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There are various childcare facilities and services. These are voluntary services which parents use at their discretion. Only in one canton do parents have the right to have their children offered a public or private place in childcare within a reasonable time. 

The Scuola dell’infanzia in the canton of Ticino differs from the pre-school establishments (Kindergarten, Ecole enfantine) of the other two language regions in that it takes children from the age of three. In the rest of Switzerland children of this age are cared for by childcare facilities and services.

• Child day-care facilities
  
  Child day-care facilities are establishments which care for small children from the age of three months on a full-day or half-day basis until they enter primary level (including pre-school or the first learning cycle). 
  
  They offer professional care and meals. There are both state-run and private child day-care facilities. Employers can operate child day-care facilities for their employees’ children. Child day-care facilities have to be approved and are subject to supervision. Their regulation and responsibility for them differ depending on the canton or commune. Child day-care facilities are the most heavily regulated of all the childcare services.

• Day-care families
  
  Day-care families care for one or more children at home. The care is very flexible and may be on an hourly, half-day or full-day basis. Day-care families care for both children under school age and children of school age. 
  
  Day-care families are subject to registration and supervision. In some cantons day-care families have to be approved. The responsibilities and regulations differ depending on the canton and commune. The terms of care are agreed directly between two families or through an agency (e.g. day-care family organisations). 
  
  The Swiss Childcare Association kibesuisse is the nationwide industry association covering the organisation of childcare outside the family and before and after school. kibesuisse promotes the development of childcare in a quantitative and qualitative manner, and supports its members in carrying out their tasks. kibesuisse defines quality standards and lobbies for their implementation. 

• Informal care services
  
  Alongside the formal childcare services mentioned above there are informal care services such as care by private individuals, playgroups or care facilities which do not operate on a regular basis or operate for short periods only (e.g. babysitting services).

For before and after school childcare facilities and services in compulsory education including pre-school or first learning cycle (day-care centres, supervised midday meals, periods before and after lessons, day nurseries, etc.) please see the comments on primary education.

Accessibility

The number of childcare places has increased considerably in recent years. The cantons and communes have taken appropriate measures. Most cantons mention the promotion of childcare in their constitution or in cantonal laws. Only in one canton do parents have the right to have their children offered a public or private place in childcare within a reasonable time. The canton of Basel-Stadt also has mandatory German-language instruction before entering primary level (pre-school or the first learning cycle). Children who speak hardly any German, or do not speak it at all, have to attend a playgroup or another German-speaking childcare institution for at least two half-days per week in the year before pre-school. The canton contributes, depending on family income, to the costs of the mandatory German-language instruction before pre-school. The Confederation’s temporary Childcare incentive programme, designed to promote the creation of additional places in day-care for children, supported the creation of around 48,000 new childcare places between 2003 and 2014. The incentive programme for childcare has been extended for four years to 2019.

Demand for childcare places remains high and is forecast to continue to exceed supply. In 2013, 39% of children aged between 0 and 3 years were cared for at least once a week by an institutional childcare service (for instance child day-care facilities, day-care families and childminders). Most often, care is provided by private carers (56%), for instance, by people close to them such as relatives, friends and neighbours, or household employees such as nannies, au-pairs and babysitters (Swiss Federal Statistical Office Data 2014). Cantons or communes can carry out their own surveys of supply and demand in their residential areas.

Admission Requirements and Choice of ECEC Institution

The admission requirements depend on the establishment or type of service. Only a few cantons have rules which lay down which children have priority when there are not enough free places. State-run, subsidised child day-care facilities can restrict admission to children who are domiciled/have their place of residence in the same place as the establishment, or give preference to these children. Other potential criteria are whether both parents work, the family status (in particular single parents), or the social situation of the parents. As the use of these services is voluntary, the choice of establishment rests with the parents or legal guardians.

Age Levels and Grouping of Children

The age at which children are accepted (generally from three months at the earliest) depends on the establishment or service offered. Children may be cared for in mixed age-groups or in groups of children of similar ages (e.g. babies).

Within the framework of the national legislation (FCAO) the cantons or communes regulate or specify the prerequisites for the approval of child day-care facilities. These usually include rules on childcare conditions (group size, number of children per carer, ratio of qualified to non-qualified childcare staff, special staff ratios for babies etc.). In day-care families children are taken into a family and cared for together with that family’s own children at home. The cantons or communes can lay down a maximum number of children looked after in each day-care family.

Organisation of Time

For child day-care facilities the cantons or communes can lay down rules on minimum opening hours each day and/or rules on a minimum number of days open per year (generally only for subsidised establishments).

There are no regulations on times for day-care families. The care provided is very flexible. It can cater better for different situations and the individual needs of parents and children.

Organisation of the Day and Week

For details of the organisation of the day and week see the information on Organisation of Time

Legislative References

Verordnung über die Aufnahme von Kindern zur Pflege und zur Adoption (PAVO) [Ordinance on the Placement of Children in Foster Care and for Adoption]