Childcare

Care provided by a childminder is known as childminding. It is a particularly good care alternative for very young children under the age of 3. In a family environment, the childminder looks after 1 to max. 5 children at the same time. The care mainly takes place in the childminder's home, although some childminders also come to the childminder's home. In addition, there are so-called large childminders, where up to 3 childminders work together and look after up to 9 children at the same time.

Childminding is often particularly flexible: childcare times can be arranged individually. This is ideal for parents who have variable working hours or only want their child to be looked after on a daily basis. Childminders in North Rhine-Westphalia are qualified to educate, care for and raise children. There are around 66,000 childcare places available in NRW. Placements are made via the local youth welfare office or a specialist placement agency commissioned by it.

Children under and over the age of 3 are cared for in groups at the daycare center (Kita). The group size depends on the age of the children in the group. Care is available for the whole day or for part of the day. The care, education and upbringing of the children is provided by pedagogically trained specialist staff. The activities on offer provide the children with a varied and structured daily routine. They learn how to interact with other children and receive individual and holistic support from an early age.

The KiTa-Finder NRW provides you with information on the daycare centers in your area with just a few clicks.

Parent initiatives are small daycare centers managed by parents themselves. The parents form the supporting association and are therefore actively involved in all decision-making processes. They help determine the organization and also the pedagogical orientation. Parents are expected to play a committed role. Voluntary parent services include, for example, helping in the garden, kitchen, cooking, tidying up or in administration.

Please bear in mind when making your choice: parents' initiatives are associations in which the parents have to finance the provider's share of the daycare facilities. In simple terms, this means that all costs associated with running the daycare center that are not covered by state funding must be covered by the parents themselves.

A wide range of measures have been taken at universities in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) in recent years to make it easier for students and university employees to combine family and studies or work. Currently, more than 97 university daycare centers and childcare facilities as well as university-related childcare facilities offer special places for student or academic parents. In 28 family service offices, educational specialists are on hand to provide advice in the search for suitable childcare options. In the continuously updated database at www.kinderbetreuung-hochschulen.nrw.de, you can search for either individual or all offers per location or at a specific university. There you can find out interesting facts about the profile, services or educational concept of the childcare facilities and find contact persons, contact options and opening hours for all offers if you have further questions.