Child Daycare
Start dates of care and enrollment process
Parents have a right to childcare placement once their child has turned one year old, but particularly the spots in preschools, called Kitas, are typically given out on the first of August every year. During the running Kita year – always August 1 to July 31 – spots are filled only in exceptional cases.
The actual start of childcare at a Kita depends on the vacation dates of the particular facility and can turn out to be on a much later date than August 1. After the child is accepted at the Kita, there will at first be a settling-in period catering to the particular needs of the child, during which the childcare hours might be shorter and which might also necessitate the temporary presence of a person the child relates to most closely.
The Kita portal of the city of Aachen (de) offers information on almost all city, church and independently operated Kitas and provides the opportunity for a no-obligation pre-enrollment for up to five facilities. The facilities will then contact the parents with date proposals for a personal meeting and subsequent binding enrollment. If the facilities do not get in touch with you, please follow up and call them!
Beginning on March 15, Kitas can already enter in to a care contract with the parents for the upcoming Kita year. Thus, the allocation of places happens even earlier; in private parents' initiatives sometimes even as early as fall or winter of the year prior. Enrollment at Kitas should therefore take place in the fall or winter of the year prior to the desired begin of childcare, if at all possible. The process of allocating places can indeed extend into June; so it can still be worthwhile to ask around in Kitas after March 15, whether there are any spots to be had in the secondary admissions process.
Legal Rights
Parents have a legal right to childcare placement once their child has turned one year old. If both parents are employed, undergoing professional training or are enrolled in school or university, they can claim a childcare space even earlier. In this case, special attestations to this fact are required.
To assert your claim there are basically two options:
- Sue for a childcare spot or
- Sue for expenses incurred, for instance by having had to resort to expensive private care.
When considering a lawsuit, attention should be paid to the following:
- You have to prove not only that you applied for childcare with the city of Aachen in a timely fashion (approximately 5 months prior), but also supply the negative reply.
- You do not have the right to chose between preschool/Kita and simple daycare.
- The duration of care is not regulated by law, meaning that the right to childcare does not automatically include the right to all-day childcare.
- Driving time of 30 minutes by car or a distance of 5 km from your place of residence is considered reasonable
We recommend to consult with a lawyer specializing in administrative law before taking any action.
Child Daycare in Aachen
Here you can find all childcare facilities in the city of Aachen (de). There is a great variety of different facilities on offer, which differ from one another in the way they are operated or by whom, and which pedagogical concepts they are based on.
For student parents there are special options in addition to that. These facilities care predominantly for the children of students. Prerequisites are: You have a student ID and your main residence is in Aachen.