Daycare centers in Treptow-Köpenick: Threatened lack of space despite stable numbers!

Daycare centers in Treptow-Köpenick: Threatened lack of space despite stable numbers!

The situation in Berlin's daycare centers has changed significantly in recent years. In a worrying trend, many daycare centers are now using posters to specifically recruit new children in order to counteract the decline in numbers. According to that Daily Mirror The number of children of daycare age in Berlin has fallen by six percent compared to the previous year, which is particularly visible in districts such as Treptow-Köpenick, where the decline is three percent.

Youth City Councilor André Grammelsdorff (CDU) is optimistic about the current situation, because smaller groups could enable better care. Nevertheless, the situation varies greatly between the different districts in the district. While Bohnsdorf only cares for 41.9 percent of children of daycare age, some other areas have little difficulty filling the places.

Vacancies and unfilled places

In some neighborhoods, especially in Prenzlauer Berg, the situation is even more drastic: there are almost no waiting lists and around 15 percent of the places in daycare centers remain unfilled. These circumstances show that there is an oversupply of daycare places, which is primarily due to gentrification. Many parents are moving to the outskirts of Berlin due to increased housing costs, which is leading to a significant shift in the population structure Daycare voice reported.

The Bertelsmann Foundation points out that there will be a shortage of around 19,800 daycare places in Berlin by 2023. Of 257,000 children of daycare age, only 168,000 take up a place. The demographic forecasts also show that by 2027 the number of children under the age of seven will fall to around 265,800 - 14,700 fewer than previously forecast.

Skilled labor shortages and challenges

Another problem is the shortage of skilled workers. Around 70 percent of educators in daycare centers work part-time, often due to long journeys and high housing costs in the city. These factors influence the life planning of many parents, who often use extended parental leave models and only bring their children to daycare when they are three to four years old. Parents with a migrant background also often have difficulty finding a suitable place for their children, as reported by TIME emerges.

Demographic developments mean that there are around a quarter fewer one-year-old children living in many inner-city districts of Berlin than in 2017. This decrease made it possible for the first time in years that daycare centers in the affected districts remained unoccupied. Nevertheless, the lack of daycare space in the outskirts of Berlin is still an urgent problem.

Grammelsdorff suggests opening daycare centers for children from the Brandenburg area in order to further alleviate the lack of space. There are currently no daycare closures planned in the district, but the uncertain future makes a quick solution and sufficient investment in early childhood education essential to improve the quality of care and meet the needs of all families.