New kindergarten enrollment rules still leave some families waiting
Despite a new law requiring local governments to provide kindergarten placements before a parent returns to work, some Estonian families have still been left waiting.
A legislative amendment that took effect last fall in Estonia requires cities and municipalities to offer families kindergarten placements for new children two months before a parent plans to return to work. However, some families report that they still missed out on timely placements.
One example is Tallinn resident Kätlin Bowden, who added her child to the city's kindergarten waiting list shortly after birth in late 2024, requesting enrollment starting in May 2026, when the child would be about 18 months old. Instead, she was offered spots in two different kindergartens beginning August 10. When she contacted the Tallinn Education Department in late March, she was told that she should have followed up sooner if she wanted a spring placement. The department explained that if she had called earlier to confirm her preference, they could have offered a temporary spot at another kindergarten. By the time she contacted them, placements had already been assigned.
Bowden believes the city does not adequately account for the fact that children are born throughout the year and many families need kindergarten places well before August. According to Tallinn kindergarten coordinator Anne Targem, the case likely fell into a transition period after the new law took effect last September and before the city updated its own enrollment rules this spring.
A new automated system is set to launch in September. It will automatically generate offers for families two months before their requested start date and search for available spots. If a family declines an automated offer, the city will try to provide a temporary placement at the nearest kindergarten with vacancies while the child waits for a spot at the preferred location. Targem noted that spots remain available across Tallinn, and enrollment has dropped so much that about 30 classrooms in the capital will not reopen this fall.
In the meantime, Bowden's child is attending private daycare until August, a situation she says has strained the family's budget.
