Geographical accessibility

All children residing in the Republic of Slovenia have the right to basic education under the same conditions. This is specified by the Basic school Act (sl) and the Organization and financing of education Act (en).

Public schools form a public basic school network specified by the relevant decree on criteria to set up public network of basic schools and music schools (sl), so all children can enrol in the relevant school catchment area. The criteria for setting up a public network is centrally specified. The application SOKOL (sl) provides demographic information by school catchment areas. Local communities set the boundaries of the school catchment area.

Parents enrol their child in the basic school in the school catchment area where the child resides. However, they may decide to enrol the child in another school instead. Basic schools have to provide enough places for all children residing in the catchment area but are not obliged to enrol children residing outside the catchment area.

Basic schools are single institutions with legal personality, alternatively, a basic school may operate as an organisational unit of another education institution. A basic school may include organisational units, such as kindergarten units or groups and/or classes with adapted programme. In order to guarantee geographical acessability some schools have dislocated units, costumarily called school branches.

There were 450 basic schools in the school year 2024/25.

Number of basic schools: 450

• 450 public schools (legal entities)
  • 311 public school branches
• 7 private schools (legal entities)
  • 5 private school branches

Private basic schools include the Waldorf basic schools, the Catholic basic school (since 2008), the Montessori basic school (since 2010 or 2015), Lila Basic school (since 2015) and since 2022 also Kurešček Independent school.

Table: Size of schools and school branches

* Data from: Ministry of Education, 2025

Schools, together with respective municipalities, organize free transportation for pupils who live more than 4 km away from the school. Schools also organize before and after class care for pupils who are waiting for the beginning of lessons or a ride home.

Admission requirements and choice of school

Children enrol in grade one of the basic education in the calendar year of their sixth birthday. There are no special criteria for admission to public basic school as the constitution postulates the right to education as a basic right.

School entry may be postponed by a maximum of one year upon parents' or a doctor's recommendations. The final decision is taken by the head teacher on the basis of the recommendation by the relevant committee responsible for assessing children's readiness for school. This committee includes a counsellor, school physician, and a teacher.

A special education needs child may start school a year later upon recommendation of the Committee for the placement of children with special needs.

Parents may choose whether their child will attend a public or a private school. Parents may also opt for home schooling. About one percent of children attend a private school.

Transfer to another school

The school may not expel a pupil. For learning or behavioural reasons, however, the school may seek parents’ approval of a a transfer to another school.

For behavioural reasons only, a child may be transferred without parental consent. The decision is taken by the head teacher on the basis of a recommendation by the centre for social work. Parents have the right to appeal the decision.

Age levels and grouping of pupils

The basic school comprises three educational cycles, each three years long.

Children of the same age are grouped in grades. Pupils of the same grade are grouped in classes; in smaller schools there are multi-grade classes that combine pupils of two or three grades as specified by the relevant rules on norms for implementing the basic school program. Pupils from one or more classes may be divided into learning groups (sl).

There may be no more than 28 pupils in one classroom. Lower standards apply:

• for classes in bilingual schools (Slovenian/Hungarian),
• in schools where Italian is the language of instruction,
• in classes including pupils with special needs,
• in classes including Roma pupils,
• in multi-year mixed classes,
• for classes in hospital schools.

The standards are determined by the Minister of education and specified by relevant regulations (za izvajanje programa osnovne šole in za izvajanje programa osnovne šole v dvojezičnih osnovnih šolah in osnovnih šolah z italijanskim učnim jezikom).

Groupings into learning groups for Slovenian language, Italian or Hungarian in ethnically mixed areas, as well as mathematics and foreign language:

• grades 4 to 7: schools may deliver 25% of lessons in smaller groups, and
• grades 8 to 9: schools may split pupils into smaller groups throughout the school year..

In subject such as home economics, sports, technology, arts (up to 50% of hours), and some optional subjects, pupils of grade 6 and higher are organised in smaller learning groups for safety reasons. In sports, learning groups are formed by gender within one class.

In the first three-year educational cycle, children are taught by generalist teachers. It is recommended that the same teacher teaches the class for all three years. In addition, there is a preschool teacher, or exceptionally, another class teacher present in one-half of all lessons in grade 1.

In the second educational cycle, the generalist teacher delivers most lessons, but individual subjects are gradually taken over by specialist teachers.

In the third educational period, lessons are delivered by specialist subject teachers.

Organisation of the school year

School year

School year begins on 1 September and ends on 31 August of the following calendar year.

Lessons take place for the total of 38 weeks, until 24 June; for pupils in grade 9, lessons end on 15 June (35 weeks).

The Rules on the school calendar (sl) specify the distribution of lessons and holidays and examination dates.

Every year the Minister of education issues detailed instructions in the school calendar (sl).

Holidays

Main holidays take place over the summer. There are also autumn, New Year, winter and First-of-May holidays which take one week each. There are no classes on public holidays.

Upon parents' request, pupils may take additional five days off school at their convenience.

Assessment periods

The school year is divided into two assessment periods: the first period ends on 31 January and the second coincides with the end of the teaching period in June.

At the beginning and the end of summer holidays pupils take repeat examinations and subject examinations. The assessment of home-educated pupils also takes place. In addition, this is the time when pedagogical staff analyse their work in the last school year and prepare for the next. During summer holidays, only technical and administrative staff is available in schools.

Organisation of the school day and week

Classes are held five days a week, from Monday to Friday. They only take place on Saturdays as an exception.

At all schools, classes are held in the morning. As a rule, they do not start before 7.30 a.m.

The timetable (sl) determines the number of lessons per week for each grade. In grade 1, pupils have 22 lessons per week, whereas in grade 9, they have 30 lessons of 45 minutes per week. The school timetable schedules lessons for each day in the week.

The Basic School act stipulates the maximum number of lessons allowed per week:

• grades 1 to 3: 24 lessons
• grades 4 to 6: 26 lessons, and
• grades 7 to 9: 30 lessons.

Children with special educational needs who attend adapted programmes and pupils in ethnically-mixed areas may have up to two additional lessons per week.

Out of school classes

The school implements part of the compulsory curriculum and other activities as out of school classes, which is an organized form of educational work that takes place for three or more days outside the school premises. Such school classes can be organized in the residence halls of the Centre for Curricular and Extracurricular Activities or other alpine, vacation and similar accommodation facilities.

Extended school stay

Within the framework of the extended program, organized forms of educational work with pupils are implemented, which include the following content areas:

• movement and health for good physical and mental well-being,
• cultural and civic education, and
• learning to learn.

The extended program can be implemented before the start and after the end of the compulsory program. Depending on the organizational capabilities of the basic school, the extended program can also be implemented during the compulsory program, if all pupils in a particular department are included in the extended program.

Basic schools for pupils in grade 1 and the first level of the special education program, depending on the needs of parents, implement part of the extended program in the morning before the start of the compulsory program. Basic schools for pupils in grades 1 to 5, for pupils in grades 1 to 9 in adapted educational programs, and for pupils in grades 1 to 6 of the special education program, implement part of the extended program after the completion of the compulsory program.