3

CHILD CARE
IN SWEDEN
CONTENTS

TWIN TASKS 3
EDUCATIONAL CONTENT 4
VARIOUS FORMS OF CHILD CARE 4
PRESCHOOL CURRICULUM 10
ROLE OF THE PARENTS 12
STAFF 12
DIVISION OF RESPONSIBILITY 13
LEGISLATION 13
FINANCING 14
PART OF A LIFELONG LEARNING PROCESS 15
FROM CRÈCHES TO DAYCARE CENTRES 16
FACTS ABOUT SWEDEN 19
TWIN TASKS 3

Swedish child care has twin aims. One is to make it possible for Swedish child care. Along with the parental insurance and
parents to combine parenthood with employment or studies child benefit systems, child care has been a cornerstone of
and the other is to support and encourage children’s develop- Swedish family welfare policy while at the same having an
ment and learning and help them grow up under conditions explicitly educational orientation. In recent years, the edu-
that are conducive to their well-being. This dual-purpose cational policy aspects of child care have come increasingly
approach was officially laid down in the early 1970s with to the fore and in 1996 responsibility for public child care was
the launching of a large-scale development programme for transferred to the Ministry of Education.
4 EDUCATIONAL CONTENT dren with more diffuse problems such as difficulties concen-
trating or psychosocial conditions. Their needs are primarily
to be met in regular child care and not by singling them out
Swedish child care is based on an overall view of the child’s for special treatment. High overall quality in the preschool or
development and learning needs bringing together health leisure-time centre is viewed as the best kind of support for
care, social care, fostering and teaching. Proper care is seen as many of these children.
a prerequisite if the child is to feel happy and content, which In Sweden today, many children have roots in some other
in turn is a prerequisite for its ability to absorb knowledge and culture. Child care has to a large extent become a multicultu-
to progress in life. Ensuring the well-being of a child also has ral meeting-place. Supporting children’s dual cultural affili-
educational implications. When young children are to eat or ations and their chances of actively developing bilingual skills
rest, or when an adult helps an older child sort out conflicts with is one of the express objectives of child care in Sweden. Some 15
other children, they learn about themselves as well as about per cent of children at preschool or leisure-time centres whose
others and about life in general. Children learn all the time home language is not Swedish receive mother-tongue tuition
and with all their senses. It is not possible to identify any spe- from special language teachers.
cific occasion when development or learning actually occurs.
Pedagogical work is based on the children’s individual
capabilities and draws on what the child has already experi-
enced and learned. Children are encouraged to engage in VARIOUS FORMS
their own activities and discover things for themselves, for
instance in theme work. By working on a particular theme for OF
a lengthy period and examining it in a variety of ways, the child
can introduce new knowledge into a meaningful context. CHILD CARE
Play has always been central to Swedish child care.
Nowadays it is even included in the national curriculum for
compulsory schools. Playing games helps the child to under- Public child care is extended to children aged 1-12. In Sweden,
stand the world around it, to develop its imagination and cre- compulsory school begins at the age of seven but prior to that
ative powers and to learn to cooperate with others. Play is at the almost all six-year-olds attend voluntary preschool classes desig-
heart of public child care activities in Sweden. ned to prepare them for the first grade. Children who have yet
The social development of children takes place in groups. to start school or preschool classes for six-year-olds
Consequently, the group has an important educational func- can attend regular preschools, family daycare homes and open
tion in child care, and both the individual child and the group preschools while older children have access to leisure-time
are focal points in pedagogical programmes. A contented centres, family daycare homes and open leisure-time activities.
child contributes to a pleasant group atmosphere that in turn The preschool (förskola) cares for children while their parents
has a favourable effect on the other children. are away working or studying or if the children have special
Children in need of special support have special rights in needs of their own. Preschools are open all year round and daily
the child care system. They are entitled to a place at a preschool opening times are varied to fit in with parents’ working hours.
or leisure-time centre irrespective of how their parents are Children are registered and the parents pay a fee that in most
occupied. This group may include disabled children or chil- areas is linked to the family’s income and the child’s attendance.
In 1999, some 64 per cent of all children aged 1-5 attended The open preschool (öppna förskolan) is an alternative to regu- 7
preschool, or 319,000 children in all. Children are generally lar preschool for the children of parents who are at home
divided into groups of between 15 and 20. As a rule, three em- during the day. It also supplements family daycare. Together
ployees - preschool teachers and daycare attendants - are allo- with their parents or municipal childminders, children are
cated to each group. The average preschool comprises three invited to take part in a pedagogical group activity. In some
such groups. housing areas, open preschools collaborate with public bodies
The family daycare home (familjedaghem) involves municipal like the social welfare services and the maternity care and child
childminders providing care in their own homes while the health care services. The children are not registered and are
parents are working or studying. The children are registered not required to attend regularly. Most open preschools are free
and opening hours are varied to fit in with the parents’ sche- of charge. In the autumn of 1999 there were about 900 open
dules. The family pays a fee in the same way as for preschool preschools in Sweden.
care. Family daycare complements preschool by providing in The leisure-time centre (fritidshem) provides care for chil-
particular for children who for one reason or another need to dren whose parents are in gainful employment or studying
be in smaller groups or who live far from the nearest pre- during the time the child is not in school, i.e. mornings, after-
school facility. This alternative is more common in rural areas noons and during holidays. Leisure-time centres are open all
and in small towns than in metropolitan areas. year round and daily opening hours are varied to fit in with
The number of children in family daycare has steadily parents’ schedules. As in the case of preschool and family day-
declined since the late 1980s. Today, some 11 per cent of all care, parents pay a fee which in most areas is linked to the
children aged 1-5 receive this form of care. Family daycare is family’s income and the child’s overall attendance. In the
sometimes provided for schoolchildren outside school hours autumn of 1999, some 62 per cent of all children aged 6-9 and
as well. In the autumn of 1999, some 3 per cent of all children 7 per cent of those aged 10-12 attended a leisure-time centre.
aged 6-9 were in family daycare. All told, about 69,000 chil- Leisure-time centres are intended as a supplement to
dren were provided with this form of care in 1999. schooling and are supposed to help children in their develop-

PROPORTION OF CHILDREN (%) IN DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS

REGISTERED IN SWEDISH CHILD CARE 1999.

80%
70%
60%
Preschool/
50% leisure-time centre
40%
Family daycare
30%
20%
10%
0
1-5 years 6-9 years 10-12 years
8 ment and provide them with meaningful recreation. Policy-
makers have declared their intention to bring schools and
leisure-time centres closer together and today most leisure-
time centres collaborate with schools in the area to a greater or
lesser degree.
In 1999, some 332,000 children attended leisure-time
centres, three times as many as in 1990. The increase has been
particularly marked in recent years. This is due to the fact that
more and more six-year-olds are attending leisure-time centres
and that children born in the baby boom of the late 1980s and
early 1990s have now reached school age.
Open leisure-time activities (öppen fritidsverksamhet) are
described in the Education Act as an alternative to leisure-time
centres and family daycare for children aged 10-12. Such faci-
lities however are not very widespread. About three quarters of
the country’s local authorities lack open activities directed at
this age group.
Local authorities can provide grants for non-municipal
child care, i.e. undertakings run by a principal other than the
local authority. About 15 per cent of all registered children in
preschools attend a facility that operates under non-municipal
auspices. The most common form is the parent cooperative.
Today, the overwhelming majority of children in Sweden
receive child care in one form or another. 75 per cent of all
children aged 1-5 are registered and 65 per cent of all school-
children aged 6-9. Virtually all local authorities are now able to
provide places at a preschool, at a leisure-time centre or in a
family daycare home without undue delay. The children of the
unemployed however often have to do without child care.
About 40 per cent of local authorities have adopted rules whe-
reby a preschool child forfeits its place in the child care system
when a parent becomes unemployed, and only one local aut-
hority in four makes child care available to children with a
jobless parent. In the case of children with a parent who is stay-
ing at home to look after a younger sibling, the rules are even
more restrictive.
10 PRESCHOOL CURRICULUM orientation of preschools in Sweden but does not state how
the goals are to be achieved. It is up to those working with the
children to decide which approaches and methods are most
Since August 1998, preschools have had their own national appropriate.
curriculum. Like the compulsory school curriculum it takes
the form of a government decree and compliance is therefore
mandatory. The curriculum specifies the overall goals and
The national curriculum
lists the following goals
and guidelines:
• norms and values
• development and learning
• children’s own influence
• cooperation between preschool and home
• interaction with the preschool class,
compulsory school and the leisure-time centre.

An important part of the curriculum deals with basic values.

The same fundamental democratic values are to permeate
both preschool and compulsory school. They involve care and
consideration towards others, solidarity, gender equality and
tolerance.
The preschool curriculum proceeds from the assumption
that the child is competent and is constantly seeking to im-
prove its understanding of life around it. The task of the pre-
school is to make the most of this thirst for knowledge and lay
the foundations for a lifelong learning process. In summary,
the curriculum states that preschools should be fun, secure
and instructive for all children who attend them.
ROLE OF THE PARENTS
Parents have long played an important part in the child care
system. During the settling-in period, which may take up to
two weeks for the youngest children, the groundwork is laid
for close contacts between parents and staff. This interaction
is further enhanced in the daily contacts that follow, for in-
stance when the parents deliver and fetch their children.
Parents can influence developments by sharing what they have
learned about their own particular child.
At least once a term, preschools and leisure-time centres
organize parents’ meetings. Sometimes they may also organize
soup dinners, markets or other activities at which children, par-
ents and staff can get together. Regular ‘progress discussions’
take place, at which parents get the chance to talk things over
with one or more of the staff at the preschool or leisure-time
centre, or with the municipal childminder.

STAFF

Staff in child care services in Sweden are well trained. Virtually

all have some form of training for working with children.
There are four staff categories - preschool teachers, recreational
instructors, daycare attendants and childminders in family
daycare.
Preschool teachers and recreational instructors undergo
a three-year pedagogical training programme at university
focusing on teaching methods, development psychology, fam-
ily sociology and creative activity. Some of the courses run con-
currently. As a rule, daycare attendants have upper-secondary
qualifications while municipal childminders have often attend-
ed training courses organized by the local authority itself.
Over half of all preschool employees have university
degrees in preschool education while just over 40 per cent of
staff are daycare attendants. At leisure-time centres some 70
per cent have degrees in recreational or leisure education or
in some other kind of teacher’s training, while 20 per cent are
daycare attendants. About 5 per cent of the staff at preschools
and leisure-time centres are men.
On average, a preschool teacher or a recreational instruc-
tor earns SEK 15,500 a month, a daycare attendant earns SEK
14,000 and a childminder in family daycare SEK 13,500. This
may be compared to an average monthly wage of SEK 18,500
for a compulsory school teacher and of SEK 19,500 for an
upper secondary school teacher.

DIVISION OF RESPONSIBILITY

During the 1990s, governance by the rulebook has been re-

placed by a more target-oriented and results-oriented system.
This means that central government now outlines the overall
goals for child care while the local authorities are responsible
for implementing them. Central government contributes
financially through grants to the local authorities.
Today, the National Agency for Education is the central
supervisory authority for both child care and schooling. Its
tasks include ensuring fulfilment of the national goals for
child care by means of follow-ups, evaluation, development
research and supervisory work, and generally supporting pro-
gress in the child care sector.

LEGISLATION

The regulations governing child care are set out in the

Education Act. The Act defines the forms of child care that are
to be provided. It also spells out the obligation of local auth-
14 orities to provide child care for children aged 1-12 to the
extent required in order for parents to work or study. This
obligation also applies in the case of children with care needs
of their own irrespective of how the parents are occupied.
Children in need of special support are always entitled to a
place at a preschool or leisure-time centre.
The law also specifies requirements with regard to the
quality of the care provided. Employees are to be so well-trained
or so experienced that they can satisfy the children’s needs as
regards both care and stimulating pedagogical activities.
Premises are to be well suited to the purpose in hand, child-
ren’s groups are to be suitably mixed and of appropriate size
and the activities provided are to be based on the individual
needs of each child.
The present Education Act came into force in 1995 and
prescribed stricter compliance on the part of the local auth-
orities than previously. One of the reasons for tightening up
the law was that central government’s scope for influencing
developments was reduced when its earmarked grants for
child care were replaced by general-purpose grants.

FINANCING

Child care in Sweden is financed partly by central government

grants and partly by tax revenue and parental fees. The
government grants are not specifically earmarked for child
care but are part of a general-purpose grant to be used for a
number of different sectors.
In 1998, gross costs for child care amounted to SEK
39,000 million, which corresponds to 15 per cent of the local
authorities’ total costs. Parental fees accounted for just under
17 per cent of the gross cost. Local authorities themselves de-
cide how large a fee parents pay and how the fee system is
structured. As a result, fees vary considerably from place to
place.
PART OF
A LIFELONG LEARNING
PROCESS
In pace with the growth of child care to encompass an increa-
sing number of children, its importance for educational policy
has also grown. This was one of the reasons why the Ministry
of Education took over responsibility for child care from the
Ministry for Social Affairs in 1996.
The aim is to bring child care and schooling closer to-
gether and encourage the development of a joint pedagogical
approach. All pedagogical activities for children and young
people are to be seen as part of a lifelong learning process.
The preschool is the first stage in the educational system and
its curriculum takes the same view of how children learn and
develop as the compulsory school curriculum. These two cur-
ricula along with the curriculum for voluntary forms of school-
ing cover the first twenty years of learning for children and
young people in the Swedish educational system.
16 FROM CRÈCHES TO Commission on Child Care (Barnstugeutredningen), instruc-
ting it to present proposals as to how a child care system that
DAYCARE CENTRES met social, educational and supervisory needs might be devel-
oped in Sweden.
The National Commission decisively influenced the fu-
The roots of the Swedish child care system can be traced back ture direction of Swedish child care. Its report formulated vital
to the second half of the 19th century. Industrialization and pedagogical principles and ideas that made a considerable
migration to the towns had given rise to widespread poverty impact and still survive today. Among other things it laid the
among families. Infant crèches foundations for the Swedish preschool model - daycare centres
(barnkrubbor) were opened for the and playschools were to be combined in a preschool system
children of single mothers obliged that would serve the interests of children as well as allowing
to work for a living. Work shelters parents to work or study. The report condemned the outdated
(arbetsstugor) took in schoolchildren view that supervision was something you offered the poor
from poor families in the afternoons while educational activities were for the stimulation of better-
and sought to teach them some off children. Care and education were to be merged in a com-
rudimentary crafts at the same time. pletely new way.
Both the crèche and the work shelter Despite rapid progress in the 1970s and early 1980s local
were social institutions usually run by authorities were unable to expand facilities to such an extent
private citizens or by charities. They that the waiting list for places disappeared. The birthrate had
were joined by the kindergartens increased rapidly, as had the number of mothers in gainful
(barnträdgårdar), based on the ideas of German educator employment, and the target drawn up by the Swedish
Friedrich Fröbel. Kindergartens were educationally oriented and Parliament (Riksdag) was not achieved. Legislation was there-
were attended mainly by the children of well-to-do families. fore tightened up in 1995, when local authorities became duty
During the 1930s and 1940s the public authorities gradu- bound to provide child care without undue delay for all chil-
ally assumed greater responsibility for the care and fostering dren requiring it. This rule together with the high birthrate in
of children. In the mid-1940s, government grants were intro- Sweden led to the creation of a record number of new child
duced for both work shelters and infant crèches. A growing care openings in the mid-1990s. Waiting lists disappeared and
number of local authorities took over the running of the crè- today the number of places largely conforms to needs. Public
ches, which were renamed day nurseries, and of the work shel- child care has become an integral part of the Swedish welfare
ters, which became leisure-time centres. The number of chil- state and of most families’ everyday lives.
dren at these centres however was still fairly modest. A highly-developed child care system has been a precon-
Playschools (lekskolor) were more widespread. dition for the changes in family patterns and gender roles that
In the 1960s demand for child care provision increased. have been taking place since the 1970s. The proportion of
Female labour was in demand and calls for a major expansion women in the labour force has steadily approached that of
of child care facilities intensified. In 1968 the government of men, and most children in Sweden today grow up with parents
the day appointed a special commission, the National who share responsibility for supporting the family.
FACTS ABOUT SWEDEN 19

2
• Sweden has an area of 450,000 km (174,000 sq. • The employment rate is 73 per cent for men and
miles). Half its land surface is covered with forest 70 per cent for women (aged 16-64). Women often
and less than a tenth is farmland. There are almost work part-time. Almost half of all employed mothers
100,000 lakes around the country. The highest of young children have part-time jobs.
mountain is Kebnekaise, 2,111 m (6,928 ft) above • Unemployment, which remained low in Sweden
sea level. many years, accelerated to over 8 per cent at the
• The distance between the country’s northernmost beginning of the 1990s. In the autumn of 1999 it was
and southernmost points is 1,574 km. At its widest 5.2 per cent. Men tend to be unemployed more often
point Sweden measures 499 km. than women (5.7 per cent as against 4.7 per cent).
• The warm Gulf Stream gives Sweden a milder Unemployment is greatest among young people
climate than other countries at the same latitude. under 25 (10.2 per cent).
In northern regions the summers are light and • When a child is born, the parents are entitled to
the sun shines virtually all day and night. 450 days of leave paid for by the Social Insurance
• Sweden is rich in natural assets in the form of Office. For most of the leave period (80 per cent)
forest, hydroelectric power, iron ore, uranium and parental benefit is on a par with sickness benefit.
other minerals, but imports oil and coal to meet The 450 days of leave have to be taken before
the country’s energy requirements. the child turns eight.
• The population numbers 8.9 million. Just over • Child benefit amounts to SEK 750 a month per child
1.6 million people live in the capital of Stockholm. and is disbursed to all families with children under 16.
• On average, Swedish women have 1.5 children each For families with three or more children, an extra
(1998). Average life expectancy is 76.7 years for men supplement is provided.
and 81.8 years for women. • Single parents are paid a maintenance grant to ensure
• Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with that their children enjoy the same kind of standard as
a parliamentary form of government. The present other children.
ing is Carl XVI Gustaf. Parliament (Riksdag) has • Families with low incomes who need help with their
a single chamber and 351 members elected every housing costs are entitled to housing benefit.
four years. The voting age is 18 and at the last • Medical care and dental care for children and young
election the turnout was 81.4 per cent. people under 20 is free of charge.
• The country has 289 local authorities with a con- • Schooling is compulsory for all children from the age of
siderable degree of autonomy. Their responsibilities seven. Preschool classes for six-year-olds are voluntary.
include child care and education. The compulsory education period is nine years.
MORE COPIES CAN BE ORDERED FROM:
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NEW REFORMS - FOR INCREASED ACCESSIBILITY
In the autumn of 2000, the Riksdag passed a decision on the introduction of new child
care reforms. These reforms aim at providing more children with access to pre-school
and leisure time centres and represent an important step towards the government’s
long-term goal - free child care facilities that are available to all children.

MAXIMUM FEE
A maximum fee for pre-school activities and care of school-age children is to be intro-
duced on 1st January, 2002. This means that a ceiling will be set on the fees payable by
parents for their children.
At pre-school facilities (pre-school and home daycare nursery), the fee charged may
be no more than between one and three percent of the family’s income, depending on
how many children the family has. The fee may not, however, exceed 1,140 kronor per
month for the family’s first child, 760 kronor for the second child, and 380 kronor for
the third child.
In the school-age child care system (leisure time centres and home daycare nurs-
eries), the fee charged may be no more than between one and two percent of the fami-
ly’s income. The fee may not, however, exceed 760 kronor per month for the family’s
first child and 380 kronor for the second and third child.
For the municipalities, introduction of the maximum fee will be voluntary. Those
municipalities adopting the new system will receive compensation for loss of income and
they will also receive funds for the introduction of measures to ensure that there is no
drop in overall quality.

CHILDREN OF THE UNEMPLOYED OR PEOPLE ON PARENTAL LEAVE

On 1st July, 2001, municipalities will become liable to offer places at pre-school or in a
home daycare nursery to children between one and five years old whose parents are
unemployed. Today, this obligation extends only to children whose parents are gainful-
ly employed or who are studying. Children are to be guaranteed a place at the school or
daycare nursery for at least three hours per day. On 1st January, 2002, the obligation will
also apply to children whose parents are on parental leave and to a younger sibling.

UNIVERSAL PRE-SCHOOL
On 1st January, 2003, universal pre-school is to be introduced for all four and five-year
olds. All children will be offered free schooling for at least 525 hours per year. This is
equivalent to about three hours per day during the school terms.
Although the provision of universal pre-school will be mandatory for the munici-
palities, children will be able to participate on a voluntary basis.
www.skolverket.se