Utrecht toddlers will be able to start voorschool, the city's early-years preschool programme, from the age of two rather than two and a half, the gemeente announced on 16 September. The change takes effect on 1 January 2027. From the same date, voorschool becomes free for every family in Kanaleneiland, joining Overvecht as the second Utrecht neighbourhood where the programme carries no parental fee at all.

Under the current rules, a toddler without a referral can attend voorschool for two half-days a week. A child referred by a consultatiebureau, the Dutch child health clinic, can attend three to four half-days, up to a maximum of 16 hours a week. Parents will still be able to register a child from the age of one and a half, ahead of their second birthday. The gemeente said starting earlier gives children more time for the language games, shared reading and structured play that voorschool is built around, making the eventual step into primary school smaller.

The Kanaleneiland change extends a policy the city began in Overvecht. In November 2025, the gemeente decided to scrap the voorschool fee for every toddler in Overvecht and to fund extra places there, backed by €7.8 million over three years for expanded pre- and early-years education, effective from January 2026. The city named Overvecht as the neighbourhood with the greatest educational disparities in Utrecht at the time. Children with a U-pas, Utrecht's card for households on a low income, and a preschool referral have qualified for free voorschool citywide since January 2023. From January 2026, children with a U-pas no longer need a referral to attend for free.

"In Utrecht we invest unequally for equal chances," alderman Dennis de Vries, responsible for youth and education, said in the announcement. "It shouldn't matter where your cradle stood."

Not every voorschool location will be ready to take two-year-olds immediately, the gemeente said. Some need to adjust their rooms, schedules or play materials to suit toddlers six months younger than they currently admit, and the city said it is working with locations to prepare.

The city holds its annual Dag van de Voorschool, a day promoting awareness of the programme among parents, on 14 October.