Number of children in the district rises - supply rate also increases
Accordingly, despite an increase in the number of children in the district by around 1,850 to around 77,900 0 to 14-year-olds, the supply rate has increased slightly in all age groups due to the expansion of childcare places: By around 1 percent for 0 to 3-year-olds, by around 2 percent for 3 to 6.5-year-olds and by around 0.7 percent for 6.5 to 14-year-olds.
Meeting staffing requirements is the biggest challenge
The report also revealed that there will be several challenges in child daycare over the next few years. The greatest of these will be meeting the staffing requirements for childcare places. This is because potentially available places cannot be used due to staff shortages. In addition, staff shortages would lead to restrictions on opening hours. A total of 57 cases of bridging daycare for children over the age of three and the internal increase in the number of cases involving complaints would show that local authorities are having increasing problems fulfilling the legal entitlement to childcare from the age of one until the child starts school. Added to this is the expected increase in personnel requirements for fulfilling the legal entitlement in the school childcare sector: the legal entitlement to all-day childcare for primary school children is to be introduced in stages from the 2026/2027 school year from the 1st grade onwards. The report concludes that, for all these reasons, there is an urgent need for continuous demand planning and the planning of measures to recruit and maintain staff.
