Slovenian Municipality Caps Kindergarten Reservations at 22 Working Days

The Municipal Council of the Municipality of Velike Lašče has adopted a decision setting the prices of preschool programmes and regulating kindergarten reservations, allowing parents to reserve a place for holiday or health absences of up to 22 working days a year. The decision, published in Uradni list RS No. 1394/2026 of 3 September 2026 (official reference 2026-01-2054), was adopted at the council’s 25th regular session on 18 June 2026 and applies from 1 September 2026.

The act covers the Vrtec Sončni žarek pri OŠ Primoža Trubarja Velike Lašče, the public kindergarten founded by the municipality. It is based on the Zakon o vrtcih (Kindergarten Act) and Article 17 of the Statut občine Velike Lašče, and replaces the previous price decision published in Uradni list RS No. 47/25.

New programme prices

The decision sets the monthly price of the daily programmes per child:

• I. age group: 841.37 EUR
• II. age group: 673.82 EUR

Food costs included in these prices amount to 2.80 EUR per day. When a child is absent and does not attend the kindergarten, the programme price is reduced by the cost of unconsumed food, in proportion to the payment for the programme.

Reservation rules

The municipality co-pays reservations for children who, together with at least one parent, have permanent residence in the municipality of Velike Lašče and attend a kindergarten founded by the municipality. The main rules are:

• Holiday or health reservations may be used for a total of up to 22 working days per year, in at most two parts, with a minimum absence of 10 working days.
• In exceptional circumstances beyond the parents’ control (longer hospitalisation, serious illness or injury of the child), an exceptional reservation of 20 consecutive working days per year may be used.
• Parents pay the reservation at 50 percent of the payment determined by the decision on the amount of the kindergarten fee, with the cost of unconsumed food already deducted.
• Reservations are recognised only for a child whose parents’ payment is not financed from the state budget.

Notification and procedure

Parents must notify the kindergarten of a holiday reservation in writing at least two weeks before the first day of absence. For a health reservation, they must announce the absence on the prescribed form and submit a medical certificate before, during or no later than five days after the end of the absence. An exceptional reservation requires a written request, considered individually by the Commission for the Admission of Children to the Kindergarten, together with appropriate medical evidence of the exceptional circumstances.

Children with permanent residence in other municipalities who attend Vrtec Sončni žarek may also use a reservation, provided the municipality obliged to cover the difference to the full programme price agrees.

The decision was signed by the Mayor of the Municipality of Velike Lašče, Matjaž Hočevar, under file number 0301-0017/2026-1. It enters into force the day after publication and applies from 1 September 2026.

For families in Velike Lašče, the new rules give a clear and predictable framework for keeping a kindergarten place during holidays and illness, while the 50 percent payment and the 22-working-day cap directly affect household costs when a child is absent.

Source: Uradni list Republike Slovenije, No. 1394/2026, 3 September 2026 (official reference: 2026-01-2054).