The compulsory pre-school year at a private preschool

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The year before school starts, pre-school education is compulsory by law. Parents then ask two things: whether that means a state preschool, and whether the child has to be re-registered. Neither is true.

Who it applies to, and from when

Pre-school education is compulsory from the start of the school year following the day the child turns five, and it lasts until compulsory school attendance begins. A child whose fifth birthday falls in June starts the compulsory year that September. A child born in October starts a year later. Enrolment for pre-school education takes place between 15 March and 15 April. The date and place are set by the head of the school and announced in the usual way.

Four hours a day, not the whole day

The compulsory year takes the form of regular daily attendance on working days, for four uninterrupted hours. The head of the school sets when those hours begin, somewhere between 7 and 9 in the morning, and states it in the school rules, so it differs from preschool to preschool. On school holidays the duty does not apply. A child may still come in, but attendance in that period is not compulsory.

A private preschool satisfies the duty, a children’s group does not

The law speaks about a preschool, not about who runs it. A child attends the preschool for its catchment area unless the parent chooses a different preschool or another way of meeting the duty. A private preschool entered in the register of schools is therefore a full option, and nothing needs to be re-registered. There is one piece of paperwork, and the school handles it rather than the parent: if a child is admitted to a preschool outside its catchment area, the head of that school notifies the head of the catchment preschool. The difference worth watching is elsewhere. A children’s group is not a preschool and is not in the register of schools. The compulsory year cannot be completed there. If a family is choosing a setting for a five-year-old, that is the first thing to check.

Tuition does not change in the compulsory year

The compulsory year is free of charge in preschools established by the state, a region or a municipality. In a private preschool tuition continues to be paid, and the compulsory year changes nothing about that. Parents sometimes ask whether the final year brings an allowance or a discount. The education act does not provide for one.

When a child is absent

The rules for releasing children from attendance and for excusing absences are set by each preschool in its school rules. The head of the school may ask for the reasons for an absence to be documented, and the parent must then provide them within three days of being asked. In practice this means one thing: in the compulsory year absences have to be reported and excused the way the preschool has set it up. It is not red tape, it is that school’s duty under the law.

Ways other than attendance

The law recognises three other routes:

• Individual education, that is without regular daily attendance. If a child is to be taught this way for most of the school year, the parent must give notice at least three months before the school year begins. The preschool then recommends the areas to cover under the national framework programme and verifies how well the expected outcomes have been reached.
• A preparatory class at a primary school, or a preparatory stage at a special primary school.
• A foreign school in the Czech Republic that the ministry has authorised for compulsory school attendance.

For the second and third options the same deadline applies: notify the head of the catchment preschool at least three months before the school year begins.

What to take from this

The compulsory pre-school year does not mean a state preschool. If a child attends a preschool entered in the register, nothing is re-registered and tuition stays the same. What changes is the routine: four hours a day on working days, and absences excused according to the school rules. And two things are worth checking before the compulsory year starts. Whether the setting really is a preschool, and what time the compulsory part of the day begins there.