The Berlin Senate wants to improve early childhood education and language support. To this end, it adopted the draft amendment to the Child Daycare Promotion Act and other regulations on 16 September 2025. The law is due to come into force at the beginning of 2026. For children from the age of three, there will be a „welcome voucher“ for up to seven hours of childcare per day in future, so that parents can place their child in a daycare centre without having to apply and overcome bureaucratic hurdles. In addition, language support will be mandatory in all daycare centres and childminders. If families do not fulfil their obligation, sanctions will be imposed.

Another key element of the change relates to staffing ratios. For children under the age of three, it is to be gradually improved so that from August 2026, one specialist will look after one child less than before. A „participation supplement“ is to replace the staff supplements for centres that look after a large number of children of non-German origin and/or from a precarious background (hotspot supplement). Facilities are to receive this if at least 20 per cent of the children receive benefits under the education and participation package or have a language support voucher. Critics argue that this will significantly reduce the number of children who receive funding. Children whose parents work in low-paid jobs or mini-jobs would also have significantly fewer educational opportunities. However, the centres would then no longer receive any allowances for the children. Daycare centres with a bilingual or international profile and a high proportion of children of non-German origin would also no longer benefit from the allowances as before if they do not exceed the 20 percent threshold.