After school care
A school day nursery , day nursery or just after-school care is a socio-educational institution for child and youth welfare in almost all German federal states . It is used for day care for primary school children and is usually attended up to fourth grade.
Situation in Germany
General
The need for after-school care centers depends heavily on whether there are all-day schools and what offers are covered by them. In most federal states of Germany, the local youth welfare offices are responsible for granting claims and financing the places . The custodians ( parents ) usually pay parental contributions for after-school care.
The development and distribution of the after-school care center is state-specific. In general, three expansion models can be identified: First, there are federal states that have abolished day care centers and introduced all-day schools across the board (e.g. in North Rhine-Westphalia , Berlin , Hamburg ). Second, there are several western German territorial states in which all-day schools and after-school care centers are being expanded ( Bavaria , Baden-Württemberg , Lower Saxony , Rhineland-Palatinate , Saarland , Schleswig-Holstein ). And thirdly, the eastern German states ( Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , Brandenburg , Saxony , Saxony-Anhalt ) with their after-school care tradition and the politically desired interlinking of the youth welfare service with the elementary school provide a contrast to this. Only in Thuringia are after-school care centers basically assigned to the school system.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, 463,545 schoolchildren between the ages of 5 and 11 used a day care center in March 2016.
Legal basis
After- school care centers are child and youth welfare institutions and (like kindergartens or crèches ) have an upbringing, education and care mandate (Section 22 (3) SGB VIII ). Claims to after-school care arise from Section 24, Paragraph 4 of Book VIII of the Social Code, whereby the offer should be expanded as required. In individual federal states, state law guarantees a legal right to a day care center (e.g. Brandenburg ). The introduction of a nationwide legal right to a childcare place for school children has been discussed intensively since 2017 and is to be implemented by 2025.
Educational staff
The staff of the after-school care center consists mainly of state-approved educators , as there is no specialized training for after-school care workers. The care key varies depending on the federal state. In Saxony , for example, it is 0.9 pedagogical specialist per 20 children.
offer
The day-care center opens as needed before school starts (early day care) and also offers the children the opportunity to have breakfast. It is offered centrally after the end of school lessons and is usually attended by the children until 4:00 p.m., sometimes longer (after-school care). Both the scope of care and the care times vary greatly from region to region. In the eastern federal states in particular, many after- school care centers are also open over the school holidays and offer special holiday programs with adjusted opening times. After- school care centers can be run within the school building, in day-care centers or in their own homes.
After school care in the GDR
In the GDR , the after- school care center was an integral part of the school concept as part of day-to-day education and was part of the education system. He had a care and educational function and thus also an ideological function. In 1989, 81% of students in grades one to four were registered in the after-school care center. During the lunch break or after the end of the lesson, the lower-level classes went to lunch. School kitchens and dining rooms have existed in all schools since the 1950s.
Afterwards, the compulsory nap was required for first grade students . At least they had to rest when they couldn't or didn't want to sleep. GDR pedagogy saw a longer afternoon rest as indispensable in order to offer the children a regular, orderly daily routine in a stable environment, so that they were again active, productive, able to concentrate and balanced in the afternoon care called organized leisure time . The afternoon nap in kindergarten and lower school was therefore also the subject of extensive educational research. After the afternoon nap and the hygiene after getting up, Vespers followed . It was a communal small meal for all the children in an after-school care group, where biscuits and tea or cocoa were served.
Then all the homework given on the school day had to be done. Increased emphasis was placed on the solid basic skills of discipline, order, cleanliness, ambition, perseverance and diligence; the children had to work calmly, with concentration and with minimum requirements for the external form. Once a child had completed the tasks, it presented the results to the educator responsible for the after-school care group. The educator signed as a sign of consent or pointed out any errors or inadequacies in the form. With the signature on the homework, the child could leave the work area and play freely until the end of their day care. The refusal to sign meant the schoolchild had an obligation to make improvements until the desired result was achieved.
The educators , who had also completed a technical college course at the institute for teacher training or the pedagogical institute and were teachers for a subject in the lower grades after their training, often also discussed problems arising in the areas of learning, performance and behavior with the children. They worked closely with the teachers and the class teacher . Assessment of performance , however, was solely the responsibility of the teachers.
Situation in other countries
United States
All -day schools are common in the USA , but there are also gaps in childcare in the morning and afternoon for many families. Many primary schools in the public school system therefore make their premises available to independent providers outside of school hours, who offer an after-school childcare program for the families there .
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hans Gängler, Katharina Weinhold, Thomas Markert: Together-side-by-side-mess? The after-school care center in the wake of all-day school. In: New Practice. Volume 43, Issue 2, 2013, ISSN 0342-9857 , pp. 154-175.
- ↑ Jens Lange: The after-school care center: much used, little attention In: DJI Impulse Heft 2, 2016, ISSN 2192-9335 , pp. 21-23.
- ↑ Statistics of child and youth welfare. Federal Statistical Office, September 28, 2016, accessed on July 14, 2017 .
- ↑ Legal expertise : Need-covering support and care for primary school children by creating a legal entitlement. Johannes Münder, 2017, accessed on September 11, 2018 .
- ↑ Thomas Markert: On the demand for a legal right to an all-day care place for school children. Analysis of a new socio-political discussion. In: New Practice. Volume 47, Issue 3, 2017, ISSN 0342-9857 , pp. 253-268.
- ^ Saxon law for the promotion of children in day care centers. Free State of Saxony, May 15, 2009, accessed on July 14, 2017 .
- ↑ See, for example, the practical example: Ursula Ballmann: School beginners love role-playing games. In: Ursula Ballmann: Free time in the after-school care center. Contributions from educational readings. Berlin 1984, pp. 9-30.
- ^ Statistical Office of the GDR: Statistical Yearbook of the German Democratic Republic - 1990. 35th year, Berlin 1990, p. 331.
- ^ Choose the Right After-School Program ; Choosing After-School Child Care ( Memento of the original from October 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
