Day care, schooling and family related issues

SLOVENIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM
The school system in Slovenia is divided into three sections of education: primary, secondary and tertiary.

Primary education is provided by public and private kindergartens, basic schools, basic schools with an adapted education programme, music schools and educational institutions for children with special educational needs.

Secondary education is provided by upper secondary schools and secondary schools. It is classified as general or vocational technical and secondary professional or technical education.

The third segment of education, tertiary education, is provided by both public and private institutions. It consists of higher post-secondary vocational education and higher education. Higher post-secondary vocational education is provided by higher vocational colleges, while higher education is provided by faculties, academies and independent higher education institutions.

Pre-school education in kindergartens is implemented by public and private kindergartens. Children attend kindergartens from the age of 11 months until they enrol in elementary school. There are 2 age groups: 1-3 years of age and 3-6 years of age.

Pre-school education is not compulsory, with the exception of preparations for elementary school which are implemented 1 year before the entry into elementary school. In the period prior to the full introduction of the nine-year elementary school, the preparations for elementary school will be implemented under the regulations that were in force prior to the enforcement of the new Act.

The ensuring of pre-school education is one of the fundamental tasks of municipalities; for this reason, kindergartens are being established and financed by municipalities. The fundamental tasks of kindergartens are assistance to parents in the area of comprehensive care for children, improvement of life quality of families and children and creation of possibilities for the integrated development of children.

Kindergartens

There are 399 kindergartens in the Republic of Slovenia (1.100 with dislocated units) and 279 private baby-sitters. List of public kindergartens is available at the web site of the Ministry of Education. Information is in Slovene language. Term »Seznam vrtcev« means 'list of kindergartens', term »Seznam vrtcev z enotami« means 'list of kindergartens with dislocated units' and term »Seznam varuhov predšolskih otrok na domu v Sloveniji« means 'list of private baby-sitters'.

Day care, schooling and family related issues

Video presentation of education system in Slovenia