Admission requirements and choice of ECEC setting

Enrolment

Enrolment in kindergarten is possible during the entire school year, provided that the kindergarten has vacancies.

Every year, the representative body of a local or regional self-government unit or the City of Zagreb publishes an annual call for admission of children to the early childhood educational programmes.

Accordingly, each kindergarten is obliged to follow the implementing regulations governing the procedure for admission to kindergarten.

Pursuant to the Act on Preschool Education and Care, priority for enrolment in public kindergartens is given to children:

• of parents or guardians who were victims / are disabled veterans of the Homeland War;
• from families with three or more children;
• of working parents or guardians;
• with disabilities;
• of single parents or guardians;
• in foster care;
• in the year before they start primary school;
• of parents or guardians receiving children’s allowance.

The procedure for enrolling children in order of priority is set out by the kindergarten owner.

Admission 

The admission of children to kindergarten educational programmes is carried out in accordance with the annual admission plan adopted for each pedagogic year by the governing council of the kindergarten.

Kindergartens are required, within the limits of their capacity, to primarily organise standard early childhood educational programmes for children residing in their territory. If there are vacant places, children of parents or guardians who reside in another area can be admitted to particular programmes. Moreover, kindergartens have to apply the priority enrolment criteria for standard programmes as stipulated by the Act on Preschool Education and Care, the decision of the owner and the implementing regulation governing the procedure for admission to kindergartens.

The owner of the kindergarten establishes the scoring method for the enrolment of children. Priority enrolment within the planned number of places available per age group is given to the children with higher aggregate scores.

If too many children have the same number of points, the priority scoring is assessed by the kindergarten enrolment commission. The assessment of the expert team is based on the child’s mental and physical status, the child’s need for the educational programme in question and the conditions that the kindergarten can offer.

If the expert team finds that the child’s needs cannot be met within the standard programme, the enrolment commission will reject the child’s application for enrolment to the standard programme and suggest another appropriate programme that the kindergarten can offer.

A parent or guardian is required to submit proof that the child meets the requirements to gain priority admission to kindergarten. Children with disabilities and health conditions and children living in extremely difficult social conditions are not subject to the scoring procedure. 

Admission procedure

In accordance with the admission plan, the kindergarten publishes an annual notice of admission of children to early childhood educational programmes.

A parent or guardian, in the time period specified by the establisher, applies for the admission of the child to a particular educational programme in the preschool institution. In general, the admission application is submitted to the preschool institution nearest to their place of residence.

Along with the admission application, a parent or guardian also encloses:

• the child’s birth certificate, or an excerpt from the birth register, or a certificate providing information on the birth of the child or written consent of the parents or guardians allowing the kindergarten to check the child’s birth data in the birth register;
• a certificate of residency of the child and a copy of the identity cards of the parents or guardians;
• evidence that the child meets the requirements to gain priority admission to kindergarten.

The procedure for admitting children to kindergarten is carried out by the admission committee appointed by the kindergarten’s governing council. The governing council appoints a chairperson and two members of the committee from among the kindergarten educators and professional associates of the kindergarten for a period of 2 years. The committee decides on the applications for admission of children to educational programmes based on comprehensive information on the development and needs of each child, analyses of the submitted documentation and the results of the initial interview with parents or guardians.

Group size and child/staff ratios

Criteria for the number of children in educational groups

The capacity of the kindergarten depends on the number of educational groups, the number of children in educational groups, the age of children in particular educational groups, the size of the premises, the equipment requirements and the activities of educators in the groups. Capacities are regulated by the Minister for Education, in accordance with the State Pedagogical Standard of Early Childhood Education and Care.

An educational group is the basic unit in which various programmes for preschool children are implemented. Educational groups are organised with respect to the age of children, type and duration of the programme, and abilities, needs and interests of children and parents or guardians.

Kindergartens of optimal size have 17–20 educational groups in standard programmes or 340–400 children in total. Kindergartens gathering several local units have 30 educational groups or 600 children. Kindergartens have at least one educational group with a maximum of 25 children.

The number of children in an educational group in the standard programme is established depending on the age of children and the number of children with disabilities included in the group. 

Age of children and maximum number of same-age children per group 

Source: State Pedagogical Standard of Early Childhood Education and Care 

Age of children and maximum number of mixed-age children per group in kindergarten

Source: State Pedagogical Standard of Early Childhood Education and Care 

When a child with mild disabilities is included in the educational group, the group size is reduced by two children.

In exceptional cases, with the consent of the establisher, a kindergarten may include a smaller number of children in an educational group than the minimum stipulated by the State Pedagogical Standard of Early Childhood Education and Care.

There is one core practitioner per educational group. According to the Act on Preschool Education and Care, the minimum qualification level required to work as a core practitioner (odgojitelj) in any centre-based early childhood education and care provision, for any age group, is bachelor’s level (International Standard Classification of Education level 6).

In Croatian kindergartens, there are no assistants. A 1-year structured induction is compulsory for all staff.

The number of staff members in the kindergarten is determined based on the number of educational groups, the duration and type of programmes as well as working conditions in accordance with the State Pedagogical Standard of Early Childhood Education and Care.

In kindergartens, the educators (odgojitelji) carry out the core practice of educational work with children. The number of educators per educational group is determined based on the daily duration of the programme.

Annual, weekly and daily organisation

Every kindergarten develops its own education program according to its specificities (culture, tradition, geographical specificities, etc.).

A kindergarten performs its activities based on the National Curriculum for Early Childhood and Preschool Education and Care, as well as the annual activities plan and program adopted by whom by the Governing Council of a kindergarten by 30 September. The annual curriculum is planned for a school year lasting from 1 September of the current year until 31 August of the following year. 

The working hours of preschool institutions are 7.00–17.00, but, in general, they are adjusted to the identified needs of parents or guardians.

Availability on Saturdays, in general, is organised on the basis of prior notification of at least five children requiring attendance per location, following the joint agreement of preschool institutions in each city area.

According to the needs of the family, the programmes can be organised as afternoon programmes, several-day programmes and weekend programmes. In accordance with the educational standards, during the summer and on other occasions when the number of present children is reduced, preschool institutions operate in a smaller number of locations.

According to the National Curriculum for Early Childhood and Preschool Education and Care, the children’s activities should not be structured by learning area or scheduled in any way. Children should be provided with choices and empowered to strengthen their independence in activities. The active and research nature of children’s learning processes should be enhanced. The focus is on planning the contextual conditions (environment) and stimulating children’s comprehensive growth. Educational processes and learning content should not be fragmented.

The following table is an example of a kindergarten schedule during a working week.  

Example of daily kindergarten work schedule with children aged 2–7 years 

The following table shows an example of the organisation of activities in kindergartens during a working week for children aged 2–7 years.

The type and daily schedule of activities for children aged 2–7 years