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Future of day-care centers in Wilhelmshaven at risk!
In Wilhelmshaven, day-care centers are threatened with closure, which affects severely disabled children like Mateo. Parents demand solutions.
Future of day-care centers in Wilhelmshaven at risk!
In Lower Saxony, day-care centers face an uncertain future. If no common financing solution is found by 2027, this could have fatal consequences for many children. Mateo's from Wilhelmshaven is one of the affected families. The six-year-old boy is severely disabled, cannot walk, eat alone and cannot hold a pen. This individual support is essential for Mateo, as his mother, Mona Petrus, also emphasizes. She makes it clear that her son's positive development is closely linked to the support he receives at the day-care center. If these facilities are closed, Mateo and many other children in similar situations will face a loss of care. NWZ Online reports that courts have decided that the previous financing via integration assistance was unlawful, which could result in the closure of day-care centers.
The legal situation is tense. Although day-care centers in Lower Saxony enjoy a school-like status, they are not considered schools, which makes them necessary to convert them into special needs schools. So far, however, there have been hardly any concrete proposals from the state of Lower Saxony to convert these facilities. Parents are also very worried: Malte Kirchner, another father, points out that his son's social participation would be at risk if the facility were to close.
The importance of day-care centers
Day-care centers provide an important service in Lower Saxony. They offer school support for children and young people with special educational support needs with a focus on intellectual development. German day-care centers have existed since the 1950s and fulfill an essential role in providing compulsory schooling for those children who need special support. Of the 76 day education centers in Lower Saxony, which looked after around 3,000 children and young people in 2021, most are between 11 and 18 years old. These facilities not only have short closing days, but also offer individual support that cannot always be guaranteed in special schools. Wikipedia highlights that a change to special schools may not meet the existing needs of the children concerned.
In order to secure the future of day-care centers, planning groups have already been set up in several regions of Lower Saxony. These groups take care of the needs-based further development of day-care centers and work together with school authorities, parent representatives and school management on new models. The aim remains to focus on the individual needs of all students who require special educational support. The relevant regional state offices for schools and education are responsible for implementation and accompany the development process. Lower Saxony education portal speaks of important cooperation between various educational providers, which shows how great the need for action already is.
The discussion about the future of day-care centers is therefore not just a question of financing, but also a social challenge that affects everyone involved. The well-being of children like Mateo depends on these institutions receiving the support they need to continue to provide individual support. If the conversion into special schools is actually carried out, it will have to be seen whether they can offer the same opportunities as day education centers.