In Switzerland a distinction is made between pre-school ("Kindergarten", "école enfantine", "scuola dell'infanzia") and childcare outside the family (day nurseries, day-care mothers, play groups).  By 1970, the kindergarten (or the "école enfantine" in Western Switzerland and the "scuola dell'infanzia" in Ticino) was legally established in all of the cantons in Switzerland.  In the majority of the cantons the pre-school education is regulated by school law and the corresponding school regulations.. Some cantons have their own kindergarten law.

 

Financing
Kindergartens are financed primarily by the municipalities.  The cantons pay contributions to the wage costs for teachers. In all of the cantons the children have a right to a pre-school education of at least one year, in half of the cantons two years, before they enter compulsory education. In the cantons discussions are underway and efforts are being made concerning obligatory kindergarten attendance.

Convergence of kindergarten and schools
In the mid 1980s there were increasing endeavours to bring kindergarten and school closer together.  Since the 1990s, in particular, numerous studies have dealt with questions concerning the renewal of the school introduction phase. Realignment concerns the following aspects: more flexible admission age to primary school, early encouragement of cultural skills, heterogeneous classes (heterogeneity concerning age, development, talent, origin, etc.) and didactic innovations. At the moment projects are being carried out in numerous cantons where the amalgamation of the kindergarten years with the first years of school is being tested and evaluated.