Child Care Facilities
Child care facilities: good care for the little ones
In Germany it is not compulsory for children to attend any pre-school child care facility. However, it is urgently recommended to send your children to a kindergarten as this prepares your child for school attendance by individual encouragement and training of its social and academic skills. In addition the children learn to spend part of the day away from the family and to be cared for by other people in a group. This also makes it easier for your child to become integrated in the class community at school.
Child care facilities
There are various types of child care facilities. These are:
- Crèche: For children of up to 3 years of age
- Kindergarten: For children from 3 years of age until school age
- Day-care: for school children
Registration Period
Parents can register their children in January for the next kindergarten year (from 1 August each year) directly in the respective child care facility.
Please click the follwong link for all facilities with contact data »
If you cannot find a place for your child or have just moved to the city, you can contact the Child Day-Care Service Centre directly. As each child is entitled to a place from the age of three onwards, a place will be found after a certain processing time (for example for families who have just moved to the area).
Legal entitlement
Currently children are only legally entitled to a place when they have reached three years of age. From August 2013 all children will be entitled to a place at a children's day-care facility from the age of one onwards.
Child minders
Child minders must be trained and qualified, are inspected and receive a permit if they are deemed suitable. Anyone taking care of one or more children outside the home of the legal guardian(s) for part of the day for more than 15 hours a week for longer than three months in return for payment must hold a child-minding permit. Child minders who take care of the child or children at the home of their legal guardians are often referred to as nannies. They do not require a permit, but must provide proof of their suitability for this task in a form required by the Youth, Family and Schools Office (also by providing proof of qualifications) if the parents submit an application for a subsidy.
The child minder's permit states the number of children who may be cared for (up to 5 children).
Placement
It is difficult to find a place before 8:00 and after 16:30, as there is currently a shortfall in capacity.
Contact
Please go to our German webpages for contact data and opening times »
Zuletzt geändert am 21. November 2022
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