Elementary schools, Junior high schools, kindergartens, and Nursery schools
Nursery schools
In case parents cannot take care of children below school age in the daytime because of work, illness, etc., nursery schools can take care of such children instead.
School fees of classes for children of 3 years old to 5 years old are free. School fees of classes for children of 0 year old to 2 years old are determined according to the amount of income tax or municipal tax paid by the parents
Applications and consultations are accepted at Kodomo Kibo-ka of the Kakegawa City Office and each of the nursery schools.
Inquiries; Kodomo Ikusei Kakari of Kodomo Kibo-ka (Child Affair Section) at Kakegawa City Office. Ph.0537-21-1205
Kindergartens
Kindergartens are educational institutions for children of 3 years old to 6 years old who have not yet entered elementary school.
Children who live in Kakegawa can apply for entrance into any public kindergarten in Kakegawa.
School fees are free.
Apply for entrance directly to the public kindergarten you want your child to enter.
For information about private kindergartens, ask at any private kindergarten.
Elementary schools, Junior high schools
In Japan, elementary school (6 years) and junior high school (3 years) are compulsory education.
For public elementary and junior high schools, lessons and textbooks are provided free of charge.
You must pay for school lunches, learning materials, and school excursions.
Children of foreign residents are not obliged to attend elementary and junior high schools in Japan, but they can attend these schools if they choose.
In such a case, apply for school entrance at the School Education Section (Gakko Kyouiku-ka), Board of Education.
You need to bring the child(ren)’s residence card (“Zairyu Card”) and a seal (“Hanko”) for the application.
The school your child(ren) attend(s) is determined according to your address.
＜Entrance into Elementary School＞
If you are the parents of registered child(ren) of Kakegawa who will reach an elementary school age in April the following year, a guide to public school attendance is sent to you in August. If you wish to have your child(ren) enter the school, please fill out “Koritsu Gakko Shugaku Negai (Application for Public School Attendance)” and submit it to the School Education Division (Gakko Kyouiku-ka), Kakegawa City Board of Education. Please bring your applicable child(ren)’s Zairyu Card or alien registration certificate and a seal (“Hanko”). Notices of pre-entrance medical checkup are sent in the middle of September to the parents of the child(ren) who have submitted the application for school attendance. (The pre-entrance medical checkup is conducted from the middle of October to November at each school.)
Notices about school entrance are sent later by the middle of February.
＜Entrance into junior high school＞
A guide to public junior high schools is sent in November to sixth graders who are about to graduate from public elementary schools. If you wish to have your child(ren) enter the school, please submit “Koritsu Gakko Shugaku Negai (Application for Public School Attendance)” to your child(ren)’s school.
Notice about entrance into junior high schools are sent in the middle of February to the applicant’s family.
For more information, please contact School Education Division(Gakko Kyouiku-ka), Board of Education.
Financial aid for school attendance
Financial aid is provided to families which have financial difficulties in having their children attend schools.
Such families can get financial aid for part of their children’s expenses for school supplies, school lunches and so on.
To apply for the aid, you have to submit documents to certify your financial difficulty.
Whether you can receive the aid or not is determined through examination.
If you are in need, consult with the school or the School Education Section (Gakko Kyouiku-ka), Board of Education.
Inquiries; School Education Section (Gakko Kyouiku-ka), Board of Education Ph.0537-21-1156
In Portuguese, contact Foreign Student Support Center (Gaikokujin Shienshitsu), 4th floor, Daito Branch (0537-72-1343) from 2:00pm to 5:00pm.
After-school care of children
Elementary school children whose parents are working during the daytime and there is no choice for the parents but to leave the children somewhere safe after school.
For further information, inquire at Kodomo Kibo-ka (Child Affair Division), or each of the after-school care institutions.
Inquiries: Kodomo Katei Kakari of Kodomo Kibo-ka at Kakegawa City Office Ph.0537-21-1144