certified center for early childhood education and care; ECEC; combined day-care center and kindergarten
A type of Japanese facility that integrates nursery school (保育園) and kindergarten (幼稚園) functions, officially certified under the 認定こども園 system.
We plan to send our child to a certified center for early childhood education and care from next year.
There are three certified child centers in this area.
幼稚園 is a kindergarten focusing on early education, while 認定こども園 provides both educational and childcare services.
Compound of 認定 (certified) + こども (child) + 園 (garden/institution). The term was officially introduced in Japan in 2006 to describe facilities that combine the functions of day-care centers and kindergartens.