“The funds, the staff and the structural framework are already lacking,” said Fühner. The state must provide more money. “The municipalities have not even received half of the funds they need.” The CDU state parliament member also called for external partners to be increasingly involved in the all-day offerings, such as sports clubs, art galleries or forest educators.
Ministry: All-day school system well developed
According to the Ministry of Education, almost 1,200 primary schools in Lower Saxony currently offer all-day care for first graders. The proportion has thus grown from 64 to 70 percent since 2019. The number of school beginners who take advantage of the offer has also risen to around 36,000. However, this means that not even every second first-grader takes part in the all-day program (45 percent).
Open detailed view Compared to other federal states, Lower Saxony is already quite advanced in terms of all-day schooling, according to Julia Willie Hamburg’s (Greens) Ministry of Education. (Archive image) (Photo: Michael Matthey/dpa)
Nevertheless, compared to other federal states, Lower Saxony can already point to a highly developed all-day school system, says a spokeswoman for Education Minister Julia Willie Hamburg (Greens). Nevertheless, the implementation of the legal entitlement is associated with major challenges – “both in terms of time and money”. Addressing these issues is immensely important in order to increase educational equity and participation, but also to improve the compatibility of family and work and to address the shortage of skilled workers.
The state is therefore providing around 134 million euros annually for all-day operation in primary schools alone. From the 2029/30 school year onwards, annual costs of 258 million euros are expected – due to the increasing need for personnel as a result of the legal entitlement.
41 new all-day schools approved
For the 2024/25 school year, 41 new all-day schools were approved, including 32 primary schools and one primary and special needs school. The majority of them opted for the so-called open all-day school. This means that extracurricular activities take place there after school and participation is voluntary.
But there are doubts not only among the political rivals in the state parliament. The chairwoman of the state parents’ council, Miriam Kaschel, is also unsure whether all first-graders will be able to receive all-day care in two years. “Progress is very slow,” said Kaschel. One problem is that preparations were once started for all-day schools and have now been reduced to all-day care. Changing that during the ongoing process is difficult. “There is a huge mess. I don’t know how this can be resolved well for the children across the board by 2026.”
“Great fear that we are not doing justice to the children”
Today’s all-day care is often not what parents or schools want. There is always dissatisfaction with the lunches or with rigid pick-up times. Her ideal would be a well-funded all-day school for everyone, said the parent representative. “That would work well against educational inequality, because then children who really need it and who perhaps don’t have anyone at home to help them with their homework would also be brought to school.” But the reality at many schools is different. “I have a great fear that we are not doing the children justice.”
The education union GEW also doubts that the expectations that the legal entitlement creates among parents can be met across the board. Due to the sharp increase in the number of students, there is already a lack of space in many places and the construction of cafeterias has not yet taken place everywhere, said GEW regional chairman Stefan Störmer.
“A lot of improvisation will probably be necessary at first, and creative solutions are needed, as the infrastructure in particular needs to be built up,” the union said. The GEW vehemently rejects emergency solutions such as transporting children to a day-care center or another school with all-day programs after school for pedagogical reasons.
