New daycare center in Wetzgau: Turbo construction for more space until the end of the year!

New daycare center in Wetzgau: Turbo construction for more space until the end of the year!

Wetzgau, Deutschland - The city of Schwäbisch Gmünd plans to establish a new daycare center in Wetzgau in order to meet the urgently growing need for childcare places. This decision was announced on February 27, 2025 and is in the context of increasing bottlenecks in daycare centers in the region. Mayor Richard Arnold emphasizes that the capacities in the northern city area urgently need to be expanded. The new daycare center should offer space for six groups by the end of the year and is expected to cost 2.9 million euros, of which the work on April 30 in the local council is to be decided.

The planned construction area is located on the football field at TV Wetzgau, where no replacement area for the football field is intended. Klaus Arnholdt, the educational and sports head, has already referred to an alternative soccer field at the Peace School. At the same time, CDU City Councilor Martin Bläse described the project as important, but warns not only to evaluate projects after their completion time.

need and challenges in the region

Mayor Dr. Ute Schütte illustrated the great need for kindergarten places in Rehnehof-Wetzgau. The old St. Koloman kindergarten is in need of renovation and the renovation is considered uneconomical; Instead, a provisional kindergarten is built in modular construction at the Kolomanhalle. This serves to create more places for children, since according to Susanne Dietterle, spokeswoman for the Ostalbkreis district office, parents are currently ready to go to Degenfeld to find a place, which is often not accepted. The shortage of skilled workers in daycare centers reinforces the problem and ensures that the vacancies can only be filled slowly. The demand partly exceeds the supply, especially for children under three years.

• planned group distribution in the new day care center:
• Four groups for children over three years up to schooling
• a group for children under the age of three
• A mixed -age group for children from two years to school, which can be converted into a group for under three year olds

specialist shortage in the daycare area

The general challenges in the daycare sector are also reflected in the nationwide statistics. According to a study by the Bertelsmann Foundation, the proportion of specialists in daycare centers has decreased in recent years. In 2017, 41 percent of daycare teams had more than 82.5 percent specialists, 2023 it was only 32 percent. This not only leads to bottlenecks, but also to an increased burden on employees. Education expert Anette Stein warns that the downward pressure on the share of skilled workers could endanger the quality of early childhood education in the long term.

The city of Schwäbisch Gmünd would like to take into account the construction of the new daycare center in Wetzgau and at the same time consider the possibility of cooperation with TV Wetzgau to promote a sports kindergarten.