Revolution in the Perg district: 11.7 million euros for childcare!

Revolution in the Perg district: 11.7 million euros for childcare!

The second Kinderland monitoring report for Upper Austria provides a comprehensive overview of the current childcare situation in the state for the 2024/2025 kindergarten year. A total of 67,903 children in Upper Austria are currently being looked after in various care facilities, including kindergartens, playrooms and after-school care centers. The report shows that despite a decline in the number of births, the range of care available has been continuously expanded, which indicates committed political action. Last year saw a record increase of 83 new playgroup groups, bringing the total number of playhouse groups to 457. This represents an increase of 15.6 percent over the last two years meinkreis.at reported.

The care rate for kindergarten children remains high, with over 96 percent for the second compulsory kindergarten year. In the Perg district, where 2,886 children are cared for in 185 groups at 60 facilities, the care rate for children aged 0 to 2 years is 25.6 percent, while the value for children aged 3 to 5 years is 94.2 percent. In comparison, the Upper Austrian average for the age group 0 to 2 years is 26.8 percent and for the age group 3 to 5 years it is 96.5 percent, which underlines the importance of local initiatives to improve childcare ratios.

Investing in childcare

Twelve construction projects in the area of ​​child care are currently being implemented in the Perg district, with an estimated total volume of around 11.7 million euros. These projects include the construction of eight playrooms and four kindergartens. The education department of the state of Upper Austria is contributing around 4.7 million euros to these investments. There are also eight additional projects in the planning and development phase, indicating a continued commitment to ensuring quality child care.

The child care workforce increased by 835 employees compared to the previous year to a total of 13,023 specialists and assistants. Of these, 1,715 new skilled workers alone have been recruited as part of the Kinderland package since December 2022. The starting salary for educators in Upper Austria is now over 3,300 euros, which contributes to the attractiveness of the professional field.

Covering needs

An interesting finding of the report is the high supervision rate and the measures that have already been implemented to improve language education. 14,691 children were recorded in the language level assessment, of which 37.3 percent, i.e. 5,485 children, need support in their language development. In order to meet this need, the “SprachFit” model will be introduced in kindergartens from September 2025, which aims to provide a comprehensive program to support language education. For the coming kindergarten year 2025/26, more than 10 million euros are planned for further investments in language support.

The overall situation in child care in Upper Austria shows that, despite financial challenges and demographic change, local politicians and institutions are striving for solutions to ensure the best possible care for the youngest members of society.