Children

In the French-Belgian community, it is the Birth and Childhood Office (L’ONE) who is in charge of organizing the reception of infants ranging from ages 0-3 outside of the family circle. There are various types of childcare facilities but in all cases, the number of facilities is limited. Therefore, one should take the time to search for the right facility. In practice, the registration of a future child can be done by the fourth month of pregnancy.

 

The cost of the childcare expenses can vary bases on the type of facility but the all of these costs are tax deductable. So, a childcare facility subsidized by “l’ONE” has prices proportional to the parents’ revenue while other facilities set their own prices. You will find more information on the childcare facilities in the French-Belgian community on the “l’ONE” website.

 

Finally, know that the UCL nursery, “Pomme d’happy”, will open it’s doors April 2011. The nursery will welcome 24 infants, giving priority to those children whose parents (one out of the two) form a part of the UCL staff.

 

Did something unexpectedly come up? Do you need someone to watch over your child for a few hours? UCL has a nursery that can receive children in a timely manner for some hours or, if the parents want, on a regular basis or for extended periods of time. For more information, please consult the “P’tits matelot” website.

 

At Louvain-la-Neuve, there are a more or less a dozen nurseries and children’s homes. Given the peculiarity of the town, the demand for these facilities exceeds the capacity of children allowed. It is therefore highly recommended to reserve a spot many months in advance. The list of these nurseries is available on the website for Ottiginies-Louvain-la-Neuve and can be found in the “guide des commerces et services de Louvain-la-Neuve” (available on “Point de repère” and at the Inforville counter in the “galerie de la gare”).

 

In Brussels : List of nurseries and schools can be found on the Woluwe website

 

 

Education in Belgium is free (guarantee offered by the constitution) until the end of compulsory education. It is obligatory from age 6 until age 18. The choice of which institution is left to parental choice. There is a large range of secondary schools : collèges, instituts, lycées, athénées…

 

Education is organized based on the following schema :

 

 

 

There are two categories of subsidized education : the official network (state schools) and the open network (religiously or non religiously affiliated schools). These schools only ask for a low participation, which covers school expenses such as books, photocopies, and regular outings among other things. For more details (and a list of the region’s schools) : www.enseignement.be.

 

The third network is a private network not subsidized by the government. To this end, school fees are therefore demanded. For European schools : visit the Schola Europeaea website. You can also find there the list of international schools in Belgium via the European Council of International Schools (ECIS) website.

 

Louvain-la-Neuve hosts numerous primary and secondary schools coming from the two subsidized networks. You will find the list of these schools and the contact information on the Ottignies-Louvain-La-Neuve website and in the “guide des commerce’s et services de Louvain-la-Neuve” (available at the “Point de repère” and at the Inforville window in the “galerie de la gare”).

 

In Brussels : List of nurseries and schools can be found on the Woluwe website.