School and childcare in Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft

How school is structured

Compulsory schooling lasts eleven years in both cantons and begins with Kindergarten, the two pre-school years that are part of the state school. The cut-off date is 31 July: a child who has turned four by then starts Kindergarten in August. In both cantons, starting can be deferred by one year on application.

Dornach (canton of Solothurn) has the same cut-off date. The streams of the lower secondary school there are called Sek B, Sek E and Sek P. Sek P is a two-year Progymnasium (preparatory stage for the Gymnasium), followed by the Gymnasium. Magden (canton of Aargau) likewise has eleven years of compulsory schooling and the cut-off date of 31 July. The upper level (Oberstufe) there has three types of school: Realschule, Sekundarschule and Bezirksschule.

Who allocates the school building and where you enrol your child

In both cantons, which school building a child attends depends on where the child lives.

City of Basel. Children attend Kindergarten and primary school close to where they live. The location is allocated by the state schools’ head office (Volksschulleitung), and the class is then allocated by the head of that location. Before regular entry, the enrolment documents arrive by post in December. Parents learn which Kindergarten in mid-May, and which primary school by mid-June at the latest. New arrivals contact the Basel-Stadt state schools (Volksschulen Basel-Stadt), Kohlenberg 27, 4001 Basel, telephone +41 61 267 54 60. In one place the canton describes enrolment as being by form, sent by email or post; in another, as being in person after making an appointment by telephone. Clarify the route by telephone. Details are on the canton’s page The school system (Das Schulsystem). Anyone moving here from another canton can apply for the child to finish the school year at the previous school.

Riehen and Bettingen. Here the administration of the municipal schools (Gemeindeschulen) allocates the location. Enrolment is in writing or in person at the secretariat of the Gemeindeschulen, Wettsteinstrasse 1, 4125 Riehen, telephone +41 61 208 60 00. Anyone who moves here during the school year uses the enrolment form of the Gemeindeschulen. Children who attend a private school must also be reported.

Basel-Landschaft. Kindergarten and primary school are generally attended in the municipality of residence, and lower secondary school in the secondary school district (Sekundarschulkreis) of the municipality of residence. If a municipality has several Kindergartens or primary school buildings, the neighbourhood generally serves as the catchment area. There is no central cantonal enrolment office: you enrol your child with the municipal administration or with the school.

Children who do not yet speak German

Basel-Stadt: German before Kindergarten is compulsory. Children who speak little or no German must learn German in the year before they start Kindergarten: on at least three half-days a week in a playgroup (Spielgruppe) with German support, or in a German-speaking day nursery (Kita) or with a German-speaking childminding family (Tagesfamilie), with care of at least 40 per cent of a full week. The canton pays for the playgroup on three half-days. Around a year and a half before entry, the Department of Education (Erziehungsdepartement) sends out a questionnaire in 14 languages. New arrivals receive it after registering with the Residents’ Office (Einwohneramt).

There are exceptions, for example if the child will later attend a private school or the family is in Switzerland only temporarily and confirms this in writing. In that case a bilingual day nursery is also permitted. The rules are on the page Early German support (Frühe Deutschförderung).

Basel-Landschaft: questionnaire for everyone, obligation depending on the municipality. The Act on Early Language Support (Gesetz über die frühe Sprachförderung) has been in force since 1 September 2024. Every year the canton uses a questionnaire to record the language level of children in the calendar year before they start Kindergarten. Completing it is compulsory for all parents. There is no canton-wide obligation to attend German support. Each municipality decides on this. Where the obligation applies, the compulsory provision must be free of charge. Information is available from the contact point for early language support (Ansprechstelle frühe Sprachförderung) in your municipality of residence.

At school the support is called German as a second language (Deutsch als Zweitsprache, DaZ). Basel-Stadt offers it at all levels: first intensive beginners’ teaching, generally for one year, then follow-on teaching for up to three years. In Basel-Landschaft, DaZ generally lasts three years, and the children generally join the class of their own age group.

Foreign languages

In Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft and the canton of Solothurn, French begins in the 3rd year of primary school and English in the 5th year of primary school. In Aargau the order is reversed. In both Basel cantons, parliamentary motions on when French teaching should begin are pending, and options are being examined until summer 2027. To date nothing has been changed.

Care outside lessons

Basel-Stadt: Tagesstrukturen at all schools. Tagesstruktur is the name for care and meals outside lesson times. All schools offer it, including in Riehen and Bettingen. In Kindergarten and primary school it is open Monday to Friday from 12:00 to 18:00, and at some locations there is early-morning care (Frühhort) from 7:00 to 8:00. Registration is for a whole school year and for at least four modules a week. It is done through the Tagesstruktur portal, and the registration deadline is the end of January. Parents pay part of the costs, depending on the modules booked. In lower secondary school the Tagesstruktur is open from 12:00 to 17:00, without registration and generally free of charge.

Basel-Landschaft: a matter for the municipality. Care after lessons end varies from municipality to municipality. Supervised lunch (Mittagstisch), homework help and afternoon care are charged for. The law requires the bodies that run the schools to offer a midday meal where there is a need. Information is available from the municipality and the primary school’s website. Ask there whether the municipality contributes to the costs.

Day nurseries (Kitas)

Basel-Stadt. Day nurseries take children from the age of three months. All are privately run and supervised by the canton. Since 1 January 2022 a new Day Care Act (Tagesbetreuungsgesetz) has applied, with two categories: day nurseries with care contributions (Betreuungsbeiträge) and day nurseries without. Only in the former does the canton pay a contribution, depending on income and wealth and directly to the nursery. Day nurseries without care contributions set their own prices.

Since 1 August 2024 there has been a cap: in a day nursery with care contributions, eligible parents pay no more than CHF 1,600 a month for a full-time place, regardless of income and wealth. You are eligible if your child lives in Basel-Stadt and you are in work, looking for work or in education or further training. The extent is the sum of both parents’ working-time percentages (Arbeitspensen) minus 100: at 60 and 80 per cent, that is 40 per cent care.

You look for the place yourself in the day nursery directory. The Department of Education’s day care placement service (Vermittlungsstelle Tagesbetreuung) gives advice and can arrange a place (Aeschenvorstadt 52/54, 4001 Basel, telephone 061 267 46 14). The canton recommends starting to look six to eight months before the desired start. The canton’s calculator shows what you are likely to pay.

Basel-Landschaft today. The municipalities are responsible for need and funding. Whether and how much a municipality pays is set out in its regulations. Applications go to the municipality of residence. The canton licenses and supervises the day nurseries and keeps lists of the licensed establishments. Parents look for the place themselves.

Basel-Landschaft from 2027: decided, ordinance still to come. On 11 June 2026 the cantonal parliament (Landrat) adopted a revision of the law. From 1 August 2027, as currently expected, the canton will itself pay contributions to families: 25 per cent of the model costs, regardless of income. On top of this come income-dependent contributions from the municipalities. The model costs in francs have not yet been set.

School holidays 2026/27 and 2027/28

Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft have the same holidays at state schools in both school years. The table gives the first day of the holidays, always a Saturday, and the first day of school afterwards, always a Monday.

The Fasnacht holidays last two weeks. The Basel Fasnacht 2027 takes place from Monday, 15 February, to Wednesday, 17 February, and falls in the second week of the holidays. The Morgestraich, the procession in the dark that opens the Fasnacht, is on Monday, 15 February 2027, at 4:00 in the morning.

In both cantons there is also no school on Ascension Day (Auffahrt) and the Friday after it (6 and 7 May 2027, 25 and 26 May 2028) and on Whit Monday (17 May 2027, 5 June 2028). In Basel-Stadt only, lessons are additionally cancelled on one staff conference day: on Wednesday, 10 March 2027, and on Wednesday, 16 February 2028. In 2026/27 the holidays of the Dornach schools coincide with those of the two Basel cantons.

The journey to school

The Basel-Stadt cantonal police recommend that children make the journey to school on foot and on their own wherever possible. Being driven there by car should remain the exception. The Basel-Landschaft police advise parents to walk the route together with the child several times and to point out dangers. From Kindergarten to the 3rd year of primary school, children should not use scooters, roller skates and similar devices as a means of getting there.

In the Northwestern Switzerland fare network (Tarifverbund Nordwestschweiz, TNW), children up to the age of 6 travel free, and from 6 to 16 at a reduced fare. With the Junior travelcard (Junior-Karte) or the Children’s Co-travelcard (Kinder-Mitfahrkarte), children from 6 to 16 travel free if a parent with a valid ticket or U-Abo, the network’s season ticket, accompanies them.

You can check an individual address with the Address Check. The international schools and the journey times to them are under Choosing where to live by the school run. The pages Arriving and Taxes and premiums belong to the same series.

What we do

Madiba has been managing properties in the region since 1964. Dieter Ruf, our managing director, knows the municipalities and will tell you in conversation what a location means for everyday life with children. We do not advise on school and childcare themselves. Binding information is given by the state schools, the municipality and the specialist offices named above.

Sources: Canton of Basel-Stadt, the school system · Basel-Stadt, starting Kindergarten · Gemeindeschulen Bettingen and Riehen, enrolment · Basel-Stadt, early German support · Basel-Stadt, Tagesstrukturen · Basel-Stadt, day nurseries (Kita) · Basel-Stadt, school holidays · Canton of Basel-Landschaft, compulsory schooling · Education Act BL (Bildungsgesetz), SGS 640 · Basel-Landschaft, early language support · Basel-Landschaft, childcare supplementing the family · Basel-Landschaft, school holidays 2026/27 · As at November 2026