The city council group comprising the Free Voters and the “FÜR Karlsruhe” voters’ group has submitted a request to the city administration to clarify the future of after-school care and the legal entitlement to all-day care.
The background to this is the so-called All-Day Support Act (GaFöG), which was passed by a majority of the CDU/CSU and SPD in the Bundestag in 2021. From the 2026/27 school year, there will be a legal entitlement to all-day childcare for primary school pupils up to the start of year five. This legal entitlement includes eight hours of childcare on five working days, including during the vacations, minus a maximum of four weeks of closure to be determined by the federal states.
This also entails far-reaching changes for the education and childcare system in Karlsruhe. The City of Karlsruhe is now responding to the new legal entitlement with a strategy paper for the school child education and care system (SKiBB). The parliamentary group would like to know specifically how the school child education and care system (SKiBB) can contribute to the implementation of the legal entitlement and to what extent the existing after-school care services will be integrated into this system. The question of whether and how the independent providers were involved in the development of the SKiBB and what role they will play in the future deserves particular attention.
“The new legal entitlement and the possible closure of after-school care centers in Karlsruhe are causing uncertainty among parents, schools and educational professionals,” explains parliamentary group leader Friedemann Kalmbach. “In order to make this process as transparent as possible and create planning certainty for all those involved, the above questions must be answered clearly and in detail.” The request is intended to initiate a debate for clarification at an early stage.
The city council group wants to ensure that the tried and tested after-school care landscape in Karlsruhe is not lost as a result of the expansion of all-day schools, but is integrated into the new system in a sensible way. It is also important to clarify whether new childcare facilities need to be created and how this will affect the existing facilities.
Another key issue is the financial impact of the new regulations on parents and the city of Karlsruhe. It is important to examine what costs will be incurred by those involved and how a fair distribution of costs can be ensured.
