Early childhood education and care (ECEC) (for children aged between 3 months and 6 years) is part of school education and, according to School Education Law 198/2023, as subsequently complemented and amended, it covers:  

• ante-preschool education and care (for children aged between 3 months and 3 years), ISCED 010.
• preschool education and care (for children aged 3-6 years), ISCED 020. 

Ante-preschool education is delivered in: 

• crèches, as educational establishments with a legal person status founded by the local public administration authority (the mayor’s office)
• kindergartens, as preschool educational establishments with a legal person status that may also have ante-preschool groups or may have a crèche assigned to them as a setting
• schools/high-schools, as educational establishments with a legal person status and preschool groups that may have a crèche assigned to them as a setting
• day-care centres, as social services under the local public administration authority which are methodologically coordinated by the Ministry of Family, Youth and Equal Opportunities and the County Child Protection Departments. These day-care centres provide care and protection services for children from birth to the age of 18 years who are in disadvantaged situations and at risk. When more than half of the beneficiaries of a day-care centre are ante-preschoolers, the mayor’s office should take the necessary steps to change it into a crèche. 

Preschool education and care is delivered in kindergartens (grădiniţă). Kindergartens may function as educational establishments with a legal person status, or they may be assigned as a setting to a school education establishment with a legal person status providing for one or several education levels (primary, lower secondary (middle school) and upper secondary (high school)). 

The Ministry of Education is fully responsible for the early education and care of Ante-preschool children (aged 3 mo.to 3 yrs.) or preschool children (aged 3 to 6 yrs.). 

There are two types of programmes in ECEC:

• regular hours (5 hours)  
• long hours (10 hours).

The regular-hour programme is widespread in rural areas because it meets the educational needs of children living in such areas, but it is also provided in urban areas, as such or in combination with a long-hour programme. A regular-hour programme may be delivered either in a setting which is separate from the educational establishment with a legal person status (separate from a school/kindergarten/crèche), or within a school/kindergarten/crèche with a legal person status.

In urban areas, the long-hour programme prevails and is provided within a single setting with a legal person status (a school/kindergarten/crèche), or there may be a combination of regular hours with long hours provided within the same setting or in separate settings. 

Most crèches (ante-preschool education and care) provide a long-hour programme and are found in urban areas. 

Attendance is compulsory from age 4.

In regions lacking sufficient places, such as isolated or disadvantaged areas or densely populated areas with overcrowded settings, ECEC groups may be established within pre-university education institutions, such as schools offering primary or secondary education. These services may be called ludotheque, playgroups or community kindergartens.

ECEC is free of charge, even full-time.

Since 2021/2022, the Ministry of Education has been responsible for the entire ECEC phase, and nurseries (creşă) have become school institutions.

Primary education starts at age 6.

In accordance with the provisions of Law No 56/2019, since September 2020, the age of compulsory ECEC has been being gradually lowered. From September 2030, the starting age of compulsory education will be age 3. 

The ECEC curriculum was adopted by Ministerial Order No 4694/02.08.2019 and it covers both levels of ECEC (ante-preschool and preschool) providing meaningful information about the goal, principles, expected behaviours (per age intervals), arrangements for organising and conducting daily activities and the daily programme, as well as tools for evaluating children’s progress. ECEC curriculum is a compulsory guiding document.