Finding childcare facilities

In nurseries and day care centres, children are split into groups depending on their age:

• children aged 0 to 18 or 24 months: « nursery » or « babies » group.
• children from 18 or 24 months to 30 or 36 months: « toddlers ».
• children from 30 or 36 months until they reach school age: « pre-schoolers ».

Subsidised nurseries

Subsidised nurseries (which are part-funded by the public authorities or directly by some large employers, including UNIL) offer fixed prices based on the parents’ income. To secure a place in a subsidised nursery, you will need to register your children with a « réseau d’accueil de la petite enfance » (childcare network).

These networks cover the full range of subsidised services (nurseries, childminding and out-of-school care) and are funded by cantonal and municipal contributions, businesses and households, through the Fondation pour l’accueil de jour des enfants (FAJE). This system was set up following the entry into force of the Children's Day Care Act (LAJE) (PDF) of 20 June 2006. Each network uses the same registration procedure and scale of fees.

You can register your child with the network that covers the municipality where you live and/or the network that has an agreement with your employer: for UNIL, the Réseau-L (lausannois), which includes the nurseries on campus. In general, you register on a central waiting list, from the fourth month of pregnancy onwards.

See :

• Addresses of childcare networks

Non-subsidised nurseries

In addition to nurseries incorporated into the networks, there are also non-subsidised nurseries. The prices charged by these nurseries do not depend on the parents’ salary and can be as much as CHF 3'000.- per month for a full-time place.

See :

• Nurseries in the canton of Vaud (subsidised or non-subsidised)
• Occasional financial support for childcare - UNIL

If you are working or studying at UNIL, you can register your child in the (non-subsidised) Kids&Co day care centre, near Vevey, managed by profawo.

Other childcare possibilities are available for preschool- and/or school-age children:

• Home day care (subsidised): Childminders look after one child or several children in their homes. The home day care networks centralise day care placement requests and put families in touch with each other. See addresses of childcare networks.
• Kindergartens or play groups: these facilities are only designed for part-time care and aimed at children aged 1 and over. Nurseries generally offer regular but limited care, while play groups provide occasional care. You will find useful information on the website Vaud Famille.
• Childminder in your own home (domestic employee or au pair): you will find information on this subject on the Vaud Famille site.

See :

• Welcome Centre UNIL – Practical information (childcare, etc.) for newcomers

Need a babysitter ?
Red Cross babysitting service