Summer home vacancy amidst freedom: Is equal distribution among children ensured?
In the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a significant change has been implemented in the holiday daycare sector that is providing relief for parents and promoting equality of opportunity for children. Since 2022, parents can have their children cared for in a daycare center for up to 10 hours a day during summer holidays without fees.
Simone Oldenburg, the Minister of Education, emphasizes the importance of this change, stating that it provides great relief for parents and more equality of opportunity for all children. The minister also notes that this change is particularly important in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where many parents work in sectors such as tourism or agriculture, and may require extended daycare during holiday periods.
However, the availability of holiday daycare places depends on capacities, personnel, and the goodwill of the providers, according to Daniel Peters, the Chairman of the CDU state and parliamentary group. Despite the state's impression of a comprehensive, permanent supply, parents have no guarantee of a holiday daycare place, Peters states.
To address this issue, the state expects the offer of kindergarten spots during holidays to be expanded due to procedural simplifications for facility providers. Additionally, since 2025, the state has provided one million euros annually for holiday kindergarten. Initially, this right will apply to children in the first grade, and it will be expanded by one grade level each subsequent year.
The implementation of the change has been successful, with the number of schoolchildren in MV attending kindergarten increasing by 12.61% from 2021 to March 1, 2025, with 48,301 children now being cared for. The state reimburses counties and independent cities for administrative costs related to the increased need for care during school holidays.
The fee-free holiday daycare is also important in terms of saving costs for parents. The Ministry of Education estimates that this change saves around 18,000 euros per child in fees for summer holidays. Around 720,000 euros from state funds were allocated for free holiday kindergarten between 2022 and 2024.
The change will make kindergarten care "demand-driven," primarily catering to the needs of employed, job-seeking, training-seeking, or socially disadvantaged parents. Simone Oldenburg counters Daniel Peters' criticism by stating that over 80% of primary school children are cared for and supported in daycare centers in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and all parents who can prove a need receive a daycare place for their children, even free of charge.
However, it should be noted that there is a gap between the state government's claim and the reality in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, leading to frustration among the people. With the implementation of the federal law, every child from grades 1 to 4 will be granted an independent right to full-day care for eight hours a day, five days a week, with school hours being counted starting August 1, 2029.
Despite the lack of direct information from the search results detailing Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state's specific plans to address capacity and availability issues for providing fee-free holiday daycare for working parents beyond 2024, it is clear that the state is committed to expanding and improving the holiday daycare sector to better support working parents and promote equality of opportunity for children.
The change in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's holiday daycare sector, aimed at providing relief for parents and promoting equality of opportunity for children, extends to areas such as education-and-self-development and politics due to its potential impact on working parents and society as a whole. This change, which includes fee-free daycare for up to 10 hours a day during summer holidays, has significant implications for the general-news landscape as well, given its potential to shape public policy discussions and address childcare needs in the future.
