Municipal schools in Trondheim are free, while Private and International schools charge fees.

Municipal schools (link to Norwegian page)

Information about the school system

Primary and lower secondary education is based on the principle of an equal and adapted education for all in an inclusive comprehensive school.

The local authorities fund primary and lower secondary education and have a great deal of freedom when it comes to organising the education. Compulsory schooling in Norway lasts for ten years, and the children start school the year they turn six.

More about what Trondheim offers minority language students

Information about the high school system

The county has made an information film about the application process and the different education options in high school. Here is the English transcription of the film.

International schools

Birralee International School

Trondheim International School

SFO - School Day Care

All municipal schools offer care and supervision of children before and after school hours.

School day care (SFO) is offered to all children from 1st to 4th grade. Children with special needs are offered school day care from 1st through 7th grade.

How to apply for a place

Apply online for a place in a school day-care here. First graders can start in SFO 1st August the year they start in school. We recommend that you apply by 15th April to make sure you have a place when school commences.

If you need help filling in the form, contact the school in question directly. Vigilo also has a user guide, currently only available in Norwegian, but with a step-by-step description.

Contact the Education Administration at if you need help to amend or terminate a place in school day care (SFO).

Fees and hours of attendance

There are different prices in school day-care (SFO) based on age and weekly attendance. A short-time place with 12 hours or less weekly attendance is often called a "half place", while more than 12 hours weekly attendance is a "full place".

Monthly Fee

From January 2024

• 1st-2nd graders less than 12 hours: Free
• 3-4th graders less than 12 hours: NOK 2290
• 1st-2nd graders more than 12 hours: NOK 1710
• 3-4th graders more than 12 hours: NOK 3420

If you have a child in Huseby or Lilleby SFO, the same prices apply as for 1st and 2nd graders.

In addition there is a daily meals fee. The amount of the daily meals fee is determined by the School Cooperation Committee.

The prices include days when there is no school (holidays, school planning days etc.). In municipal daycare facilities for lower primary school children the annual payment is split into 11 monthly installments. No invoices are sent out in July.

You need to pay for your place in daycare for school children from the day you are offered one. An exception to this rule is made when new school children start attending daycare at the beginning of the academic year, in August. Those offered a place before 15th August pay for the entire month.

If you want your child to change the hours your child attends SFO, you will have to apply for the change electronically. Changes will apply from 1st of the month, one month ahead of time.

If you need to change the invoice, you can fill out this form and send it to us by regular mail or email.

Fee reduction

If your child has been absent from school daycare for more than a month in a row due to illness, you can apply for a refund of the monthly fee and the daily meals fee. You send your application to the SFO principal.

Families with low income can apply for fee reduction in SFO. No families are to pay more than 6% of their gross income for school daycare. If you do not have a taxable income, you can apply for a free school daycare program. Even if you get a free place or a reduced school daycare fee, you will still be required to pay for meals at SFO.

You apply for fee reduction online

(instructions currently only available in Norwegian).

As of 2023, any family with an annual taxable income under 601 000 NOK can apply for reduced parental payment for a full-time place in SFO. If you have a half place and an annual taxable income under 403 000 NOK, you can also apply for fee reduction in SFO.

You will have to enclose a copy of your last tax report or other documentation of your taxable income. If there are major changes in your taxable income during the schoolyear, you can apply for reduction again.

Decisions about reduced payment at SFO are valid from the month after you send in an application. It may take some weeks to process an application for reduced parental payment and make an official decision. Meanwhile you have to pay the bills that are due.

Statutes for municipal school day care services

The city council has adopted the following municipal bylaws for the municipal School Day-Care Programme (Norwegian abbreviation SFO – ”skolefritidsordning”) in the municipality of Trondheim. These bylaws are in effect as of 1 August 2023.

1. Ownership

Trondheim local authority is responsible for operating the municipal School Day-Care Programme (SFO). The local authority operates SFOs in rented or owned premises.

2. Objective

SFO shall aim to provide supervision and care to children in the first four years of primary school and to children with special needs in the first seven years of primary school. Children with special needs must also be given good conditions for development (cf. section 13-7 of the Education Act). SFO shall facilitate for the development of each child through communication and social interaction, with focus on what is in the child’s best interest and where playing is the main activity. Children play to learn, and learn through playing. The children in SFO shall be given the opportunity to actively exploit their leisure time to take part in versatile play and in culture and leisure-time activities according to their age, functional level and interests. This shall be done in close understanding and collaboration with the children’s homes and in accordance with the objectives of the school as expressed in section 1 of the Education Act. SFOs shall be operated in accordance with central provisions, municipal decisions, the municipal framework plan for SFOs and plans for each entity.

3. Play and activity areas

SFOs shall have indoor and outdoor areas that are suitable for the activity the children are taking part in and that have a minimum of four square metres per child. In the function and area programme, 0.35 square metres per child is earmarked for SFO. The rest of the area requires shared use with the school’s other functions (general and special learning areas, PE gym, canteen etc.).

4. Admission

All children in years one to four in primary school and all children with special needs in years one to seven in primary school have the right to day-care facilities before and after regular school hours.

Children with special needs are defined as children with long-term functional disabilities which lead to comprehensive and lasting needs for assistance, and who receive differentiated instruction in ordinary teaching and also possibly special education.

The Education Administration office is responsible for admissions. When children with special needs, see the definition in section 4 paragraph two, apply for a place, the head of school makes the decision about granting a place in SFO. The governing board of the municipal council is the appellate body.

SFO has two time-period offers: Up to 12 hours a week, and more than 12 hours a week.

The time the child may spend in SFO before and after school hours shall correspond to the number of hours that are paid for.

It may be agreed to balance the hours over longer periods of time when parents request this due to their working hours.

5. Parental fee

The City Council determines the rate of the parental fee when setting the annual budget, as well as special rules for discounts and free places.

Information about the parental fee and the calculation base for setting the fee is put together during the annual budget processing period.

All activities, including whole-day trips during school vacations, shall be free and available to all children in SFO.

A place in SFO must be paid for from the day it is offered.

The period of notice is one month from the first of the month. The notice is to be sent electronically via the application portal.

The fee must be paid during the period of notice.

The local authority can terminate the place in SFO if the fee is not paid. Admission to SFO cannot be allowed if there are unpaid fees from previous stays in kindergarten or SFO.

Any change in the hours in SFO will take effect from the first of the month with one month’s notice.

For children with special needs in years five to seven, there is no parental fee for the offer of a place in SFO.

6. Opening hours

SFO is open from 1 August to 31 July.

The daily opening hours shall be within the time frame of 7 am to 5 pm adapted to the requirements of each school and after discussion in the user board.

SFO is closed for five planning days and during weeks 28 and 29 in the summer vacation. On Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and the Wednesday before Maundy Thursday (Easter), SFO closes at noon, unless otherwise stipulated. The opening hours are decided by the head of school in collaboration with the user board.

Beyond these closing days SFO offers a programme all weekdays. On school holidays, a number of SFOs may cooperate to remain open.

All children must have three weeks of vacation during the summer vacation.

During the weeks when schools are closed in the summer, autumn and winter holidays, pupils with stays over 12 hours per week have access to SFO on three full days, i.e. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

If staffing allows for it, one can make agreements for an exchange of individual days for a child with a part-time position.

7. Leadership and staffing

The head of school is the administrative and professional leader of SFO. There must also be an SFO manager (generally serving as a department head). This position requires relevant higher education, and time shall be allocated for administration duties in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement.

Staffing at SFO shall as a general rule be up to 15 children per adult. Staffing shall be adapted to the age of the children, and also to any needs for special follow-up of individual children or groups.

The municipal director is given the authority to make minor amendments to the bylaws that do not have an effect on the basic principles and are in accordance with the municipal or state guidelines.

Termination of a place in SFO

You can terminate a place electronically at the same site where you accepted the offer. Places must be terminated a month in advance effective from 1st of the next month. You have to pay the parental fee and the daily meals fee during the termination period.

The same deadlines apply when you terminate a place you have received and accepted that you later decide not to use after all.

The municipality may also terminate your place with one month's notice from the 1st of the next month if you have been granted a place based on wrong premises, if you fail to pay your bills, have a lot of undocumented abscence or move out of the municipality.

School Calendar

You can find a list of school free days, holidays and vacations at the lower and secondary municipal schools in Trondheim on this Norwegian page. 

Fri means Free. Ferie means Vacation. Summer and Christmas vacations are only marked as events on Last day before (Siste dag før...) and First day after (Første dag etter...). National holidays are not included in this calendar.

Planning Days at SFO (School Day Care)

Planning days at SFO take place on school free days (usually a handful of days per year). SFO is also closed on planning days. Which days they are, vary from school to school. Contact your school/SFO for more information.

Forms in English

You can find the school related forms that are translated to English by writing "SFO" or "school" in the search field on our Forms from A to Z page.

Contact us

Regarding questions concerning application, admission, transfer and fees, please feel free to contact us:

Education Administration (Oppvekstadministrasjonen)
Phone: +47 97 99 61 00 (8.30-11.30am Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays)
Email:

You can download your last tax report from Altinn.

You find your invoices from the municipality at my page (in the top right corner of this site).