Expert talks on child day care August 2024 to August 2025

Welcome to the range of expert talks!

Expert discussions play a central role in child day care in order to ensure the quality of care. These discussions offer a valuable opportunity for regular exchanges between childminders and specialist advisors. There is an exchange on various topics such as pedagogical strategies and concepts, current challenges, case discussions and the transfer of specific specialist knowledge. The continuous exchange, the variety of topics and the targeted transfer of knowledge make a decisive contribution to the professional development of day carers and to optimizing the quality of care.

Overview of further training and qualifications 2024-2025

Further and advanced training

Child day care is an important pillar in the early childhood care landscape. With the inclusion of child day care in the Lower Saxony Child Day Care Act (NKitaG), quality requirements have also been more clearly defined and further training has been enshrined in law.

Quality in child day care depends largely on the commitment of the child day care provider. However, good professionalism also requires continuous further development and qualification.

As part of its municipal responsibility, the city of Wolfsburg aims to provide a needs-based, high-quality qualification and further training program for Wolfsburg's childminders. To this end, Fabi and the VHS have been commissioned as training providers.

Childminders have many opportunities to shape their field of activity. In this context, the training programme offers numerous opportunities for profiling and professionalization.

We cordially invite you to browse and make active use of the courses on offer. At the same time, we invite you to contact the Wolfsburg specialist advisory services if you have a request that you cannot find in the program. We will be happy to take your wishes on board and expand our program.

This depends, among other things, on the professional experience and qualifications you bring with you. There are different ways to start as a childminder.

• Without previous socio-educational training:
  You must have at least a secondary school leaving certificate in order to complete the mandatory basic qualification of 300 teaching units. This is carried out in Wolfsburg via Fabi Wolfsburg. The costs incurred for this course are borne by the city of Wolfsburg. After completing the course, a corresponding application can be made for a care permit.

• With previous training in social education (e.g. educators, social assistants):
  A care permit can be applied for immediately. However, due to the special features of child day care, it is advisable to take part in the basic qualification.

Yes, you have the option of registering your profile on the joint portal page for Wolfsburg childminders so that families can find you via this channel.

As an independent KTPP, you determine the opening hours of your daycare center, within the framework of which parents contractually agree with you on the childcare hours they require.

A fee is charged for childcare based on the hours of childcare funded and your income. These are identical to the costs for crèche care.

Additional information can be found in the guidelines, section 9

In order to calculate the parental contribution, the Youth Division requires the completed application for a reduction/waiver of the standard contribution as well as the corresponding proof of income.

The City of Wolfsburg supports childcare from 10 hours per week up to a maximum of 50 hours. In the case of childcare before or after daycare or school, funding is provided for 5 hours or more per week.

For parents: The basic childcare requirement is 30 hours per week (Mon-Fri from 8:00-16:00) and can be applied for from the childcare team without justification. If the requirement is more than 30 hours per week or outside the time frame, the claim must be justified in detail.
When and where do I, as the legal guardian, have to submit the application for funding?
The application must be submitted in writing to the City of Wolfsburg at least four weeks in advance. You can obtain the application here (link) or from the responsible childminder.

You are welcome to submit the complete application to us by post, in person or by email at kindertagespflege@stadt.wolfsburg.de.

There is an extensive range of further training courses for childminders at the VHS and at Fabi Wolfsburg.

The qualification courses take place at Fabi. These include a two-part basic qualification, an advanced qualification and an additional module on "Inclusion".

The individual training courses can be found in the current program of the educational institutions (VHS Fabi) or on the municipal homepage Wolfsburger Kindertagespflege.

Additional information can be found in the guidelines, section 7.4.

The Youth Division of the City of Wolfsburg offers detailed advice. You can reach the team in the Early Childhood Education department by email or by phone at

kindertagespflege@stadt.wolfsburg.de

Telephone 05361 28-2824

Fachberatung-kindertagespflege@stadt.wolfsburg.de

The number of children to be cared for depends on the individual requirements (e.g. room size) and is determined when the care permit is issued.

In principle, a care permit is possible for up to 5 children present at the same time. If you meet the requirements, you can decide whether you want to care for five children at the same time or fewer.

At least one other child must be cared for in child day care.

The child day care team in the youth division arranges places in the child day care centers. You can find more detailed information on individual childminders on the Wolfsburg childminders' website.

E-Mail: kindertagespflege@stadt.wolfsburg.de

Phone 05361/282824

E-Mail: Fachberatung-kindertagespflege@stadt.wolfsburg.de

The qualification course is free of charge for participants from Wolfsburg

They inform the parents immediately. Some childminders have built up a network of substitutes that they can fall back on in the event of illness.

Upon presentation of a medical certificate, a self-employed childminder is entitled to continued payment of the current cash benefit in the event of illness for a maximum of 14 days per calendar year. This also includes sick days of their own children.

In the case of employed childminders, the provisions of the employment contract apply.

You have the option of asking childminders directly about available places or you can contact the Youth Division of the City of Wolfsburg. You can reach the responsible team in the Early Childhood Education Department by e-mail or telephone at (see Contact)

The basic qualification currently lasts approx. 14 months and is divided into several sections.

The basic qualification consists of two parts, each of which concludes with a learning outcome test. After successful completion, a certificate can be applied for from the Bundesverband Kindertagespflege. This is recognized in most federal states.

Part 1 of the basic qualification includes

• a preparatory course of 160 teaching hours
• an internship of 80 hours
• 140 self-study units to be completed
• An assessment of learning outcomes as the basis for the issue of a care permit

After completing the preparatory course for the basic qualification, you have the opportunity to apply for a carer's license from the Youth Division. Once the care permit has been issued, you can start working as a childminder.

Part 2 of the basic qualification takes place alongside your work and includes another 140 hours of instruction.

Building on this, day carers can continue their training in the advanced qualification with 120 hours in specific pedagogical subject areas such as working with parents, orientation in the social environment, organization and management.

The qualification course is offered by Fabi and can be found in the Fabi program with the respective dates. The courses currently take place in the evening and occasionally all day on Saturdays. Please contact Fabi Wolfsburg for current dates.

It is possible to run a day care center either in your own home with child-friendly equipment or in specially rented and equipped premises. Alternatively, childcare can also be provided in the family's home.

There are standards that must be met for the child's own living space, for example

• Child-friendly furnishings
• Sleeping places and changing facilities for the children
• Opportunities to play, exercise and eat
• Permission from the landlord, if applicable

The complete requirements can be found in the guideline section 5.5

Other rooms must be found and equipped independently.

In an employment relationship, the rooms are usually provided by the employer.

In the guideline for child day care in Wolfsburg in the version dated 01.08.2022, the city of Wolfsburg regulates the implementation of legal requirements for local child day care centers. Important contents include

• Description of the forms of child day care in Wolfsburg
• Eligibility requirements and cash benefits in child day care
• Requirements for childminders
• Advice, support and placement of childminders
• Specific regulations on child protection, obligations to cooperate and statistics

You make this decision. Many childminders work independently. This means that you decide for yourself when and how you would like to provide care. Naturally in compliance with the legal requirements.

Familienservice Wolfsburg gGmbH operates several GROSS.FAMILIENNESTER daycare centers. The childminders working there are employed by Familienservice Wolfsburg gGmbH.

Detailed regulations can be found in the child day care guidelines on page 11 under point 3.1.4.1.

As a self-employed KTPP, you are responsible for determining your own vacation time in consultation with the families.

As a rule, the ongoing cash benefit will continue to be paid for a total of 24 days' leave per calendar year. Further regulations can be found in section 7.3.1 of the guidelines.

For employed childminders, the provisions of the employment contract apply.

As a childminder, you can be self-employed or employed.

If you are employed, you will receive remuneration in accordance with the signed employment contract.

As a self-employed childminder, you will receive a regular cash benefit from the City of Wolfsburg if you meet the relevant requirements. This cash benefit is made up of

• Amount to recognize the support of the child
• Reimbursement of reasonable costs for material expenses
• Pro rata reimbursement of social security contributions
• Amount for indirect, pedagogical and organizational preparation and follow-up work

The recognition amount is determined according to qualification levels.

Further information can be found in the guideline section 6.2 or obtained in a personal consultation.

In order to work as a childminder, you need a formal care permit from the city of Wolfsburg. There are numerous requirements for this, which relate to the following areas:

A childminder must be characterized by their

• personality,
• professional competence and
• willingness to cooperate with parents, other childminders and the public youth welfare organization.
• They must also have child-friendly premises
• and in-depth knowledge in accordance with §43 SGB VIII i.V.m. §18 paragraph 1 numbers 1-3 NKiTaG.

Suitability is determined in several steps by the City of Wolfsburg.

The specialist advisory service provides support through discussions and visits to possible premises. It provides support throughout the entire process, from the initial expression of interest through the qualification period to active employment as a childminder.

Further details can be found in the child day care guidelines on p. 13-15.

It is possible to join forces with another day carer and run a so-called large day care center together on a permanent basis.
§Section 19 NKiTaG in conjunction with the guidelines of the City of Wolfsburg regulate the details. As a rule, 8 to 10 children may be cared for together in a large day care center. A personal assignment of the day care children to one of the day carers is obligatory. Certain professional qualifications are required for the care of more than 8 children. Further details can be found in the child day care guidelines on p. 10 under point 3.1.4.

This depends on the daycare center, as they may charge an additional fee for meals, excursions etc.. Costs may also be incurred for care outside of the subsidized scope of care.

An application must be submitted to the Youth Division prior to purchase.