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Guide for working parents

School and childcare in Switzerland: the parents' guide by age

If you've just moved to Switzerland, you'll notice it by the first day of school at the latest: the system assumes someone is at the lunch table at noon and someone is home on Wednesday afternoon. Here's what the state covers at each age, the gap that remains when you both work — and what filling it costs, canton by canton.

Reading time: 8 min · Updated: August 2026
Answer in 30 seconds
Updated August 2026

School does not look after your child until the end of your workday. Before age 4 there is no public provision at all; after that, kindergarten and primary school leave 21 to 28 hours a week uncovered in the largest cities — plus 12 to 15.5 weeks of school holidays against the usual 5 weeks of parental vacation.

  • 0–4: everything is private — daycare CHF 80–135/day full cost, childminder CHF 8–14/hr, nanny from about CHF 29/hr in employer costs
  • 4–12: morning block times, a lunch gap and free afternoons — after-school care costs up to CHF 100–400 per week depending on the city (maximum tariff)
  • Holidays: 13 weeks of school holidays minus 5 weeks of parental vacation — without a plan, 6–9 weeks a year are uncovered

This applies when

you both work and can't cover care entirely through family or neighbours

Calculate your gap

What the state covers at each age — and what it doesn't

Four phases, four very different starting points. The short version: the state only steps in from kindergarten, and it only gets genuinely relaxed at secondary school.

0–4
0 h50 h
0–4

Before kindergarten: you are entirely on your own

What the state covers

No public provision. Daycare places are municipally subsidised but not guaranteed — in Zurich or Basel, waiting lists of 12 months and more are normal; sign up during pregnancy.

The gap

The gap: the entire care window, Mon–Fri 08:00–18:00.

What parents use

What parents use: daycare (CHF 80–135 per day full cost depending on canton, often income-based), a childminder (CHF 8–14/hr per child), a nanny (from about CHF 29/hr in employer costs) — and the grandparents: they help with care in 38.7% of households with children under 12, making them the country's biggest 'daycare centre'.
From birth: daycare waiting listEurope's highest net daycare costsGrandparents = biggest 'daycare' (38.7%)
4–6

Kindergarten: compulsory, but only half days

What the state covers

In most cantons, compulsory schooling starts with two kindergarten years from the child's 4th birthday (cut-off date usually 31 July). Kindergarten is free — but it mainly covers mornings; afternoons come gradually, and in the first year often not at all.

The gap

The gap: lunchtime plus most afternoons. For many families this is the moment childcare gets harder than in the daycare years — daycare was expensive, but it was open from 7 to 6.

What parents use

What parents use: municipal after-school structures (lunch table + afternoon modules), a childminder or a nanny for the edges of the day. Some daycare centres run their own kindergarten-companion programmes.
Compulsory from age 4Gap: lunch + afternoonsRegister early for care modules
6–12

Primary school: block times and the 3.30pm problem

What the state covers

Free schooling with morning block times (roughly 08:00–12:00). Afternoons carry two to four lessons depending on the timetable — Wednesday afternoon is free almost everywhere, and school ends between 15:00 and 16:15 depending on the city.

The gap

The gap: we calculated it for the 10 largest school cities — between school presence and a care window until 6pm, 21.5 (Lugano) to 27.8 hours (Biel) per week are missing. You'll see your city just below.

What parents use

What parents use: the lunch table (CHF 6–36 per lunch depending on the city), after-school care until 6pm (maximum tariff CHF 100–400 per week, often much less income-based), plus a childminder or nanny for the edges and Wednesdays.
Gap 21.5–27.8 hrs per weekWednesday afternoon freePlan 13 weeks of holidays
12+

Secondary school: the gap closes

What the state covers

From secondary level, timetables fill up and most children are old enough to be home alone at lunch and after school.

The gap

The gap: shrinks to holiday weeks and occasional edge hours.

What parents use

What parents use: holiday programmes, clubs, occasional babysitting.
Gap nearly closedHoliday weeks remainBabysitter for evenings

Coverage shown as a model: care window 50 hrs per week; kindergarten assumed at 20 hrs of presence, primary school at 25 hrs (average of the 10 largest school cities), secondary symbolic. Details in the study «The 3.30pm problem».

Carer putting shoes on a toddler in the hallway, the stroller waiting by the door

A school week, for real

3rd grade, care window 08:00–18:00. Navy = school, lime = you organise it.

81012141618
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
School
Lunch
School
open
School
Lunch
School
open
School
Lunch
free
School
Lunch
School
open
School
Lunch
free
Lessons / block timesYou organise

Gap per week

24.4hrs

That is 58% of a full-time job.

School presence

25.6 hrs

School ends

15.05–15.55 · 2 free afternoons

After-school care (max tariff)

CHF 194/school week

Schematic week (mornings 08:15–12:00, lunch 12:00–13:30, free afternoons Wed/Fri). The numbers on the right are the exact figures from the Clino study 'The 3.30pm problem', official timetables and maximum tariffs, school years 2025/26–2026/27.

Calculate your childcare gap

Age, canton, both your workloads — the calculator shows how many hours a week stay open and what after-school care, a childminder or a nanny cost to fill them.

Childcare-gap calculator

Age, canton and your work percentages — how many hours stay uncovered, and what filling them costs.

Your childcare gap

19.5hrs per week

across 4 shared working days

What filling it costs per month

After-school care (Hort/Tagesschule)

City maximum tariff; income-based tariffs are often much lower

CHF 672/month

Childminder (Tagesmutter)

CHF 8–14/hr per child; calculated here at CHF 10

CHF 844/month

Nanny (employed)

CHF 25/hr gross + holiday supplement + social contributions; one wage covers all children

CHF 2'468/month

And then there are the school holidays

13 weeks of school holidays in your canton. If you cover 5 + 5 weeks of your own vacation as a couple, 3 of them together, roughly 6 weeks remain with no school and no parent off work.

Holiday programmes cost CHF 200–525 per week and child depending on the city; a full-time nanny week is about CHF 1,169.

Don't forget the tax deduction: Third-party childcare costs are deductible: up to CHF 25'800 federally, and up to CHF 25'300 per child and year in canton Zurich.

If you employ a nanny or childminder, you become an employer — AHV from the first franc. Clino prepares payroll, registration and the contract for CHF 19.90/month.

How to register a nanny

Model calculation: care window Mon–Fri 08:00–18:00 (50 hrs), school presence from official timetables of the 10 largest school cities (3rd grade); kindergarten assumed at 20 hrs of presence. Gap = best staggering of your days off. Actual tariffs are income-based and vary by municipality.

The vocabulary nobody explains to you

Eight terms that appear in every municipal leaflet and no dictionary:

Kita / Krippe

Full-day childcare before kindergarten, usually 7am–6pm. Private or municipal; a place is not guaranteed.

Tagesmutter / Tagesfamilie

Childminding in the carer's own home, usually arranged through a childminding organisation and billed per hour and child.

Blockzeiten

Guaranteed teaching/care time in the morning, roughly 08:00–12:00 — German-speaking Switzerland's answer to 'school until 11:50 would be unplannable'.

Mittagstisch

Supervised lunch at school or in the municipality. Costs CHF 6 (Zurich Tagesschule) to CHF 36 (Lausanne) per lunch depending on the city.

Hort

Care before and after lessons, typically until 6/6:30pm. Booked per module; tariffs are usually income-based.

Tagesschule

A school with integrated all-day care. Zurich is rolling them out city-wide — the bound lunch module there costs CHF 6.

Randzeiten

The hours before 8am and after 6pm that no public offering covers — the classic nanny and babysitter slot.

Ferienhort / Tagesferien

The city's holiday care, bookable by the week (CHF 200–525 per week and child). Beware: not every municipality offers it, and places are limited.

Two parents at the playground discussing how to organise childcare

Your path to the solution

1

How old is your (youngest) child?

'We'll just get an au pair'

Careful: an au pair may help at most 30 hours a week, needs a language course, and the programme is designed as cultural exchange — the authorities expect a parent to be present for a substantial part of the care time. As a full-time replacement for two 100% workloads it is neither legally intended nor practically viable.

The 13 weeks nobody warns you about

The year in 52 weeks

School holidays vs your own vacation — what's left over is your planning problem.

13 weeks of school holidays in your canton

JFMAMJJASOND
School weeksHoliday weeks your own vacation coversopen — holiday care, camp, nanny or grandparents

6

weeks open

Model: as a couple you have 2 × 5 weeks of vacation, 3 of them together as a family — that covers 7 holiday weeks.

One open week costs: city holiday care CHF 200–525 per child, camps CHF 230–700, a full-time nanny week about CHF 1'169.

The placement of holiday blocks across the year is schematic (summer length per the IDES 2026 holiday list); the weekly totals per canton are exact (EDK/IDES, study «13 weeks of school holidays, 5 weeks of vacation»).

Don't rely blindly on the public offering, though: in the canton of Zurich, 22% of municipalities offer no holiday care at all, and only 8% cover the entire holidays. Summer-week places are gone by spring.

The January trick

What works in practice: in January, lay the year's holiday weeks out on one sheet — who takes which week, which weeks you book holiday care for, which a camp or the grandparents cover. The families who plan in June pay for the expensive leftover places.
Nanny out with a stroller by Lake Zurich on a sunny day

The fine print

From what age is my child required to be where?

In most cantons, compulsory schooling starts with kindergarten from the child's 4th birthday; the cut-off date is usually 31 July. A child born shortly after waits a year. The details (one or two compulsory kindergarten years, deferral options) are cantonal — your municipal school office has the final word.

Public school and kindergarten are free. Everything before and everything around them — daycare, after-school care, lunch table, holiday care — costs money, usually income-based.

Am I entitled to a childcare place?

Depends on where you live. Some cities have a genuine place guarantee for school-complementary care (Zurich, Geneva, Winterthur); many municipalities only a needs-based obligation — and in the countryside often nothing at all. For daycare places there is no legal entitlement anywhere.

Tariffs are income-based almost everywhere: the maximum tariff only applies above a high reference income, below that it gets cheaper. The new federal care allowance (UKibeG, passed at the end of 2025) will further subsidise institutional care from around 2030 onwards.

When do I become an employer — and what does that mean?

Daycare, after-school care, lunch table, holiday programmes: you are a customer; the institution handles everything. A childminder via a childminding organisation: the organisation is usually the employer. But the moment you hire a nanny, an au pair or a private carer directly, you are an employer — with AHV contributions due from the very first franc of wages, accident insurance and payroll.

It's less daunting than it sounds: for wages up to CHF 22,680 a year there is the simplified settlement procedure with a single annual statement. Clino guides you through registration, contract and payroll.

Going the nanny route? Then you're an employer.

Clino prepares everything that comes with it: the AHV registration with your compensation office, an employment contract in 6 languages and the monthly payslip — for CHF 19.90 a month. You submit the registration yourself, but you always know exactly where and with what.

How to employ a nanny

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Frequent questions

Is school free in Switzerland?
Yes — public school and kindergarten cost nothing, from age 4 (compulsory schooling, cut-off usually 31 July). What costs money is everything around school: the lunch table, after-school care, holiday care. And before kindergarten there is no public provision at all — you pay for daycare, a childminder or a nanny privately, with income-based subsidies depending on your municipality.
How many hours of care are we missing if we both work?
For a primary-school child with two 100% workloads, 21.5 to 27.8 hours a week are missing in the 10 largest school cities between school presence and a window until 6pm — plus 12–15.5 weeks of school holidays against roughly 5 weeks of parental vacation. With lower workloads the gap shrinks; the calculator above works it out for your canton.
Is an au pair a solution if we both work full-time?
No. An au pair may be deployed at most 30 hours a week and the authorities expect a parent to be at home for a substantial part of the care time — the programme is cultural exchange, not a childcare replacement. For two full-time workloads you need daycare, after-school care, a childminder or an employed nanny.
From how many children is a nanny worth it instead of daycare?
Usually from the second: daycare bills per child, a nanny costs one wage. In Bern and Basel, a full-time nanny for two toddlers is 9–28% cheaper than two full-cost daycare places depending on the setup, and up to 45% with three children. With subsidised daycare tariffs the tipping point moves later — it pays to run the numbers.
Do we get childcare costs back through taxes?
Part of them: third-party childcare costs are deductible — up to CHF 25,800 per child and year federally, and between CHF 8,000 and CHF 27,300 in the canton depending on where you live. This applies equally to daycare, a childminder and an employed nanny, but not to grandparents without an invoice.

Sources

Read on

Salvador Jovells

Salvador Jovells, founder of Clino

Verified July 2026