Learning and Instruction - Deal Reached: Enhanced Childcare for Early Years
Starting from 2025, kindergarten care will undergo improvements. Officials from the Red-Red-Green and CDU parties agreed on this during discussions about reworking the Kindergarten Act.
To ensure better care, there will be heightened staff-to-child ratios for children aged one to three, with a maximum of one caregiver for every six kids. For children above age three, educators or caregivers are limited to caring for 12 children at a time.
The new regulations are set to take effect from January 2025. The operators of these institutions will have a three-year transition period before the changes are fully implemented. This compromise is anticipated to pass the Education Committee on Tuesday and then in the state parliament.
End of a Long Discussion
With this agreement, a months-long debate on modifying the Kindergarten Act may finally conclude. The Thuringian state parliament still needs to approve the alterations. The Left's education policy expert, Daniel Reinhardt, calls it "the most significant improvement in kindergarten quality since 2010." CDU education expert Christian Tischner shares similar sentiments, stating "We've made a significant improvement." Tischner estimates the annual cost of these improvements to be around 140 million euros.
External Pressure
Of late, unions and associations have been pushing for changes in staff-to-child ratios. A key factor behind this is the declining child population. By enhancing staff-to-child ratios, the aim is to safeguard jobs for educators and caregivers from the influence of demographic trends.
"The exterior pressure was essential and played a role in the compromise solution," explained Green education policy expert Astrid Rothe-Beinlich. Similarly, SPD education expert Thomas Hartung acknowledged that the pressure led to a deal.
No Future Free Kindergarten Years
The Red-Red-Green party initially sought a comprehensive reform of the Kindergarten Act, aiming to introduce a third free kindergarten year. The agreed compromise does not include any mention of free kindergarten in the law, but the upcoming state government is requested to implement this from 2026. However, this is not binding. Currently, in Thuringia, the last two years before starting school are free of cost.
