Daycare guide · multilingual education

Multilingual education in daycare: what the programme asks for, and what it changes.

By the Kawi team · Updated 28 October 2026

Since October 2017, every daycare centre or mini-crèche registered for the chèque-service accueil that cares for children aged 1 to 4 applies the multilingual education programme. The idea fits in one sentence: bring Luxembourgish and French into everyday life without setting families' languages aside. Here is the framework in plain words, for a manager or a team who wants to find their way, before seeing how Kawi supports daycare centres.

What the programme says

The programme was introduced by the law of 29 August 2017 amending the youth law. It exposes young children to the two languages they will meet at school, Luxembourgish and French, through play and daily routines, and it asks centres to value the languages spoken at home. The goal is not for a two-year-old to speak three languages: it is for them to reach school feeling at ease with those languages. The official presentation is on the ministry's page on multilingual education.

The three areas of action

The programme rests on three pillars, which each centre must build into its organisation:

• Developing children's language skills, in the programme's two languages and in their home language.
• Partnership with parents, who remain the child's first educators.
• Networking with school, social and medical services, including the primary school that will welcome the child.

What the centre must put in place

According to the 2017-2020 review published by the ministry and the National Youth Service, a centre concerned must:

• write the three areas of action into its general action concept (see the non-formal education framework, explained) and keep a record of them in its logbook;
• appoint a pedagogical lead for the programme, trained for 30 hours;
• have its care staff follow 8 hours of continuing training on children's language development;
• have at least one person at C1 level in Luxembourgish and one at C1 level in French, each language being offered at least 40 hours a week;
• have 10% more care staff for the children who benefit from the programme.

These are the conditions described in that review. For your centre, the reference remains the texts in force and your regional agent.

The programme comes on top of the licence conditions, which already require the country's three languages in the team. If your centre is still a project, see the conditions for opening a daycare or mini-crèche.

The 20 free hours

So that every child can benefit, the State funds 20 free hours of care a week, for 46 weeks a year, for non-schooled children aged 1 to 4 in a centre registered for the chèque-service accueil. A child who already attends early education part-time keeps 10. It is often what brings families in: it is worth explaining clearly at enrolment.

Parents as partners

Many families speak neither Luxembourgish nor French at home, and they are exactly who the programme aims to serve. Reassuring parents about their language (it is not an obstacle, it is a resource), telling them which words their child hears at daycare, and suggesting they reuse them at home: this is the easiest pillar to make visible, and the one that builds the most trust.

The pedagogical lead, the programme's backbone

This is the person who keeps it all going over time: they coordinate the team, lead the partnership with families and the link with the school. Their role, training and duties are covered in our page on the pedagogical lead for multilingual education.

Where a tool like Kawi fits

Kawi replaces neither the educator nor the programme. It brings three things teams describe as hard to sustain alone: Luxembourgish words with official pronunciation, the same for everyone; a bridge to families, who find at home the words heard at daycare; and short, group moments led by an adult, with a card version to play without a screen. It is aimed mainly at the oldest children, aged 3 to 4, who are getting ready for early education.

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