Nursery school is not compulsory , but parents living in France can enroll their child regardless of nationality in a public or private school under contract. However, there are a few rules to follow to make it work.

Is kindergarten compulsory?

Previously, education was compulsory in France from 6 to 16 years old. Nursery school, which takes place from 2 to 3 years old (depending on the school) up to 5 years old, was therefore not compulsory.

Since the start of the 2019-2020 school year, education has been compulsory from the  age of 3  , and no longer 6 ( article L. 131-1 of the Education Code , as taken from article 11 of law no. ° 2019-791 of July 26, 2019 ).

The education obligation begins from the start of the school year in the calendar year in which the child reaches the age of 3 years.

Good to know : nothing obliges a parent to send a child from 3 to 5 years old to school: education is compulsory, schooling is not. The instruction  can therefore be done at home , but with verification by professionals.

School from 2 years old

Compulsory kindergarten: what is the use?

prepare the child to become a student;

help the child to develop his own personality or within a group;

allow basic learning so that when entering first grade the child learns to read more easily and quickly.

Note : it must respect the rhythm of life of each child and therefore adapt to them.

Administrative preparation for your child’s return to school

What are the timetable arrangements in kindergarten?

Once the child is registered, the parents are required to attend regularly. It is therefore necessary to justify absences and reduce them as much as possible. The commitment of the family is necessary (circular n° 2014-088 of July 9, 2014). It is also important to consider kindergarten as a school in its own right and not as a daycare. It is therefore necessary not to change your child’s schedule at will, otherwise it would disrupt his rhythm of life.

As an exception, in most kindergartens, before the law of July 26, 2019, especially in the small section (the first year of kindergarten), it was possible to arrange the child ‘s schooling time. Thus, there could be schooling only in the morning or only on certain days of the week to respect the physiological needs of the child. But this had to be discussed with the director and the teacher of the school so as not to disturb the learning of the child.

Following the lowering of the age for the start of compulsory education to 3 years, decree no . kindergarten can be organized ( article R. 131-1-1 of the Education Code ):

Adjustments can only relate to class hours scheduled for the afternoon. They take into account class entry and exit times, the general operation of the school and its internal regulations.

Parents send a written request to the school principal.

The director sends it within 2 days, together with his opinion, to the National Education inspector.

Failure to respond after a period of fifteen days is deemed to be a decision of