Family & education

• Bern for Families (barbecue areas, bad weather programme, etc.)

• Interactive map: Playgrounds

• Activities during the holidays: Holiday pass

• Canton of Bern: Childcare & family activities

• Swiss Red Cross: Childcare & babysitter

• profawo: emergency nannies

• City of Bern: Holiday care

• Canton Bern: Playgroups

• Specialist & Contact Centre Playgroups Canton of Berne: Playgroup Directory

Playgroups in English

• English Speaking Playgroup

• Little Bears English Playgroup

General information

• Opening hours: The KITA are open from Monday to Friday, normally from 7.00 am to 6.00 pm. Some KITAS close during the Christmas period.

• Age: Children from the age of three months can be admitted to a KITA.

• Requirements: The KITA can define a minimum number of days on which you must have your child looked after (e.g. three days a week).

Costs

• The costs depend on the parents' income and assets, as well as the amount of childcare required.

• Certain KITA are subsidised. The City of Bern subsidises childcare costs with childcare vouchers. The application can be submitted online.

• Childcare vouchers will also be available for residents outside of Bern from summer 2020.

• Most KITA have a waiting list. We recommend that you book your KITA place directly with the KITA as early as possible.

KITA overview

• Canton of Bern: KITA search platform

• Canton of Bern: Daycare centres and daycare families

• City of Bern: Children with special needs

• City of Bern: Daycare centres for young children

Advice

• If possible, choose a KITA in your neighbourhood, as children start school in the neighbourhood kindergarten. Some KITA can look after children before and after school. This keeps the transport distance from the KITA to the kindergarten and vice versa as short as possible.

• EFIB Kidscare, Bern (newly opened in 2024): German/French

• Feusi (Gümligen): German/English

• Popepoppa: German/French (near the ECLF)

• Globegarden: German/English

• Kita Colorin: Spanish

Day schools

• The programme includes lunch, leisure activities and homework help.

• Parents can decide how many days their child attends the programme.

• The day school provides childcare for kindergarten and school children outside of school hours (morning, midday and afternoon).

• Day schools are closed during school holidays.

• Canton of Bern: Day schools

All-day schools

• In contrast to a day school, there are fixed times at an all-day school, e.g. three days a week from 8 am to 4 pm. All children are present during these times.

• Canton of Bern: All-day schools

Good to know

• Certain schools also offer transport services.

• These services are voluntary for parents.

• Day and All-day schools are subject to a fee.

• Canton of Berne: Couples & Family counselling

• Canton of Bern: Educational counselling

• Canton of Bern: Family portal

• City of Bern: Family & Counselling

• Marriage, partnership and family counselling centre

• Association Mothers‘ and fathers’ counselling: counselling for expectant parents and parents with small children.

• The career information centres can help you with questions about vocational training and career decisions.

• Canton of Bern, Kindergarten and Primary School: Overview and information about the Bernese school system (school holidays, Curriculum/Lehrplan 21, health and difficult situations)

• The Ecole Cantonale de Langue Française (ECLF) is a public school (kindergarten to 11th grade) that follows the curriculum of French-speaking Switzerland. The curriculum is taught in French, with German and English as subjects.

• City of Bern, Classes bilingues: bilingual teaching programme in German and French. The school only accepts children who complete the entire educational programme from the first to the ninth grade.

Good to know

• Persons with preferential status who do not have to register with the municipality can register their child directly with the school nearest to their place of residence.

• City of Bern: Schools

• Despite the ‘Harmos’ project (harmonisation of compulsory schooling), the school entry age still varies in some cases. Education is a cantonal matter and the circumstances have evolved historically. Harmonising many different school systems takes time.

• Canton of Berne: Fachmittelschulen

• Canton of Bern: High schools

• Canton of Bern: Bilingual Baccalaureate at High School

Good to know

• The transfer from secondary school to high school is not guaranteed for all students. Vocational training is a popular alternative to high school. If you are interested in an apprenticeship, complete a taster programme at an early stage and apply directly to the company for the apprenticeship position.

Vocational training

Apprenticeships enjoy an excellent reputation in Switzerland and around two thirds of young people in Switzerland complete an apprenticeship after compulsory schooling. The low unemployment rate is also due to the fact that young adults are integrated into the world of work at an early stage.

Continuous education

In Switzerland, lifelong learning is strongly encouraged in a very permeable education system. Those who decide in favour of a vocational apprenticeship can still take the academic route afterwards – and this is increasingly being done on a part-time basis.

• SERI: Vocational an Professional Education and Training

• Canton of Bern: Higher Technical Colleges

• The State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) is responsible for the recognition of foreign professional qualification.

• Each university decides independently which admission requirements apply to the individual degree programmes. Depending on the university, the admission requirements for the same degree programme may vary.

• swissuniversities: Overview of Universities

• SERI: Overview of Universities of Applied Sciences

There are various private English and French schools in Bern.

• IS Berne offers complete training across all levels up to the International Baccalaureate.

• EFIB offers a complete compulsory education programme from nursery to secondary school.

• ECLF is not a private school, but a public school (and therefore free of charge) that follows the curriculum of the French-speaking cantons of Switzerland. The programme covers the whole cumposory education from nursery to secondary level.

Good to know

• If you would like to do the Matura at a Gymnasium/High School after completing the EFIB or ECLF, you can either attend a Gymnasium in the city of Bern (in German) or a French Gymnasium (e.g. in Biel).

• Transfer from a private school to university is not guaranteed in every case! Please contact the respective university to find out about the admission requirements

• Canton of Bern: International schools

The 28 recognised music schools in the canton of Bern supplement and enhance the music lessons offered by public schools. Children, young people and adults can take lessons at the music schools.

• Canton of Bern: Music schools

• Canton of Bern: Learning German or French

• City of Bern: Learning German

• Language schools: Various public schools offer individual and group courses. Contact the IBWD for more information.

• Online translator for Swiss German: Textshuttle

Children and young people of compulsory school age who move to the city of Bern and have little or no knowledge of German first attend an intensive course for German as a second language.

• City of Bern: Intensive course