Guide

Finding a nursery place on the Vaud Riviera: a guide for parents

How the Vaud childcare system actually works, when to apply, how to follow up, and what to do when the waiting list does not move — written for families new to Switzerland.

Last updated : 1 September 20269 min read

In short

On the Vaud Riviera, subsidised nursery places are requested through the central waiting list of your commune's day-care network, using local priority criteria. Privately licensed nurseries such as Au Petit Bonheur enrol families directly, outside that list. Apply as early in the pregnancy as you can.

How does Swiss childcare work in the canton of Vaud?

Childcare is governed by cantonal law (LAJE). Communes group together into day-care networks that manage the shared waiting list, and the cantonal authority SCAJE licenses and inspects every nursery, subsidised or private.

If you have just moved to Switzerland, the first surprise is that childcare is not organised nationally. It is cantonal, and in practice intermunicipal. The canton sets the legal framework and quality standards: staff qualifications, premises, safety, and staff-to-child ratios by age group. Your commune's network organises supply locally, runs the waiting list and applies the fee policy agreed by member communes. The nursery itself provides the daily care and its own educational approach.

The second surprise is that private does not mean unregulated. Every preschool facility, private or subsidised, must hold a SCAJE operating licence, meet the same staffing and safety requirements and accept the same inspections. What differs is funding and how places are allocated.

Understanding this early matters, because many international families spend months on a single waiting list without realising a parallel route exists.

How do you join a network waiting list?

You apply to the day-care network covering your commune of residence, usually through an online portal, once the pregnancy is declared or the child is born.

You will be asked for the due date or date of birth, the desired start date, the number of days per week and your preferred facilities. An application is not a place: it puts you in a queue ordered by local priority criteria.

Contact the network office for your commune of residence directly to confirm the procedure and required documents, as these differ from one Riviera network to another.

Keep the application alive. A change of address, start date or working hours can affect your position, so report every change in writing.

What determines who gets a place first?

Criteria are set locally, but the logic is consistent: residence or workplace within the network, the parents' working situation, application date, siblings already attending, and specific family circumstances.

Application date matters but is rarely decisive on its own. A family that applied later can be offered a place first if their situation matches the criteria more closely — which is why two neighbours who applied in the same month may get very different answers.

The number of days requested also matters. Nurseries build stable groups, so a two-day request is sometimes harder to place than a four- or five-day one, and very rigid day preferences reduce your chances.

Ask the network for the written criteria. They are public, and reading them lets you make a realistic request instead of waiting in the dark.

When should you start looking?

As early as possible. Once the pregnancy is confirmed, it is reasonable to file a network application and to contact privately licensed nurseries in parallel.

Applying early usually commits you to nothing, but it places you inside a system that works on long timescales. Starting the search at the end of maternity leave leaves very little room to manoeuvre.

Think about the real start date too. Most families aim to return to work straight after maternity leave, which concentrates demand into a few months. Shifting your start by a few weeks can widen your options considerably.

At our nursery, children are welcome from the end of maternity leave, in our Babies group (0-18 months). We encourage families to call during the pregnancy, visit us, and ask about actual availability for the date they have in mind.

How do you follow up without being pushy?

A short written follow-up every two to three months, factual and up to date, is welcome and effective. It makes you recognisable in a long list.

A good follow-up is five lines: child's name and date of birth or due date, desired start, days requested, any change in your situation, and one precise question — for example, whether the application is still active for the August intake.

If you can be flexible on days or start date, say so explicitly. Flexibility is often what allows a nursery to offer you a place that frees up at short notice.

Keep a simple tracker of applications, follow-up dates and answers. It prevents things slipping and gives you a clear picture when several leads move at once.

What are the alternatives if nothing opens up?

Three main routes: a privately licensed nursery, a registered childminder (accueillante en milieu familial), or a shared nanny arrangement between families. Combining them is common and perfectly legitimate.

Demand for places on the Riviera is genuinely high, especially for the youngest children. It is more honest to say so than to promise otherwise — and most families who succeed pursue several routes at once.

Privately licensed nursery
Same legal framework and same SCAJE licence as a subsidised facility, but you enrol directly with the nursery. That is our case: we are not part of a network's central waiting list.
Registered childminder
An approved carer looks after a small number of children in her own home. A more family-like setting, sometimes with more flexible hours, coordinated by your region's childminding office.
Shared nanny
Two or three families jointly employ a carer at home. Flexible, but it makes you an employer, with the obligations that come with it.
Part-time bridge
A part-time place while you wait for a fuller one lets your child start settling and secures a relationship with a nursery.

How does enrolment work at Au Petit Bonheur?

Directly with us, with no central waiting list. You get in touch, we arrange a visit, then an admission interview, then a gradual settling-in period.

We are a privately licensed, SCAJE-authorised nursery at Avenue Mayor-Vautier 23 in Clarens, in the commune of Montreux. We welcome children aged 0 to 4, Monday to Friday from 7:00 to 18:30, 50 weeks a year — our only annual closure is at Christmas.

Because we sit outside the network, our availability depends solely on our own places, and it can change quickly: a family relocating can free a place at short notice. That is why we publish our current availability and encourage parents to call rather than wait.

Our fees are public and identical for all families enrolled directly, and an online simulator lets you estimate your cost before you even visit.

Frequently asked questions

Do we need to live in the commune to get a place?

For a subsidised place, residence — sometimes workplace — inside the network is usually decisive. With us, as a private nursery, there is no residence condition: we welcome families from Montreux, Clarens, Vevey, La Tour-de-Peilz, Blonay-Saint-Légier and beyond.

Is a private nursery inspected like a subsidised one?

Yes. Every preschool facility must be licensed and supervised by SCAJE, private or subsidised, with the same requirements for staff qualifications, ratios, safety and educational project.

Can we stay on the network waiting list while enrolling with you?

Yes, the two are independent. Many families start with us and keep their network application active; others choose to stay with us once their child has settled.

From what age do you take children?

From the end of maternity leave to age 4, in two groups: Babies (0-18 months) and Toddlers (18 months-4 years).

We are relocating to Switzerland. Can we apply from abroad?

Yes. Contact us with your arrival date and the days you need; we can arrange a visit — in person or remotely — before you move.

Check our current availability

We update our availability regularly. If the place you need is not listed yet, a phone call is the fastest way to hear about expected movements in the coming months.

Current availability Request a pre-enrolment

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