- More children and staff shortages: Kindergarten starts with problems
New Academic Year, Old Problems: The number of children in Bremen is growing rapidly, but there's a shortage of staff for their care. To address this, Senator for Education Sascha Aulepp (SPD) announced plans to create an additional 3,000 childcare spots over the next three years. In the past decade, 7,500 spots have already been created. The city has initiated a building trend.
In areas previously struggling with supply, like Hemelingen and Vegesack, this trend is evident. Around 900 completed spots remain unoperational due to a lack of skilled personnel. "Providers are actively trying to fill these vacancies as soon as possible, but they're competing nationally," it was reported.
Germany's smallest state is growing: The number of children under 14 has increased by over 14,000 (22%) between 2013 and 2023. The largest increase is among children under six (25%). In 2022, there were around 35,500 children under six, 1,500 more than expected. "That's 1,500 more children than we anticipated for kindergarten alone," it was noted. With an average kindergarten size of 100 children, this means an additional 15 kindergartens are needed.
Hope comes from training: Despite national trends, Bremen has managed to increase the number of trainees in pedagogical professions. In 2022, 38% of new trainees were in this field, four percentage points above the national average. Since 2019, the number of trainees in childcare has increased sixfold, with 137 registrations this year.
To ensure these additional childcare spots are utilized, the city is also focusing on recruiting and training more childcare providers. Despite the nationwide challenge, Bremen has seen a significant increase in trainees pursuing pedagogical professions, with 137 registrations in childcare alone this year.
