Schools and Education

Educational Services (0-3 years)

The following services are the educational services for children between 0 and 3 years old, offered by the City of Florence.

• Children residents of the City of Florence (with at least one resident parent) are allowed to access all public services directly or indirectly managed by the city.
• Authorized private or accredited educational structures are private entities that run according to their own criteria.
  

• Parttime nursery schools: 7:30 am – 2:30 pm
• Fulltime nursery schools: 7:30 am – 4:30 pm
• Fulltime nursery schools with flexible hours: 7:30 am – 6 pm

Educational play centres (directly or indirectly managed)
Children may stay at a play centre for a maximum of 4 hours, morning or afternoon. Lunch is not provided but morning and afternoon snacks are.

--> How to enrol
Every year the Nursery School and Integrated Services (Servizio Asili nido e servizi integrativi) establishes an application deadline for nursery schools and play centres.

Useful link
Asili nido 0-3 anni (nursery school services)

Home based services

Friendly families (Famiglie amiche)
Services at a family home.
Each group of four children from 12 to 36 months is supervised by a home educator specialist who belongs to a social cooperative. The hours, agreed upon by the families, the city administration and home educator, can be either morning or afternoon for a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 40 hours per week (maximum 11 months per year).

Home based educators: at the educator’s home (Educatori domiciliari: a casa dell'educatore)
Current services (which are operated in collaboration with the city) take place at the home of an educator and are open to groups of 5 children from 12 to 36 months, Monday to Friday from 8 am - 1 pm.

Guess who’s coming over? The babysitter (Indovina chi viene a casa: la/il baby sitter)
This is a babysitter hiring service offered to families with children from 0 to 3 years old. Qualified babysitters have participated in a course sponsored by the city and are named on a list which is divided by neighbourhood.

• To enrol in 'Famiglie amiche' and 'A casa dell’educatore', fill out an application form at the Servizi domiciliari del Servizio Asili nido office. There are no deadlines for the application.
• Families can obtain the list of qualified babysitters at the Servizi domiciliari del Servizio Asili nido office for free. Interested parents can then directly contact the babysitters on the list.

Parent/child centres (Centri dei bambini e dei genitori)
Parent/child centres are educational centres that host children from 0 to 3 years of age accompanied by a parent or other relative.

• The 'Casa del Bruco' parent play centre, for children from 18 months to 3 years, is open two or more afternoons per week from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm.
• Il Bruchino, a meeting place for new parents of children aged from 0 to 12 months is open once a week from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm.

--> How to enrol
To enrol in a parent/child centre, interested parents may complete an application at the Ufficio Asili Nido in via Nicolodi 2. Applications are accepted during the school year until places are filled. Children are accepted on a first come, first served basis.

Private educational services

There are currently 38 various private services in and around Florence which are authorized by the City of Florence.
For information on admission criteria, hours and rates please contact the service directly. A list may be found at 'Educational Services - 0-3 years' in the Private Services section.

Useful link
Servizi Educativi 0-3 anni

Nursery schools 

The city administration of Florence is strongly committed to offering high quality education to children between the ages of 3 and 6, which adequately responds to their needs.
A piano dell'offerta (course offering plan) is established annually, and can be used by city, state and officially recognized private schools.
The city administration of Florence offers additional services to families, such as school meals and student transportation.

• 32 schools
• 121 sections/classes

• 45 schools
• 180 sections/classes

• 30 schools
• 76 sections/classes

Parents should bring their own and the child's fiscal code and a photocopy of the child's vaccination booklet. The primary requirement to attend a particular school is residency in that school's district.

For more information visit the following website: Scuola dell'Infanzia

School bus
A school bus service is provided on request for students who live in areas which don’t have adequate public transport, who live more than 1km from the school and for Rom students. This transport service to and from school is provided for all state schools, providing that the student in question attends the nearest school to their home.
Click here for information on how to register for the service
Click here for information on prices

School bus for disabled students
There is also a school bus service for disabled students who attend infant, primary and secondary school. The service uses vehicles authorised and equipped for carrying disabled passengers and is free of charge. The drivers don’t have medical or paramedic training.
Click here for information on how to register for the service

Early morning opening
Students can come to school early from 7:35 am until 8 am when lessons begin.
Click here for information on how to register

Click here for information on how to register

Lunch
By providing school lunches, schools fulfil their socio-educational role and also allow students to extend their time at school.
School lunches are provided for students in infant, primary and first level of state secondary school.
Lunch is prepared either in the school canteens or in local state-run kitchens. Some of these kitchens are staffed directly by state employees and others are run by external catering companies.
All meals are prepared on the same day that they are served and transported in specially made containers to guarantee they stay hot. The meals are served in the school canteen area within the school complex. Each student receives his/her lunch on a porcelain plate and with appropriate cutlery, all of which is then washed in the school kitchen.