City of Tartu exempts parents from payment of the nursery school place fee for six weeks
Tartu City Government Press Release
16. märts 2020 / Due to the emergency situation, on 16 March the Tartu City Government decided to exempt parents from payment of the place fee for Tartu nursery schools until the initial deadline of 1 May for the emergency situation. Starting today, a nursery school operating around the clock is open.
According to Mayor Urmas Klaas, due to the emergency situation the city has recommended that, if possible, parents not bring their children to nursery school. ‘Many parents have followed this recommendation – the data we have collected shows that, as of today, the number of children in nursery schools has decreased significantly. Taking into consideration the fact that the emergency situation is causing economic uncertainty for many families, we have decided that, starting today, the nursery school place fee will be waived until the end of April This concerns all children – those who are attending nursery school and those who are not', explained Klaas.
The City of Tartu is also proposing that all private childcare institutions in Tartu also apply the same principle to children in the City of Tartu who are attending their institutions as the city has done with its own nursery schools. The City Government is prepared to compensate their losses from the waiving of the place fee from the city budget.
Starting today, there is one twenty-four hour nursery school – Maarjamõisa Nursery School – operating in Tartu, which is located in close proximity to the Tartu University Hospital and the South Prefecture of the Police and Border Guard Board, institutions which are providing vital services. According to the Mayor, it is important that nursery school and childcare services remain available to all families that need it. ‘It is quite clear that services are required by families with parents who are involved in providing vital services – for example, medical staff, rescue workers, and police officers', said Klaas.
The Department of Education has reached an agreement with nursery schools to have at least one after-hours group working at each nursery school, when necessary. A familiar environment and staff have become an important source of support in helping children and parents adapt to the changed situation. The directors of nursery schools are prepared to be flexible when it comes to reorganising on-site work in nursery schools. They have also adopted measures in order to protect their staff, and those staff members who belong to risk groups have been sent to work from home. The Department of Education uses shared digital solutions in order to keep all institutions in a common information field and to share good practices on how to deal with the current situation.
Viimati muudetud 24.03.2020