Childcare to become cheaper

From August 2024, the cost of a place at Norwegian kindergartens will be capped at 2,000 kroner per month.
This is just the cost of a spot and doesn’t apply to extras such as food and activities. However, the new cap will apply to both municipal and privately run kindergartens.

More rural areas of Norway will have cheaper or completely free kindergarten.
The free afterschool activities offer will also be extended. Students in the first through third grades will receive free part-time slots at afterschool care.

Other education changes

New rules will come into force in Oslo at the start of the school year, banning primary and lower secondary school pupils from using their phones during school hours.

Students in upper secondary school will be allowed to use their phones during recess. Furthermore, students will have the right to a high school level education until they have completed it and will have the right to change their programme if they wish.

New cash benefit rules

The cash benefit for children aged between 20 and 23 months old will be scrapped. This change is in line with the state budget unveiled by the government last year.

Summer holidays end

Kids will return to school from mid-August for the 2024/2025 school year following the summer holidays.

Children will return in August before breaking up in early October for the autumn holidays. Students will then remain in school until the Christmas holidays in December before resuming school in January.

In February, schools will break up for the winter holidays. Once pupils return, they will be in school for just a few weeks due to the Easter holidays in mid-March. They will return to classrooms for a final time in April before the summer holidays in June 2025.

Dog leash laws end for the year

The rules, which require all dogs to be on a lead between April and August, will end on August 20th. Dogs will be allowed off the lead until the beginning of April next year.

Leash rules are in place between April and August to protect local wildlife during the birthing, nesting and mating seasons.
Some municipalities will have their own rules outside these times.

Fellesferie ends

Fixing official matters should become much easier from August as the collective holidays many companies and public services offer staff will end.

This will also mean that the big cities will once again feel a bit busier as people return to their daily commutes.

The government budget conference

This happens at the end of August, and is a period when government ministries work on policies that will be adopted into the national budget for 2025.

While not much will be released about what the government works on, this conference is important as later down the line these policies can greatly impact everyday life in Norway.