Mainz reduces daycare opening times: What does that mean for families?

Mainz reduces daycare opening times: What does that mean for families?

The city of Mainz plans comprehensive adjustments to opening hours in urban daycare centers (daycare centers). These measures aim to optimize the use of the available staff during core times and at the same time expand the support offers. Social department Dr. Eckart Lensch explains that it is of central importance to create an offer that meets the needs of children, parents and daycare teams. The new concept will be implemented in the next 3.5 years and is primarily concerned

Currently, the municipal daycare centers in Mainz have regular opening times from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. These childcare times are above the nationwide average. The adjustments stipulate that opening times in part of the daycare centers are reduced from 10 hours to 8.5 hours. This means that some daycare centers will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Despite this reduction, 22 of the 62 facilities remain with the 10 hours a day to meet the needs of parents with long working hours.

adjustments and needs

The new opening times are not only a reaction to the shortage of skilled workers, but should also enable more efficient care. The approach on which he is based is aimed at using personnel resources specifically during the main use times. Statistics show that only 5.1 % of children are brought to the daycare centers before 8 a.m., while 76.7 % of daycare centers open at 7:00 a.m. In order to master these challenges, both the legal childcare claims and the demand for daycare places must be carefully weighed.

The Mayor Nino Haase emphasizes that the changeover of the opening times should help to create additional daycare places and support families. The existing agreements for children already supervised remain unchanged, which is important for many parents because they rely on the known care times. For newly admitted children, however, the childcare offer changes considerably.

challenges and solutions

The daycare centers are faced with considerable challenges due to illness -related failures, advanced training and vacant positions. This already has an impact on childcare times and personnel planning. The new opening times were discussed in close coordination with daycare teams and parents' committees in order to take into account the various interests. With the new regulations, the city of Mainz pursues the goal of ensuring high planning safety for families and at the same time relieving the staff.