Aachen/Essen.
Aachen wants people without pedagogical training to help in day-care centers. Why the new model in NRW meets with approval but also with skepticism.
Will saleswomen, IT experts or administrative staff soon be able to help with childcare in day-care centers? The city of Aachen has set the course for this. In order to counteract the massive shortage of skilled workers, the Children and Youth Committee recently approved the so-called Aachen Model in a unanimous vote. This provides that people who have no pedagogical training can be employed in the day-care centers at short notice.
“The need in the day care centers is great, action must finally be taken,” says Heinz Zohren, managing director of the independent Aachen sponsor Pro Futura. Zohren is a member of the working group that developed the concept for the model.
AWO in NRW: Aachen model is the “first approach”
According to Zohren, “people who we are convinced have good access to the children” can help with brushing their teeth, play with the children or supervise them outside. The tasks ranged between a child care worker and an everyday helper. However, the country still has to agree to the model. Heinz Zohren is certain that the concept can work across the board in the NRW day-care centers.
The AWO NRW welcomes the Aachen model as “a first approach”, says managing director Michael Mommer on request. The association currently represents around 750 daycare centers. “The operators of the day-care centers do not have a personnel buffer that can be used to cushion downtime due to illness, pregnancy or even layoffs,” emphasizes Mommer. No new staff will be found that meet the legal requirements of the Personnel Ordinance.
Essen day care center association: relieve day care staff of administrative tasks
Therefore, the AWO district association Mittelrhein is also working on a concept paper that is intended to involve “non-professional” groups of people in the daycare work in order to relieve the local specialists. Mommer does not see a danger that the professional group could be devalued by the unskilled workers. On the contrary, there is a growing chance of once again guaranteeing high-quality education through reliable supervision.
The Kita-Zweckverband of the Diocese of Essen considers the use of unskilled assistants to be “not expedient” with regard to quality assurance in day-care centers. With around 251 facilities, the association is one of the largest independent daycare providers in Germany. The high demand for skilled workers cannot be covered by the use of unskilled workers, says Lina Strafer, spokeswoman for the day-care center association. However, as a building block in the fight against the shortage of skilled workers, it makes sense for assistants to relieve the pedagogical staff of administrative tasks, for example.
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In addition, the association offers a training course in which assistants who already have professional experience can qualify as specialists in 160 hours. According to Strafer, in order to get the problem under control in the long term, politicians are required to give the field of early childhood education more value, to invest in training and to expand the capacities of technical schools.
Verdi sees a step backwards
The Verdi trade union is also demanding that the state government refinance short-term non-pedagogical staff for household or administrative work via the North Rhine-Westphalian Child Education Act (KiBiZ) – in order to support the educators. According to Verdi, however, the concept from Aachen is “a step backwards in the quality development of the system of early childhood education in NRW”, criticizes Tjark Sauer, union secretary of Verdi-NRW. In addition, the Aachen model raises legal and collective bargaining issues and problems.
Heinz Zohren himself does not see the Aachen model as the “perfect solution” in the fight against the shortage of skilled workers. But in an emergency, compromises have to be made, so the Aachen model is an important building block. Zohren thinks the concept further: “Another goal is that people who are interested in pedagogical work and who meet certain requirements can continue their education while working”, so that they can then work pedagogically in the day-care center in the long term.
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