Forty-two infants remain on the waiting list for Artemida’s municipal nurseries for the 2026–2027 school year. In Artemida, a total of 108 places were filled – 86 in nursery classes and 22 in infant classes – leaving 43 on the waiting list, of whom only one is for a nursery class. In Spata, 99 places were filled – 73 for pre-schoolers and 26 for infants – with 16 candidates on the waiting list, all of whom are infants. In total, the municipality is caring for 207 children, of whom 61 places are funded through the NSRF, 32 at Artemida and 29 in Spata.
The picture is clear and repeats itself every year: the council can cope with the demand for nursery places, but not for crèche places. The deputy mayor responsible, Christos Seretis, reported that there were an exceptionally high number of applications for the infant classes, whilst all places in the pre-school classes were filled. In practice, a family in Artemida with a child under two and a half years old currently has the least chance of securing a place at a municipal nursery.
Against this backdrop, two items on the agenda of the 30th meeting of the Municipal Committee, which took place on Friday 18 September, indicate that the building programme is lagging behind requirements. Items 18 and 19 on the agenda concerned the approval of the 2nd Revised Schedule of Works and the 2nd Protocol on Unit Prices for New Works, as well as a request for an extension of the contractual completion deadline for the project ‘Adaptation of Spata Municipality’s nursery schools – Artemida to the specifications of the institutional licensing framework pursuant to Presidential Decree 99/2017”.
In simple terms: the revised budget table is the document used to adjust a project’s budget when unforeseen work arises, and the unit price schedule for new works sets out the cost of these new works. A second table, accompanied by a request for an extension, indicates that the project has encountered more challenges than the initial study had anticipated and that the original deadline cannot be met.
Presidential Decree 99/2017 is the decree that sets out the conditions for the establishment and operation of municipal nurseries and crèches, ranging from fire safety and structural adequacy to the floor space per child. In other words, it sets the minimum requirements for an operating licence. A building that has not completed the necessary adaptations cannot be licensed for additional groups, regardless of how many applications are on the waiting list.
At the same time, the Council has announced that it is considering the creation of a new nursery section at the 1st Artemida Nursery, with a tender process to select a contractor. This is the most concrete initiative currently in place for infants, but it does not apply to this year.
What should a parent who has been placed on the reserve list do now? Their place on the list is not lost, and those on the reserve list are called upon when vacancies arise, which usually happens during the first few months. At the same time, it is worth keeping an eye on the EETAA’s allocation rounds for ESPA places, as unused vouchers are reallocated there. Announcements regarding municipal stations are posted on the website spata-artemis.gr/paidikoistathmoi.
Source: Municipality of Spata – Artemida, Notice of the 30th meeting of the Municipal Committee, ref. no. 73144/14-09-2026, items 18 and 19. Enrolment figures for 2026–2027 from the Municipality’s update, September 2026.
