Child care
More and more children are in daycare for more than 35 hours per week
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More and more parents are relying on longer childcare times in daycare centers. Despite the increasing number of skilled workers, the personnel situation remains tense in many places.
Long care times in daycare centers are becoming more and more common in Germany. The number of children with contractually agreed care time of more than 35 hours per week increased by 30 percent from 2014 to 2024, as the Federal Statistical Office announced. Almost two thirds (64 percent) of these children even had a set care time of more than 45 hours per week.
The number of children with shorter care times also increased: Accordingly, in 2024 there were around 25 percent more children with care times of 25 to 35 hours per week than in 2014. However, there was a decline in children with shorter care times of up to 25 hours during the week. Their number fell by 8 percent from 2014 to 2024.
The average agreed care time has increased from 35.3 to 36.1 hours per week over the past ten years. During the same period, the number of children looked after also grew – from 3.29 million to 3.94 million.
More staff, but bottlenecks remain
As the number of children increases, so does the need for staff in daycare centers. The number of people working in daycare centers has therefore increased over the past ten years. Around 724,000 carers worked in daycare centers in 2024, compared to a good 494,000 in 2014. Within ten years the number rose by 46 percent.
Nevertheless, the personnel situation in many facilities is considered tense. The Federal Statistical Office cites the proportion of full-time carers as one reason for this. 67 percent of daycare center teaching staff in 2024 worked less than 38.5 hours per week (2014: 65 percent), the federal statisticians explained.
Skilled workers from abroad
In 2023, more than 55,000 people completed training as educators, social assistants or socio-educational assistants or as childcare workers. According to the Federal Office, this was a new high – although the number was not available for Schleswig-Holstein. In 2013, around 44,000 graduates nationwide completed training in one of these educational professions.
Skilled workers from abroad are also used to provide child care. There were 2,778 procedures for the recognition of a foreign professional qualification as an educator in 2023. Of these, 1,743 were positive, 624 were negative and 222 had not yet been approved. 186 proceedings were ended without a decision. The recognition of qualifications from Spain (324), Ukraine (237) and Turkey (231) was particularly common.
dpa
Source: Stern

I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.