2025

Expansion of childcare

In 2025, there will be no federal funding for the expansion of childcare.

As part of the Special Fund for Infrastructure and Climate Neutrality (Sondervermögen „Infrastruktur und Klimaneutralität“ – SVIK), additional funds amounting to Euro 3.76 billion (Euro 940 million per year) will be available for the expansion of childcare from 2026 to 2029. The plan is to implement the investments in daycare centres from the SVIK via an "Investment Programme for Childcare" (‘Investitionsprogramm Kindertagesbetreuung’) run by the Federal Ministry of Education, Family, Seniors, Women and Youth (Bundesministerium für Bildung, Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend – BMBFSFJ).

Third Act on the Further Development of Quality and Participation in Child Day Care

Quality development in child day care facilities and in child day care is seen as a task for society as a whole. Since 2019, the Federation has therefore been supporting the Länder with additional funding for quality development measures in child daycare in order to further develop quality nationwide and contribute to creating equal living conditions for children growing up in Germany.  On 1 January 2025, the Third Act for the Further Development of Quality and Participation in Child Day Care (Drittes Gesetz zur Weiterentwicklung der Qualität und zur Teilhabe in der Kindertagesbetreuung) entered into force. The Federal Government is thus continuing its financial commitment to improving early childhood education and care and will support the Länder with a total of around Euro 4 billion over the next two years. With the further developed law, the Länder will be able to invest in seven priority fields of action that are of particular importance for the quality of care:

• Needs-based services
• Child-staff ratio
• Recruitment and retention of qualified staff
• Strengthening of management
• Promotion of needs-based, balanced and sustainable catering and sufficient exercise
• Promotion of language education
• Strengthening of child day care    

2024

Expansion of childcare

Since 2008, the Federal Government has launched five investment programmes entitled “Childcare Financing“ (‘Kinderbetreuungsfinanzierung’) with a total budget of Euro 5.4 billion to expand childcare provision in line with demand. These programmes have created more than 750,000 additional places for children up to school age. The massive expansion of childcare in Germany has more than doubled the average childcare coverage rate for children under three years of age from 17.6 per cent (2008) to 37.4 per cent (2024).

Overall strategy for skilled workers in day-care centres and all-day schools

In May 2024, the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs presented recommendations for short-, medium- and long-term measures to recruit and retain skilled workers, which were developed with the involvement of the Länder and a broad range of experts. Various levers were considered in order to counter the shortage of skilled workers – from education and training, to facilitating career changes and retraining, the recognition of foreign professional qualifications, and working conditions and framework conditions.

2023

There were no reforms in the area of early childhood education and care during the reporting period.