After-school care in Taiwan

Two kinds of after-school care

The national rules are the Ministry of Education's 兒童課後照顧服務班與中心設立及管理辦法 (full text). They cover care for elementary school children outside class hours, mainly daily care and homework help. The Ministry of Education sets the rules and each city or county government enforces them.

• After-school care class (課後照顧班): run by a public or private elementary school, sometimes through a registered organization the school contracts.
• After-school care center (課後照顧中心, the 安親班): set up by a district office, a private person or company, or an organization, and licensed by the city or county.

What the rules require

• Class size: aim for 15 children per class, with a maximum of 25.
• Staffing: at least one after-school care worker for every 25 children enrolled (fewer than 25 still counts as 25).
• A written contract: a center must sign one with parents covering what the service includes, the hours and pickup arrangements.
• Breaks too: the rules treat school-term days, winter and summer breaks, and temporary care as separate services. They do not set fixed daily opening hours, so ask each center.

How to check a center is licensed

A center applies to its city or county government, which inspects the site and, if it meets the rules, issues an establishment license certificate (設立許可證書). Ask to see it.

You can also look a center up in the Ministry of Education's open dataset of licensed centers nationwide, 全國立案兒童課後照顧服務中心基本資料 (data.gov.tw). It is updated every six months.

What it costs

School-run classes: each city or county sets a fee cap using a national formula, so prices are capped and vary by place. Children from low-income households, children with disabilities and Indigenous children attend public classes free.

Private centers: we have not found an official source for typical fees, so we do not quote any. Compare a few centers near your school, and check what the monthly fee includes (meals, break-time care, extra classes).

After-school classes from operators on this site

These are classes, not licensed care centers. We list them because families often combine them with care.

Camps for the school breaks

When school is out, many families switch from after-school care to camps.