Daycare in Filderstadt: A Daily Snapshot
In the coming year, Filderstadt, Germany, is set to see some changes in its childcare services. Here's a breakdown of what you can expect:
Kindergarten Places
- Five parallel first-grade classes will be established, indicating a capacity adjustment but not explicitly quantifying kindergarten places. The exact number of kindergarten places for 2026 is not provided [1].
- There will be a slight decrease in U3 kindergarten places, from 1641 last year to 1638 in 2026. The number of daycare places for U3 children will decrease from 113 to 97 [2].
- The number of places in age-mixed groups for children aged two to three years will remain the same at 29 [2].
Staff Shortages
The high personnel requirement in child daycare is causing problems in Filderstadt, leading to ongoing staff shortages. This is evidenced by open pedagogical job postings, including kindergarten educators, which may impact staffing ratios and care for U3 children [3].
Care Ratios for U3 Children
No explicit data on the planned or current ratio for U3 children in Filderstadt for the coming year was found. However, the city expects a care ratio of 42.6% for children aged one to three years with a legal claim, representing a slight increase from last year's 42.4% [4]. The care ratio for all U3 children in September is expected to be 30%, an increase from last year's 28.4% [5].
Addressing the Staff Shortage
To address the staff shortage, the city is relying on various strategies. These include training models, programs for career changers, advertising campaigns, quality standards, and incentive systems for personnel recruitment [6]. The Filderstadt city council has also approved the release of additional funds: 278,250 euros this year and 777,090 euros next year. These funds will be used to subsidize, increase, or create new positions [7].
Despite these efforts, due to the staff shortage, only a portion of the available kindergarten places can be filled with a delay [8]. The city currently has 32 temporary employees in all municipal kindergartens [9]. Graduates of voluntary social years or federal voluntary services, interns, and volunteers are also active in the facilities [10].
Kita Demand Planning
The Filderstadt city council has approved the Kita demand planning for the upcoming kindergarten year [11]. The increasing demand for specialists has been leading to massive restrictions in opening hours for some time now [4].
Additional Vacancies
The city has additional vacancies, for example due to pregnancies and replacement of positions [12]. With scaling back, there are about five vacancies remaining due to the staff shortage [13].
[1] Source: Municipal or state early childhood education official reports or planning documents. [2] Source: Filderstadt city council's Kita demand planning. [3] Source: Ongoing pedagogical job postings in Filderstadt. [4] Source: Filderstadt city council's Kita demand planning. [5] Source: Filderstadt city council's Kita demand planning. [6] Source: Filderstadt city council's Kita demand planning. [7] Source: Filderstadt city council's budget allocation. [8] Source: Filderstadt city council's Kita demand planning. [9] Source: Filderstadt city council's Kita demand planning. [10] Source: Filderstadt city council's Kita demand planning. [11] Source: Filderstadt city council's Kita demand planning. [12] Source: Filderstadt city council's Kita demand planning. [13] Source: Filderstadt city council's Kita demand planning.
