Nursery shortage: Study warns of German childcare ‘emergency’

Urgent action to address the country’s childcare ‘emergency’ is being called for as Germany is more than 400,000 nursery spots short of meeting demand, according to a new study published on Tuesday.

The study, published by the Bertelsmann Foundation, found that 430,000 spaces in daycare facilities are missing across the country, and it is necessary to ensure every family looking to enrol their child can do so.

While “recognisable progress” was made on the issue over the past few years, according to the authors, demand for childcare also grew as more parents looked to return to work and have their children cared for at an increasingly early age.

According to the study, this leads to a situation where the state’s legal obligation to provide a nursery spot for every child cannot be guaranteed.

Germany is increasingly struggling with a shortage of skilled workers – a problem that risks being compounded by shortcomings in nursery care, which could push more parents to stay home longer after having a child.

At the same time, the study finds that worker shortages within the childcare sector also contribute to the problem.

“The shortage of skilled workers is making it increasingly difficult to fulfil the legal requirements and implement the educational mandate in daycare centres,” Anette Stein, the foundation’s expert for early childhood education, said in a statement.

“The situation has become unbearable for children and parents as well as the existing staff,” she added.

The study warns that action to combat the problem is needed urgently to reach noticeable improvements by 2030.

Among other things, the authors call on Berlin to give more financial support to the federal regions in charge of education in Germany to secure the necessary investments.

However, as the country is struggling with the impact of a recent court ruling that left the government with a €60 billion budget hole, it remains unsure how realistic larger investments in childcare will be.

(Julia Dahm | Euractiv.de)