[23. 6. 2020] AGF has published a position paper on the quality of full day child care for children in elementary school age. In this aper AGF describes the requirements from the perspective of the families that are needed. At the same time AGF calls for the introduction of o right on full day child care for children in elementary school age.
Following the introduction of a legal entitlement to a place in a day care centre for children up to primary school age and the expansion of the services on offer since then, for many parents the question on the possibility, reliability and quality of all-day care come up again when their children start school.
The “all-day care and education”, in the form of all-day schools or a combination of school and after-school care, is in addition to the family an important place of education for primary school children and today is also the most important place for many to meet friends and peers. For parents, the lack of all-day schooling is a major obstacle to pursuing or expanding their careers or returning to paid work, which can lead to stress and emotional and material strain in families.
If a high quality of “all-day care and education” is ensured, it has the potential to compensate for socially unequal starting chances at the beginning of children’s school careers and to strengthen intercultural coexistence.
In 2019 and 2020, the AGF and its member associations have already addressed the question of the quality of all-day care from the family’s point of view in their expert conference and in an expert discussion. The now presented position paper is in the context of the discussion about the legal claim to all-day care at primary school age announced in the coalition agreement 2018. The paper aims to bundle and evaluate important aspects of the discussion from the perspective of family associations and to identify necessary steps in the process of implementing a legal entitlement.