic literacies, reading and mathematical literacy, which form the basis for lifelong learning.

FEP PpE is binding for all pre-primary education providers. Voluntary implementation will take place from September 2025. The new FEP PpE will be compulsory in all nursery schools from September 2026.

For more on the revision of the FEP BE see Revision of the Framework Education Programmes for Pre-primary and Basic Education in chapter 14.2.

2024

Change of the rules for determining fees in nursery schools

On the basis of the amendment to the Education Act (§ 123) and subsequent amendments to Decree No. 14/2005 on Pre-primary Education, the rules for determining fees in nursery schools established by the state, region, municipality or union of municipalities have been changed.

Instead of the school head, the monthly fee is now set by the organising body. The amount of the payment is newly linked to the amount of the monthly minimum wage - it may not exceed 8% of the basic rate of the minimum wage per month. The amount is set by the organising body for a period of one school year, starting with the 2024/25 school year. At the same time, the range of persons who are entitled to an exemption from payment is expanding. It now applies also to those who receive child allowance.

New sanitary decree for schools and children's groups

With effect from July 2024, a new sanitary decree No. 160/2024 Coll. has been adopted for schools and other regulated facilities for children and youth, including children's groups. For more information on the sanitary decree and related decrees regulating building and technical requirements, see National reforms in general school education.
 

Ukrainian children in nursery schools and children's groups

In the 2024/2025 school year, there are a number of changes to pre-school education that are described in National reforms in school education.

2023

Amendment to the Act on Education Staff

Amendment to Act No.563/2004 Coll., on education staff and on amendments to certain acts, and Act No.561/2004 Coll., on pre-primary, basic, secondary, tertiary professional and other education (the Education Act), brings a number of significant changes to the Czech education system. These changes also affect the field of early childhood education and care. More detailed information on the amendment and the relevant changes can be found in National reforms in school education.
 

Ukrainian children in nursery schools and children’s groups – news from January 2023

In the new year, the support for children’s groups (dětské skupiny) and nursery schools (mateřské školy) which admit children with temporary protection coming from Ukraine continues. In the first quarter 2023, the amendments to the so-called Lex Ukraine were approved and the necessary financial programmes were updated.

The amendment to the Act No. 67/2022 on the measures in education of January 2023 prolonged its validity until August 2024. At the same time, it enables the nursery schools to set up a special term (between 1 June and 15 July 2023) for the registration of the children with temporary protection for the 2023/24 school year. For this purpose, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports prepared the methodology for the schools. In 2023, the Ministry also follows in the financial support for the employment of the Ukrainian teacher's assistants and for the adaptation groups.

In March 2023, the amendment to the Act No. 66/2022 on the measures in the area of employment and social security came in force, which among others prolonged its validity until 31 March 2024. Therefore, the existing measures for the children’s groups remain, mainly the possibility to ask for the state contribution anytime during the year and to admit children whose parents are not the employees of the children's group provider.

Support for early childhood services from OP Employment Plus (2022 and 2023)

In 2022 and 2023, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs announced two calls within the Operation Programme Employment Plus to support children's groups (dětské skupiny) and also a call intended for the prevention of early school leaving, which also includes support for early-age children and their families, especially their involvement in various types of pre-school facilities. For details, see Calls within OP Employment Plus (2022 and 2023).

Long-term plan for Education and Development of the Education System of the Czech Republic 2023-2027

In December 2023, the new Long-term Plan for Education and the Development of the Education System of the Czech Republic (2023-2027) was approved. It follows from the Long-term Plan for Education and the Development of the Education System of the Czech Republic (2019-2023). It covers the whole educational area except for higher education; therefore, it also applies to pre-primary schooling. It contains three key strategic goals of the Ministry, which target children and pupils, teachers, as well as schools. As part of its key measures, it aims to increase the quality and accessibility of pre-primary education.

For more information see the section on National Reforms in School Education.