8510 Pre-primary education

This subcategory includes education services provided within educational programmes at ISCED 2011 Level 0, targeting children below the age of entry into primary education. Usually, services are provided school-based or otherwise institutionalised for a group of children in nursery schools, kindergartens, pre-schools, centres for early childhood education, centres for infant education or special sections attached to primary schools. Programmes at ISCED 2011 Level 0 support children’s early cognitive, physical, social and emotional development and introduce young children to organized instruction outside of the family context. Pre-primary education is defined as the initial stage of organised instruction designed primarily to introduce very young children to a school-type environment, that is, to provide a bridge between the home and a school-based atmosphere. The educational programmes in which these services are provided are usually based on a regulatory framework issued or recognised by relevant national authorities. The programmes should account for at least the equivalent of 2 hours per day and 100 days a year of educational activities.

This subcategory also includes:

• services of early childhood educational development designed for younger children (in the age range of 0 to 2 years)
• services related to the provision of special education programmes at this educational level for children with special needs, irrespective of their ages

This subcategory excludes:

• child day-care services, see 88.91.0