Politicians in Saterland are arguing about the future of daycare centers and special sessions!

Politicians in Saterland are arguing about the future of daycare centers and special sessions!

In the Strücklingen region, the daycare problem has long since become a political issue. The CDU and FDP are currently calling for special meetings to discuss urgently needed issues. From the point of view of both groups, the planned dates in July come far too late. The mayor of Strücklingen, Thomas Otto, is now facing criticism from the local authority supervisory authority because he is allegedly violating the Lower Saxony Municipal Constitutional Act (NKomVG). According to NWZonline, an extraordinary council meeting should have taken place before June 25th.

What exactly is on the agenda? The daycare issue will be discussed at a regular meeting on June 25th. Both the proposals of the CDU/FDP and the demands of the SPD and the Greens will then be discussed. The latter are, among other things, committed to a resident survey on the location of new daycare centers.

Daycare law changes in Lower Saxony

In a context that highlights the challenges in early childhood education, Lower Saxony's Minister of Education, Julia Willie Hamburg, emphasized the importance of holistic responsibility for all those involved. The shortage of skilled workers in early childhood education remains a central problem for daycare centers in Lower Saxony. Inefficient staffing ratios and a lack of skilled workers are slowing down the development of childcare, as Niedersachsen reports.

From August 1st, a revised daycare law will come into force, which is intended to give municipal facilities more freedom. The government factions made up of the SPD and the Greens have drawn up a draft for this, which, among other things, provides for the qualification of assistants and the flexibilization of care times until 2026. These measures are a step in the right direction to address the shortage of skilled workers and ease the situation in Lower Saxony's daycare centers.

The shortage of skilled workers: an urgent problem

Despite all efforts, the shortage of skilled workers is still at the center of discussions. In its “State Monitoring of Early Childhood Education Systems”, the Bertelsmann Foundation found that the proportion of educational staff with a relevant technical school qualification in Lower Saxony has fallen. In 2017 it was 75.6%, in 2023 the value was only 71.5%. Lower Saxony is therefore below the national average of 72.5%.

• Im Jahr 2023 besuchten etwa 35 % der Kinder unter drei Jahren eine Kita.
• Von den Drei- bis unter Sechsjährigen nutzten 91 % ein Angebot der Kindertagesbetreuung.
• Mehr als die Hälfte der Kinder wird nicht nach wissenschaftlichen Empfehlungen betreut.

Difficult conditions and a loss of skilled workers are putting the social infrastructure under great pressure. A ray of hope was identified here, as there were improvements in care compared to 2017, but the danger of a permanent reduction in the skilled worker quota is omnipresent. As Kathrin Bock-Famulla from the Bertelsmann Foundation notes, this could have catastrophic long-term consequences for early childhood education.

In Strücklingen and everywhere in Lower Saxony it is clear: there is still a lot of work ahead of us to sustainably ensure daycare quality and the next generation of skilled workers.