Kitas on Rügen: too much space, but too few children!

Kitas on Rügen: too much space, but too few children!

In the past few months, an unmistakable development in childcare has become visible in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: the number of children cared for is falling. This is particularly striking on Rügen, where the Auen vertebrae daycare vertebrae was reopened a few months ago and offers a large spatial offer, but which is undermined by a decline in births.

The Auen vortex daycare center, which has been operated in new, spacious rooms with an area of ​​1630 square meters since January 2024, is a modern answer to the challenges of early childhood education. The equipment is impressive: in addition to large group rooms, there are game, therapy tables and even a gym with climbing mountain and slide. The investment in this facility was around 6.5 million euros and was the result of comprehensive planning by architect Wolfgang Warnkross and the local educators. [ Ostsee-Zeitung ]

growing challenges due to a decline in birth

In all of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, there is a decline in the birth rate, which also affects the daycare centers. Around 9670 children were born in 2023, which corresponds to a decline of 10.6 percent compared to the previous year. [ Nordkurier resulting in March 1. In 2024 only 116,664 children in daycare centers, after -school care and child minders were cared for, a decline of almost 1,000 children in the year. This statistical data is contrasting to the large investments in new daycare rooms.

The Auen vortex daycare center currently offers 126 places, but has not created any additional childcare places. The increase in children with developmental delays and linguistic deficits is particularly alarming. This trend encounters the facility with special support programs and through your own rooms for speech therapy and occupational therapy. As daycare manager Carina Lipp emphasizes, better care keys are required to meet the individual needs of the children. [ Ostsee-Zeitung ]

national trends and recommendations

The trendy decline in births not only affects Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, but is also a nationwide phenomenon. Especially in rural regions of East Germany, many daycare centers are affected by the challenge that places are empty and the educators suffer from a high lack of personnel. Specialist staff and a reduction in the number of care to meet the increasing complexity of the requirements.

The Bertelsmann Foundation sees the number of children's numbers the chance to improve the quality of education in the daycare centers. Instead of just creating new places, the variety of offers and the qualifications of the educators should be in the foreground. This could not only increase the satisfaction of the parents, but also successfully promote the integration of children with a migration background. Every ninth child in the daycare centers now has a migration background, and over 70 percent of these children live in households, in which mostly German is not spoken.