Second Mandatory Kindergarten Year with Staff Shortages in Vienna: Chaos Predicted

Currently, there is an alarming shortage of 740 educators in municipal facilities. This situation recently led to the closure of a group at the kindergarten on the Christine Nöstlinger Education Campus in the 2nd district. As reported by ORF, parents whose children are not employed had to keep their children at home because groups were temporarily closed due to staff shortages.

Causes of the Staff Shortage in Vienna's Kindergartens

The head of the Vienna Kindergarten Office (MA 10), Karin Broukal, explained that this measure was taken as an emergency solution. Although illnesses occur sporadically in every profession, the shortage of educators in Vienna is particularly severe. The city has already launched a training initiative and also hired assistant staff to improve the situation.

Challenges for Private Providers

Even among the largest private kindergarten providers, such as the Kinderfreunde, finding staff is proving difficult. Andrea Fischer, the managing director, wishes for an immediate 500 additional educators to meet the demand in the 150 facilities. In each kindergarten, a full-time equivalent staff member is required to tackle the current challenges.

Introduction of the Second Mandatory Kindergarten Year

Despite the challenges, the second mandatory kindergarten year is generally viewed positively. Currently, around 3,700 children aged three to six in Vienna are not in kindergarten. Especially the four to six-year-olds should be mandatorily cared for. However, the timing of the introduction remains unclear.

The staff representation is already warning of a "herculean task" that can only be mastered with greater involvement of private facilities. Manfred Obermüller from the Younion union emphasizes that public kindergartens are already fully utilized. Currently, they cover only one-third of the places in Vienna, while two-thirds are occupied by private providers.

Conclusion on the Childcare Place Issue

The main problem in private kindergartens is the high costs for parents. Improvements need to be made here so that the necessary resources for the mandatory second kindergarten year can be provided. The exact number of additional staff needed has not yet been specified.

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.