Traditionally in Germany children under the age of three years are looked after in Kinderkrippen (crèches) and children from the age of three up to starting school in Kindergarten. In past years the profile of day-care centres has changed considerably. The number of facilities, which offer day care exclusively for children from the age of three up to starting school has decreased while more and more facilities offer day care for different age groups. One reason for this change in the supply structure is the expansion of day care for children agreed by the Federation, Länder and local authorities for children under three years of age, which is expected to create a needs-oriented supply of day-care places for children nationally and thus establish the basis for fulfilling the legal right to early childhood education and care in a day-care centre or child-minding service which has entered into force on 1 August 2013. This complements the legal entitlement introduced back in 1996 to day care in a day-care centre for children from the age of three up to starting school. The heightened efforts to expand day care for children aged below three have since the introduction of official statistics in 2006 led to a steady rise in day-care uptake.

General objectives

Under the Social Security Code VIII (Achtes Buch Sozialgesetzbuch – Kinder- und Jugendhilfe) day-care centres for children and child-minding services are called upon to encourage the child's development into a responsible and autonomous member of the community. Furthermore, day care is designed to support and supplement the child’s upbringing in the family and to assist the parents in better reconciling employment and child rearing. This duty includes instructing, educating and caring for the child and relates to the child’s social, emotional, physical and mental development. It includes the communication of guiding values and rules. The provision of education and care is to be adjusted to the individual child’s age and developmental stage, linguistic and other capabilities, life situation and interests, and take account of the child’s ethnic origin. In terms of pedagogy and organisation, the range of services offered should be based on the needs of the children and their families.

Under the joint framework of the Länder for early education in day-care centres for children (Gemeinsamer Rahmen der Länder für die frühe Bildung in Kindertageseinrichtungen), educational objectives in early childhood education focus on attaining basic skills and developing and strengthening personal resources, which motivate children and prepare them to take up and cope with future challenges in learning and life, to play a responsible part in society and be open to lifelong learning.

Specific legislative framework

Under the Basic Law (Grundgesetz), as part of its responsibility for public welfare, the Federation has concurrent legislative competence for child and youth welfare. This also applies to the promotion of children in day care (Kinderkrippen, Kindergärten, Horte or Kindertagespflege). The Federation exercised its legislative authority in this field by passing the Social Security Code VIII in June 1990. The legal framework of the Federation for child and youth welfare is completed, supplemented and extended by the Länder in their own laws.

The Social Security Code VIII was amended in July 1992 and expanded to include the legal right, introduced on 1 January 1996 and in force without restriction since 1 January 1999, to a Kindergarten place for all children from the age of three years until they start school. The Social Security Code VIII was last amended in December 2008 by the Children Promotion Act (Kinderförderungsgesetz – KiföG). The Child Promotion Act laid down a gradual expansion of supervision and care offers for children under the age of three. In a first stage the maintaining bodies of public youth welfare had been obliged to increase the number of places available to children under the age of three in day-care centres or child-minding services and to provide a place if required for child development purposes or because the parents are in employment, seeking work or in training. This was an objective obligation, however, not a legal right to a place. On 1 August 2013 the second phase of the expansion of supervision and care offers was achieved: since this point there has been a legal entitlement to a place in day care for children who have reached the age of one. The implementation and financing of child and youth welfare legislation lies, under the Basic Law, in the sphere of competence of the Länder and, as a matter for local self-government, is the responsibility of the Kommunen (local authorities).

Under Federal Law the legal framework for day care for children provided under the youth welfare office is regulated by the Child and Youth Welfare Act (Kinder- und Jugendhilfegesetz) and covers the placement, briefing, training and payment of suitable day-dare staff by the youth welfare office. The Länder and local authorities are responsible for implementation, and have as a rule adopted their own legal provisions substantiating the framework conditions.