A successful start in kindergarten is a key factor for a child's future development
As noted by the portal Swissinfo.ch, primary education in Switzerland lasts eight years and begins with two years of kindergarten, which in German is called "Kindergarten" and in French "école maternelle" (mother school). When children start school is sovereignly decided by the cantons, the federal subjects, in whose competence the national education sector lies.
As a rule, children start school at the age of four to five. If a child reaches the required age by a certain date (which can range from early April to the end of July, again varying in each of the 26 cantons), they can start kindergarten at the beginning of the nearest school year, which traditionally begins in late summer in Switzerland.
Kindergarten is compulsory only in a few cantons of German-speaking Switzerland; there it is enough to send a child for just one year. The Harmos project, which aims to harmonize various cantonal school systems, stipulates that from 2020, the key date will be July 31. Those who reach the age of 4 by this date can start kindergarten. Seventeen cantons have already switched to this system.
But shifting the date to a later time means that some children will barely be four years old at the start of this kindergarten stage (at a young age, even a few months one way or the other make a huge difference). Interested parents who want a one-year deferment can submit a request to the local education authorities, and such practice already exists.
For example, in the cantons of Solothurn and Bern, 10% of children started kindergarten late last season, while six years ago in the same Solothurn, such children were only 2%. In Bern, parents who want a deferment are not even required to make an official request. In Zurich, according to local education departments, parents also often "hold back" children at home for an "extra" year.
"Yet studies show that children who prepare for school by attending kindergarten find it much easier to learn later," says Christian Hugi from the Zurich Teachers' Association (Zürcher Lehrerinnen- und Lehrerverband – ZLV) in an interview with the newspaper "20 Minuten". Experts say that children cope with the initial stage of kindergarten differently. Some are not yet able to go to the toilet independently, or are not psychologically ready to be separated from their parents. Some children get tired quickly, others find it difficult to be in a group constantly, and all this requires additional attention and effort from educators.
At the same time, all experts say that a successful start in kindergarten is a key factor for a child's future development. Interestingly, parents themselves often have difficulties with kindergarten. "The need to send a child outside the home for the first time is certainly a difficult topic for many. Parents entrust the care of the most precious person to them, their own child, to others, and this is psychologically difficult," explained Erwin Sommer from the Department of Education of the Canton of Bern.
There are, however, parents who, on the contrary, prefer to send their children to kindergarten earlier, especially if their fourth birthday is only a few weeks late relative to the key date.
The optimal age to start school is also discussed in other countries. For example, in neighboring France, children will soon start kindergarten at age three. This is provided for by the reform program of President Emmanuel Macron, which will come into force in September 2019. This is one of the lowest compulsory ages for schoolchildren in Europe, but the changes will affect only a small number of children. Most French children traditionally started school at such an early age before. As President Macron stated, this measure is intended to equalize children's opportunities in education.
In Germany and Italy, preschool education begins for children at age six, while England, Scotland, and Wales have chosen the age of five. In Finland and Estonia, countries that scored the highest in school performance in the latest PISA study, students start compulsory school at age seven, but before that, they usually have already attended kindergarten.