Bertelsmann study: Number of daycare places is not enough
According to the Bertelsmann Stiftung, the steadily increasing number of daycare places in Berlin in recent years is not enough to meet demand. According to its own calculations, the foundation assumes an additional need for 19,800 daycare places.
Its new "State Monitoring of Early Childhood Education Systems", published on Tuesday, also shows that 47% of under-threes in Berlin are looked after in a daycare center or comparable facilities. This is higher than the national average of 36 percent. The childcare rate for children aged three and over is 92% in Berlin and the federal government.
However, 59% of children under the age of three and 98% of children aged three and over in Berlin require a place, the foundation explained. It referred to data from the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs.
According to the education administration, there were 189,637 places available in daycare centers and child day care in Berlin as of July 31. 181,045 of these places were occupied and 8592 were free. More than 36,000 employees were looking after the children for educational purposes.
Another finding of the Bertelsmann study is that 92% of under-threes and 69% of children aged three and over in Berlin groups are not looked after by enough specialist staff. In crèche groups, one full-time specialist is responsible for 5.2 children in full-day care; the foundation recommends a ratio of 1 to 3. In kindergarten, the staffing ratio of 1 to 7.6 is close to the recommended value of 1 to 7.5. In other types of groups, however, it is significantly less favorable for older children.
"If a specialist is responsible for more children than scientifically recommended, the quality of educational practice suffers," explained Kathrin Bock-Famulla, responsible for early childhood education at the Bertelsmann Stiftung. "It can be assumed that daycare centers in Berlin are currently unable to fulfill their educational mandate for the majority of children." What is needed is the recruitment of more specialist staff.
Kindergartens in Berlin struggle to meet the demand, as the Bertelsmann Stiftung suggests an additional need for 19,800 daycare places. Despite having higher than average daycare utilization rates, over 59% of children under three and 98% of children aged three and over in Berlin require a place.
Source: www.dpa.com
