We are investing in the future of our children

Every child in Baden-Württemberg must be given the best possible start! The most sustainable way to achieve this is with a good education, which starts not only at school, but at day care. To the ability of the early childhood education To use it fully, we need more than good will. We must be ready to invest in early childhood education. These investments are not only enabling better educational opportunities for each individual child, but also strengthen our society as a whole. To reinforce this special importance of early childhood education even more fundamentally and legally, I stand before you today and I would like to discuss an important change to the Child Day Care Act talk, which has two main aspects:

1. the introduction of a state parent council in the field of daycare for children and
2. include child daycare regulations in existing law.

State parent representation of Baden-Württemberg daycare centers

By establishing the State Parents’ Representation of the so-called Baden-Württemberg daycare centers, we are creating a committee that carries the voices of the families directly into state politics. We are giving the State Parents Advisory Council an office in the Ministry of Culture and an annual budget of around 100,000 euros. This shows that we are serious about participation. We are thus greatly strengthening the participation opportunities of the families of daycare and daycare children in Baden-Württemberg. In the future, parents will be informed and consulted on important issues related to education, upbringing and care in day care centers and day care of children and, in turn, will advise the Ministry of Culture on this. Your experiences, ideas and concerns flow directly into the design of early childhood education in Baden-Württemberg. What started in 2020 as a private initiative in the middle of the Corona pandemic has become a permanent pillar of our educational vision. In doing this, we promote a policy of listening and being heard, in which every voice has weight. With this opportunity to get involved, parents can actively work to ensure that they get the best education for their children. This makes it easier for new trends coming directly from families to be heard.

Children’s day care

The second focus of our legal change relates to child day care. As we have long been involved in day care law, we are performing more than just a bureaucratic function The update is a clear signal: We recognize child day care as a form of child day care . The new regulation in the law includes drastic improvements in terms of working framework, flexibility and reduction in bureaucracy:

• In the future, child minders will be able to look after up to five children at a time.
• In a large day care, we are increasing the number of children from nine to ten places.
• The number of child care relationships per association increases from 15 to 17 children.

These changes may seem small at first glance, but they have a big impact. We rule with it more childcare places and influence shortage of skilled workers in contrast to. This is not only important for fulfilling the legal claim, but it also strengthens Baden-Württemberg as a business location by promoting the compatibility of family and work.