Excellent childcare in the Deutschlandsberg district: What is behind it?

Excellent childcare in the Deutschlandsberg district: What is behind it?

Deutschlandsberg, Österreich - The situation of childcare in the district of Deutschlandsberg has improved significantly again by the recently published childcare atlas of the Styria Chamber of Labor (AK). The municipality of Deutschlandsberg as well as the market municipalities Frauental, Preding and Lannach cut off in the new evaluation with an excellent 1A rating. All eleven municipalities in the district have even been awarded a very good A-status, as meinzimzirk.at reports.

The criteria for the top rating are as high as a Salzburg ski jump. Community -related care facilities for children under the age of three as well as all -day kindergartens that are open to at least 3 p.m. on at least four days a week are required here. These measures help parents to better reconcile work and family.

A look at the neighboring communities

In the Voitsberg district, however, the situation looks a little different. Here only eleven of 15 municipalities fulfill the criteria for category A. Especially the VIF criteria that determine institutional care for the smallest and extensive support for 3 to 6 year olds are a crucial yardstick. The facilities should be open at least 45 hours a week, and lunch is also offered and the closing days should be limited to a maximum of five weeks a year in order to meet the growing demand.

Despite the rosy ratings, the AK has noticed the need for action in some areas: It calls for a legal right to a childcare place from the first year of life and a mandatory free kindergarten visit in the last two years before school. It is also required that 45 percent of the municipalities should meet the VIF criteria to create a family-friendly care landscape.

Current developments in childcare

An additional attention is paid to the lack of personnel in the care facilities, which can also be felt in Deutschlandsberg. In autumn 2023, a novella of the Styrian Children's Education and Care Act is expected, which is to remedy the situation and reduced group sizes. From the childcare year 2025/26, the group size in kindergartens will be reduced to 22 children.

In order to meet the increasing need for sufficient childcare places, the municipality of Deutschlandsberg is planning a potential analysis for kindergarten locations. The new building of the St. Martin Education Campus in the Sulmtal, which is endowed with 8.5 million euros and a crèche, kindergarten and elementary school will be included, also showed that a lot is being invested in the region. In addition, a general renovation of the elementary school and the extension to the kindergarten in Frauental for 4.5 million euros is planned by September 2025.