On 11 October 2024, the Bundestag passed the Third Daycare Quality and Participation Improvement Act, which is due to come into force on 1 January 2025. Essentially, it provides for the federal states to receive around two billion euros each for the years 2025 and 2026 to improve childcare provision at daycare centres. The law defines seven fields of action into which the money is to flow. These primarily include the recruitment and qualification of skilled staff, the improvement of childcare ratios and the strengthening of language support.

However, experts doubt whether these financial resources will be sufficient. There is a considerable shortage of daycare centre specialists, particularly in western Germany. In addition, the demands on daycare centres are constantly increasing. „The fact that the federal government's financial commitments are limited to two years makes it difficult for those responsible to take long-term measures to better tackle the problems in child daycare. This is because the costs for the quantitative and qualitative expansion of daycare centres have risen considerably in recent years,“ says lawyer Dr Beate Schulte zu Sodingen.

Your contacts for questions relating to childcare and school law in our practice are the lawyers Dr Beate Schulte zu Sodingen and  Franziska Wilke.