Fritids (after-school care), or fritidshem as it is formally called, is care before and after the school day for children from förskoleklass (the compulsory preschool year before school) up to and including the spring term of the year the child turns 13. You have the right to a place if you work or study. The fee follows maxtaxa (the national fee cap): a percentage of household income, lower than for förskola (municipal preschool, from age one). In Stockholm you apply through the city's online service, and the place runs until you give notice.
It is ten past one on a Wednesday at the end of August, and the school day is over for the six-year-old who started förskoleklass last week. You are at work in Kista until five. That is exactly the gap fritids exists for: the hours between school finishing and an adult being able to collect. For most Stockholm families, fritids becomes as big a part of everyday life as preschool was, but the rules are different and few people have time to read up. Here is what applies.
Who has the right to fritids?
The Education Act gives children the right to fritids from förskoleklass up to and including the spring term of the year they turn 13, if the parents work or study, or if the child has a need of their own because of the family's situation. Parents who are looking for work have the right to a place in most municipalities, but with limited hours. For parents on parental leave it varies, and it is worth checking the city's rules before you count on anything.
Fritids is almost always at the child's school, often in the same rooms as förskoleklass and the junior years. The staff are after-school pedagogues and childminders, and the groups are bigger than at preschool. That is the biggest difference parents notice: a child who had a small unit with three adults ends up in a group of fifty children in a room that echoes.
How to apply in Stockholm
- Apply through the city's online service once you have been told which school your child has been placed at, usually during the spring before förskoleklass. Many people do it the same day they accept the school.
- State your working hours so the school can plan staffing. The hours can be changed later.
- Submit your income details so the fee is calculated correctly. If you submit nothing, you pay the highest fee.
- The place runs until you give notice, with a notice period set out in the municipality's rules. It does not transfer automatically if the child changes school.
Independent schools have their own fritids and their own applications, but the same maxtaxa. Ask the school at the open day and they will tell you how they do it.
What does fritids cost?
The fee is governed by maxtaxa, which is a national system: you pay a certain percentage of household income before tax, up to an income cap, and the youngest child counts as child one. Fritids is cheaper than preschool.
| Children in the household | Preschool | Fritids |
|---|---|---|
| Child 1 (youngest) | 3 percent of income | 2 percent of income |
| Child 2 | 2 percent | 1 percent |
| Child 3 | 1 percent | 1 percent |
| Child 4 and up | No fee | No fee |
That means a family whose youngest child moves from preschool to fritids gets a lower bill in August. If you have one child at preschool and one at fritids, the preschool child counts as child one. In Stockholm there is also fritidsklubb for the middle years (years four to six), with a fixed termly fee that is lower than fritids. The exact amounts are on the city's website; they change with the income cap every year.
What does a day at fritids look like?
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| Morning before school starts | Morning fritids for those dropped off early, often with breakfast |
| The school day | Fritids staff are often in the classroom or out at break times |
| After the last lesson | Gathering, register, afternoon snack |
| Afternoon | Free play indoors and out, sometimes organised activities: crafts, the sports hall, a trip to a nearby park |
| Late afternoon | Groups are merged, fewer children, calmer play until the last child is collected |
The afternoon snack matters more than it sounds. A child who finishes school at one and has a snack at two has often had lunch at eleven, and the hunger at pick-up at five is real. Expect dinner to be needed quickly, or have someone bring a piece of fruit to pick-up.
School holidays: open, but you must sign up
Fritids is open during sportlov (the February school break), påsklov (the Easter break), the summer holidays, höstlov (the autumn break) and jullov (the Christmas break), usually with holiday activities: outings, swimming, longer days outdoors. But the school sends out a holiday sign-up form a few weeks before, and you have to reply. Many families miss it the first time and discover a week before the summer holidays that their child is not signed up. Put a reminder in the calendar at the start of every term.
Summer is the big question. Fritids is open all summer, but with merged groups and temporary staff, and many children find it dull to be the only one left in July. A common arrangement in Stockholm: fritids in June and August, holiday and Grandma in July. If that is not enough, a nanny a few days a week usually fills the gap; we say more about it in Summer holidays in Stockholm with kids.
When should a child stop going to fritids?
There is no rule, and children are very different. Many children in year three start to feel fritids is for little kids. In Stockholm it is common to move to fritidsklubb in year four, a more open set-up where the child comes and goes more freely. Around the same time the question of walking home alone comes up: the child has a key, walks home at three and is alone for an hour or two.
- The route home: can the child walk it safely without crossing major roads, and can they manage it in the dark in November?
- The time alone: one hour is one thing, three hours every day another. Start with one day a week.
- Contact: can the child phone, and do they know who to call if you do not answer?
- How the child feels about it: some ten-year-olds love the freedom, others sit and wait for someone to come home. Ask, and listen to the answer.
More on which age tends to work is in When can children stay home alone? Age, maturity and preparation.
Fritids or a nanny?
For many families the answer is both. Fritids is cheap and the child's friends are there. But the days get long; a child dropped off at a quarter to eight and collected at a quarter to five has been away nine hours, and the last hour is often the worst. A nanny who picks up at three two days a week gives the child a shorter day without you having to leave work early. After RUT (the Swedish tax deduction for household services, taken off the invoice directly) it costs from 165 kronor an hour, and one or two children cost the same. We have written a separate guide to A nanny instead of after-school care if you are considering that arrangement.
How we do it with our families
Sanna picks up a seven-year-old from fritids in Hägersten every Tuesday and Thursday at three. In the first week of August she went along with his mum and said hello to the staff, so they knew who she was and had her name on the pick-up list. These days she arrives with a banana in her bag, because the boy is always hungry, and they take the route home through the park. At home she writes on the note what he had for his snack and whether anything happened at fritids, because he tells her more on the way home than he tells his parents at dinner. It is the same nanny every time, and that is why it works.
Would you like a nanny who comes on the same days every week, someone the children know? Book a free first meeting with the nanny in your home, and we will work out the hours with you.
Read more: A nanny instead of after-school care · Starting school in Stockholm · Förskoleklass · Prices
Frequently asked questions
How long can a child go to fritids?
From förskoleklass up to and including the spring term of the year the child turns 13. In practice most stop earlier: in Stockholm many move to fritidsklubb in year four, and some walk home alone from the age of ten or eleven, once the school day has got longer and the route home is safe.
Can my child go to fritids if I am on parental leave?
The rules differ between municipalities. In Stockholm, children of parents on parental leave can often keep the place for a limited number of hours, but it is the municipality that decides. Check what applies in the city's current rules before you count on the place, and tell the school in good time when your leave starts.
What does fritids cost?
The fee follows maxtaxa and is a percentage of household income before tax, with a cap. For fritids the share is two percent for the first child and one percent for the second and third, lower than for preschool. The municipality's fee calculator gives the exact amount for your income.
Does my child have to go to fritids?
No. Fritids is voluntary, unlike förskoleklass and school. Many families combine: fritids three days, pick-up by a parent or a nanny two days. Tell the school which days apply so the staff know who is collecting, and update the schedule when it changes.
Is fritids open during the school holidays?
Yes, fritids is open every weekday apart from a few closure days for planning. But you have to sign up in advance if your child is coming during the holidays, often several weeks ahead. If you miss the sign-up, the place that week may be gone, so put the reminder in the calendar as soon as term starts.