Family & childcare

The JU service offers information on family-related issues including childcare, schooling, health care, financial support and local community resources.

Children under three years of age may attend a day nursery (żłobek). In Poland there are state-funded and private nurseries. Their rates differ substantially: public units may only charge for food/catering, and in the private ones you may have to pay also for the care, maintenance, equipment, etc. prices in public nurseries are defined by the local authorities.

Jagiellonian University nursery “Żaczuś”

A child aged three to five may attend a nursery school/kindergarten (przedszkole), which is not compulsory and the decision remains at the child's parents’ discretion. Similarly, kindergartens can be run by state or private organisations/individuals. Some private units offer activities in foreign languages.

Scientific kindergarten – JCI kindergarten

The JCI Kindergarten is a project of the Jagiellonian Centre of Innovation, ensuring children’s comprehensive and harmonious development. It is located in the Life Science Park (ul. Bobrzyńskiego 14, 30-348 Kraków), adjacent to the Jagiellonian University Campus. The overall aim of the initiative was to cater for the needs of parents employed at the Jagiellonian University and within the Life Science Park and to provide complementary support to academic employees, hence the inclusion of the JCI Kindergarten as a part of the initial project to extend the Life Science Park.

The JCI Kindergarten recruits children throughout the year, based on the availability of places.

If you are insured within the Polish public healthcare system (National Health Fund – NFZ) all the medical services provided by public hospitals and clinics are free-of-charge. Therefore, having found out that you are expecting a baby, you should register at a chosen hospital or clinic to remain under medical control from the earliest weeks of the pregnancy.

The medical services include regular check-ups carried out by a gynaecologist (usually once a month), blood tests, USG scans, etc., whatever is prescribed by your doctor, the labour and post-labour care including. The post-labour care means the necessary 2–3-day stay at the hospital, several check-ups of the new-born baby as well as home visits of a midwife to which women are entitled within 8 weeks after the labour (having registered the baby at a chosen medical centre).

Therefore, after the baby is born (or even earlier) it is recommended to register the newborn at a chosen medical facility in order to receive further healthcare services, including all the vaccines that are obligatory in line with the Polish healthcare system.