C h a pter 2 a , pa ra g ra phs 1-12 in the School Act conta ins the ba sic provisions on how ECEC a nd school-a g e child ca re a ctivities a re to be org a nised. Leg isla tion for the pre-school cla ss ca n be fou nd in C h a pter 2b. (See a ppen- dix).
The leg isla tion defines w ha t is m ea nt by pre-school a ctivity a nd school-a g e child ca re a nd w ha t the ta sk s of the va riou s a ctivities a re. The Act stipu la tes tha t the m u nicipa lities a re oblig ed to provide pre-school a nd leisu re-tim e centre a ctivity of hig h qu a lity w ithou t u nrea sona ble dela y. This oblig a tion concerns a ll children from the a g e of one u ntil the a g e of tw elve, w hose pa rents a re w ork ing or stu dying or w ho need child ca re su pport, a s w ell a s for a ll children in need of specia l su pport. Child ca re shou ld be su pplied a s close to the child’s hom e or school a s possible. The w ishes of the pa rent or g u a rdia n shou ld be ta k en into a ccou nt.
A specia l a rticle dea ls w ith certa in qu a lity indica tors. In the ECEC-setting s there shou ld be sta ff w ith the requ isite edu ca tion or experience ca pa ble of sa tisfying the child’s need for high qu a lity ca re a nd edu ca tion. The size a nd com position of the g rou ps of children shou ld be a ppropria te. The prem ises shou ld be su ita ble for their pu rpose. Activities shou ld be b a sed on the individu a l needs of ea ch child. Children w ho need specia l su pport for their developm ent shou ld receive ca re rela ted to their needs.
This leg isla tion entered into force 1995 a nd involves a tig h tening a nd cla rifica tion of m u nicipa l oblig a tions, com pa red to ea rlier leg isla tion. One of the rea sons for this w a s tha t the g ra nts provided for m u nicipa lities a t tha t tim e cha ng ed from being ea rm a rk ed perform a nce rela ted gra nts to g enera l g ra nts for a ll a ctivity for w hich the m u nicipa lities w ere responsible. Another rea son w a s tha t the expa nsion ha d rea ched a level of needs covera g e w here it w a s thou ght possible to im pose m ore precise oblig a tions in the ECEC a rea . The a rticle on qu a lity w a s prom pted a s a resu lt of the fina ncia l cu tba ck s in the m u nicipa lities a nd the effects this m ight h a ve on qu a lity, if the m u nicipa lities w ere requ ired to introdu ce a child ca re g u a ra ntee.
Essentia lly the leg isla tion sets ou t the oblig a tions m u nicipa lities shou ld fu l- fil. G oa ls a re u sed to sta te w ha t is expected of the m u nicipa lities, ra ther tha n reg u la te in deta il how the la w shou ld be a pplied. This m ea ns tha t m u nicipa l
decisions concerning pre-school a ctivities a nd school child ca re b a sed on child ca re leg isla tion m a y be a ppea led to a cou rt by a n inha bita nt of the m u nicipa lity. The cou rt ca n determ ine w hether the m u nicipa lity’s decision contra venes the leg isla tion, a nd if this is the ca se revok e the m u nicipa lity’s decision. The cou rt ca nnot; how ever, requ ire the m u nicipa lity to cha ng e its decision. In principle, there is little scope for ta k ing sa nctions w ith respect to the m u nicipa lity.
The leg isla tion for the pre-school cla ss, w hich since 1998 ha s been a pa rt of the school, defines hou rs of instru ction, a g es of children a nd conditions g overning fees. The pre-school cla ss is volu nta ry for the child, bu t in principle a ll six yea r olds ha ve ta k en pa rt in the pre-school since the m iddle of the 70 s. The pre-school cla ss is intended for a ll six yea r-olds prior to the sta rt of their schooling . The a ctivity shou ld provide a t lea st 525 hou rs a nd be free of cha rg e.
Since 1998, there ha s a lso been a Na tiona l Cu rricu lu m for pre-schools (Lpfö98). The Na tiona l C u rricu lu m for com pu lsory school h a s been a dju sted to cover the pre-school cla ss a nd leisu re-tim e centres (Lpo94). These cu rricu la specify the g oa ls a nd gu idelines for a ctivities, a nd they both h a ve the sa m e sta tu s, stru ctu re a nd perspective on the lea rning a nd developm ent of children a nd you th. For the first tim e in the history of the pre-school, a na tiona l cu rricu lu m steers a ctivities a nd w ork in pre-schools a nd leisu re-tim e centres. It is the responsibility of the loca l org a nisers a nd the directors of ECEC-setting s to a rra ng e a ctivities in su ch a w a y a s to fu lfil the stipu la tions, requ irem ents a nd goa ls of the School Act a nd the Na tiona l Cu rricu lu m for pre-schools. Su pervisory responsibilities on a na tiona l level rest w ith the Na tiona l Ag ency for Edu ca tion. This a g ency is cu rrently a lso developing g u idelines for those ECEC -a ctivities w hich a re not covered by the cu rricu la , i.e. fa m ily da y ca re hom es, open pre-schools, a nd open leisu re- a ctivities.
The su pervisory fu nctions a nd responsibilities of the Na tiona l Ag ency for Edu ca tion a re cu rrently u nderg oing m a jor revisions in a n a ttem pt to develop a coherent stra teg y for su pervision a nd eva lu a tion of a ll a rea s of responsibilities. This inclu des the new ly incorpora ted pre-school a ctivities a nd school-a g e child ca re, a n a rea w ith different leg isla tion, org a nisa tion a nd history, a nd a lso other responsibilities a nd goa ls tha n those form s of schools w hich a lrea dy h a ve been pla ced u nder the ju risdiction of the Ag ency. The child ca re sector inclu des issu es link ed to edu ca tion a nd ca re, a s w ell a s issu es m ore closely link ed to fa m ily su pport a nd socia l issu es.