In its draft budget for 2027, the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia has, for the first time, earmarked more than one billion euros for open all-day schools (OGS). Education Minister Dorothee Feller presented the draft to the state parliament’s education committee presented.

According to the draft, the budget amounts to more than 25.8 billion euros. Added to this is the school and education grant of around 913 million euros, with which the state intends to support school authorities in the construction, refurbishment, modernisation and equipping of schools. For extended school hours (OGS), the draft allocates 81.2 million euros for a further 47,000 places. Across the state, local authorities will be able to provide 547,500 places in the 2027/28 school year. As in previous years, every additional place applied for by local authorities will be subsidised by the state. Furthermore, the subsidy rates will continue to rise by three per cent annually, as before. The funding for extended school hours thus amounts to more than 1.08 billion euros – an increase of more than 23.5 per cent since 2022.

In addition, more than 1,300 further posts are planned, of which almost 350 are for inclusion and inclusive learning and around 450 for after-school care. Almost 15 million euros has once again been earmarked for the promotion of basic skills, including a digital reading assessment tool for Years 1 to 6 and screening to assess language proficiency. The medium-term financial plan provides for a total of 1,650 posts for ABC classes and the ABC Plus support programme in primary schools. In addition, a second pay package for headteachers and subject leaders, amounting to 10 million euros annually, is planned.

The expansion of all-day provision is also linked to the newly introduced statutory entitlement to all-day care for primary school-age children (Section 24(4) of Book VIII of the Social Code). This entitlement comes into effect from the 2026/2027 school year and will be phased in gradually over the coming years. This entitlement can be met both in schools and in child and youth welfare services, such as day-care centres. This entails a considerable amount of coordination for local authorities and school governing bodies and is currently still associated with many unresolved issues.

The topic of all-day schooling is also addressed in the 7th Early Years Conference on 8 October 2026 in Potsdam.