Children - Saxony: All-day care for all primary school pupils from 2030
In assessment by Saxony's Culture Minister Christian Piwarz (CDU), the right to full-day care in primary schools can be implemented in Saxony by 2030. There are sufficient places and personnel for this, the Minister stated on a Wednesday in Dresden, giving an interim report. The care quota of kindergarten children in the Free State is already significantly higher than the federal average. While it was 47% in the West according to the Education Report 2022, it was nearly 87% in Saxony.
"With our childcare offer in Saxony, we facilitate the compatibility of family and work. Every family receives a place in the creche, kindergarten or after-school care on request. This is far from self-evident in other federal states", Piwarz emphasized. In the elementary school sector, there has been a legal right to a childcare place since the completion of the first year of life since August 1, 2013. Saxony fulfills the legal right to a kindergarten place, although not always in the desired institution.
According to the Culture Ministry, Saxony secures the full-day educational and childcare offer for children in primary school age through cooperation between kindergartens (after-school care) and schools. Almost all primary schools in Saxony offer full-day programs. The personnel requirement in after-school care will increase by approximately 200 full-time positions compared to 2023 until the implementation of the legal right in 2026. "Training capacities for childcare workers have been steadily expanded in Saxony", it was stated.
The Ministry also emphasizes the importance of not only sufficient childcare places but also childcare quality. Nationwide, the proportion of kindergarten teams in which academically trained personnel work has significantly increased. It was approximately 37% in 2022. Saxony ranks first with 71% compared to Hamburg (60%), Thuringia and Hesse (53% or 51%). Saxony also has more kindergarten personnel with a vocational school diploma than the average.
Currently, the personnel ratio for working with children in Saxony is 1 to 5 (creche), 1 to 12 (kindergarten), and 0.9 to 20 (after-school care). Personnel who become free due to declining birth rates should be retained in the institutions. "If we want to further strengthen the quality of education in the kindergarten and after-school care, we should hold on to the personnel ratio in the childcare institutions and use the decline in child numbers as a demographic dividend. This directly benefits our children, as it enables individual support", Piwarz explained.
According to statistics, there were a total of 322,754 children being cared for in the 3,067 childcare facilities in Saxony (creches, kindergartens, and after-school cares) as of April 1, 2023. Of these, 141,075 children attended after-school care. Saxony invested around 880 million Euros in the financing of childcare facilities and childcare allowances last year. This year, it is expected to be approximately 918 million Euros.
- Christian Piwarz, the CDU's Saxony Culture Minister, aims to implement the right to full-day care in Saxony's primary schools by 2030.
- Every family in Saxony can request a place in creche, kindergarten, or after-school care, as the state prioritizes the compatibility of family and work.
- In the elementary school sector, a legal right to a childcare place has existed since 2013, but fulfilling the desired institution is still a challenge in Saxony.
- The full-day educational and childcare offer for children in primary school age is secured in Saxony through cooperation between kindergartens (after-school care) and schools, with nearly all primary schools offering full-day programs.
- The Ministry emphasizes the importance of both sufficient childcare places and childcare quality, with Saxony having a higher proportion of academically trained personnel compared to the national average.
- Saxony invested around 880 million Euros in the financing of childcare facilities and childcare allowances last year, with an expected 918 million Euros this year.
