Right to all-day care

With the Act on Full-Day Support for Children of Primary School Age (GaFöG), the German government has legally anchored the entitlement to full-day education and care: from August 2026, all primary school children in the first grades will initially be entitled to full-day support. The entitlement will be extended in subsequent years by one class year. From August 2029, every elementary school child from the first to the beginning of the fifth grade will then have a right to full-day support.

Many students are already taking advantage of all-day and childcare options at school. In the meantime, almost all schools offer voluntary education and childcare programs that go beyond compulsory lessons in terms of content and time. In the current budget, funding is available for 392,500 places in OGS. This covers places for over half of all children of primary school age. Due to the high demand, the expansion of places continues.

The entitlement to all-day care outside school hours includes support for eight hours a day on all five working days a week. Class time is counted towards this. Homework is to be done by the pupils - as far as possible - during the full-day period.

The full day also includes study groups, support and leisure activities, exercise, games and sports, and cultural activities. The offers are organized by the school in cooperation with youth welfare, culture, sports and other partners. Parents and students have a say in the design of the programs.

• The all-day makes extended educational opportunities, for example, to social learning in addition to the classroom.
• Full-day means more time for your child to strengthen individual and social development in the context of full-day education on the basis of talents and needs.
• In all-day education, your child can receive individualized support beyond class time because better consideration can be given to your child's individual learning pace and ability.
• When all children participate in the full day, a different rhythmization of the school day is possible, e.g. an alternation of concentration and relaxation phases.
• The all-day improves the participation opportunities for all. All students have more opportunities to participate in sports and cultural activities.
• The all-day makes learning more diverse. He includes extracurricular places of learning, such as museums, businesses, as well as cooperation with non-school partners such as associations, clubs or the child and youth welfare.
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• In the full day, an increased focus can be placed on topics such as social learning and democracy building, for example, through the co-design of school life.
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• For parents, reliable care at school means a better balance between family and career. Because the care in the all-day facilitates the filling of care gaps that may arise after the Kita time.
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