Finding a childcare place

ETH Zurich provides financial assistance for places in childcare provided by the external page kihz Foundation or by daycare facilities in the university area. We advise parents to enrol their children in other daycare centres too, for example close to their residence.

Conditions for obtaining a childcare place at kihz or daycare facilities in the university area

The parents must be gainfully employed.
- A recognised training scheme or unemployment within the limits of employability are deemed to be equivalent to gainful employment.
- A regular voluntary work is deemed to be equivalent to gainful employment.
- The attendance (min. 20h/week) of a language school (German course) by the unemployed parent is deemed to be equivalent to gainful employment.
- The child's linguistic integration is deemed to be an entitlement for a childcare place, even if the second parent is unemployed.
The sum of both parents’ level of employment must be at least 140%.
The minimum time for a child to spend in childcare is two days (this can be split into half-day sessions except at the KIKRI ETH Zentrum daycare centre).
The amount of childcare provided must be appropriately proportionate to the parents’ level of employment. The entitlement to care is calculated on the basis of the sum of both parents’ level of employment minus 100%.

Example 1

Father: 60%, mother: 80%, total: 140%.
Two days of childcare (40% in a daycare facility) > 40% entitlement

Example 2

Father: 60%, mother: 80%, total: 140%.
Three days of childcare (60% in a daycare facility) > 40% entitlement

kihz Foundation

Parents must complete the online application form for the kihz Foundation. The foundation’s administration team receives the application and external page checks whether the conditions have been met. The data are recorded and the parents receive confirmation of their application. The kihz Foundation then searches for a childcare place. If a place is available, the parents are given a specific period of time in which to decide whether or not to take it.

external page Vacant childcare places at the kihz Foundation

Association of Childcare Facilities in the University Area

Applications for the KIKRI ETH Zentrum KIKRI ETH Zentrum daycare centre are submitted by completing a PDF form. A PDF form also needs to be completed to apply for a place at the Irchel crèche/kindergarten external page Irchel crèche/kindergarten.

Parents can use the external page City of Zurich's search platform (German) to look for available places in daycare facilities and find information about the city’s playgroups and toddler groups. Parents can contact their chosen daycare facility directly, where they will be given further information about the application process.

The external page city of Zurich (German) offers professional childcare for children of pre-school age - in daycare centers, daycare families and other services.

The Swiss childcare association external page Kibesuisse, has an extensive list of daycare facilities categorised by region. You may also be able to find your chosen daycare facility by using an online search function.

Information - childcare

ETH employees who are located in Basel may refer to the following pages for information about childcare places:

Find a childcare place in the canton/city of external page Basel-Stadt (German)
Childcare in the canton of external page Baselland (German)
The Download information sheet (PDF, 89 KB) on childcare in Basel provides an overview of the services in Basel.
external page Calculate daycare costs (parental contribution) (German)

Leisure and holidays

Childcare in Ticino: Information for CSCS employees

ETH Zurich helps its employees meeting the challenge to reconcile family and work. This information offers the CSCS employees in particular an orientation about the subject of childcare in Ticino.

ETH Zurich does not offer its own childcare facilities in Ticino. However, Ticino is a very attractive canton for families, since it has a lot to offer for children and their parents.

Services in Ticino

General information: Infogiavoni: external page www.ti.ch/infogiovani

Advice

Conferenza Cantonale dei Genitori: external page www.genitorinforma.ch
Comunità famigliare: external page www.comfamiliare.org
SECO: external page www.lavoroefamiglia.admin.ch
Pro Famiglia Svizzera: external page www.profamilia.ch
ATVABBES – Associazione Ticinese di Genitori ed Amici dei Bambini Bisognosi di Educazione Speciale: external page https://www.atgabbes.ch Childcare
Daycare Ticino: external page www4.ti.ch/dss/dasf/temi/#Famiglia%20e%20figli
Federazione Ticinese Famiglie Diurne: external page http://famigliediurne.ch
Babysitting agency: external page www.tatavolante.ch
Associazione Zerosedic: external page https://zerosedici.ch

Leisure & holidays

ETH support

Hello Kids! is ETH Zurich’s service point for childcare. Parents (-to-be) can take advantage of the free consultations on offer and
seek help with finding suitable childcare solutions: www.ethz.ch/hellokids

Family allowance and financial support for baby’s nursery places

ETH provides further support services for families by offering a family allowance, which exceeds the statutorily required level,
and financial assistance for baby’s nursery places. Information on family allowances can be found on the corresponding website. Please fill in the application for family allowances via ETHIS.

If you are a parent whose baby under 18 months is cared for outside of the family, you can apply to Hello Kids! for a refund of the
price difference between a baby’s nursery place and an infant’s nursery place. Kindly check with your chosen nursery, if there
are different rates for babies and infants, in order to be able to apply for this financial support, which is only granted if there is a difference between the baby and infant rate. (In most nurseries in Ticino however there is no difference in rate.)

www.ethz.ch/familienzulagen
www.ethz.ch/hellokids

ETH Zurich employees with family responsibilities will find further services at Hello Kids!. Services that do not explicitly relate to the Zurich location, naturally also apply to ETH Zurich employees in other locations:

Enlarged view: Kitas — Childcare facilities sites (kihz Foundation and in the university area)

Contact

Hello Kids!

Service point for childcare

Phone +41 44 632 88 67

ETH Zurich