Meal.
In the day-care centers in Essen, there is still a high level of sick leave among staff. This sometimes leads to group closures.
Almost 20 percent of the educators in the municipal day-care centers are currently ill. This is reported by the Essen Youth Welfare Office at the request of our editorial team. The sick leave is higher than in previous years, says Stefanie Kutschker, spokeswoman for the Essen youth welfare office. Of the approximately 800 employees in the 50 municipal facilities, 139 are currently unable to come to work. The situation was already dramatic a year ago, at the beginning of 2022 – because of Corona, quarantine and colds.
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In the daycare centers in the city of Essen, the care times had to be reduced again in some cases. Groups were merged. In December there was a complete closure of a group; in the first two weeks of January there were already four group closures, reports Stefanie Kutschker. Group closures are always “the last resort”.
Diocese of Essen: “There is no talk of relaxation”
The other large daycare provider in Essen, the daycare association of the diocese (63 facilities in Essen), also has a “constant and above-average sickness rate”. In some cases, opening hours would have to be reduced and parents asked to examine private childcare options. “Although the Christmas holidays have meant that chains of infection have been broken in some places, there is currently no talk of an easing of the situation,” says Lina Strafer, spokeswoman for the day-care center association.
According to the youth welfare office of the city of Essen, the high number of absences is so dramatic this year because the usual wave of illness is accompanied by the blatant shortage of skilled workers. “There are hardly any day-care centers where all the positions are occupied,” says Stefanie Kutschker from the youth welfare office. “If a position suddenly becomes vacant, for example due to pregnancy, the lack of skilled workers means that it cannot be filled so quickly.”
City of Essen: More training capacities are needed
They are working “at full speed” to recruit additional specialists. In principle, the situation can only be improved in the medium and long term if training capacities are increased by the state and the federal government. Professional qualifications from abroad should be recognized more easily than before.
More articles from this category can be found here: Essen
