Our facilities
Despite increasingly scarce financial resources, the state capital of Mainz has invested heavily in childcare facilities in the past. Every child in Mainz is guaranteed a place in kindergarten from their third birthday onwards. The range of services available for children under the age of three has been significantly expanded in recent years.
On this page, we provide information about the various childcare options offered by our daycare centers. You can also find the locations clearly marked on the city map. The current daycare center requirements plan (download at the bottom of the page) reports on the future of daycare centers in Mainz.
Information about planned facilities and our future staffing requirements can also be found at the bottom of this page. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Our offers
Daycare centers
Daycare centers are youth welfare facilities where children of various ages receive regular social and educational care during the day or for part of the day. Their purpose is to supplement and support the child's upbringing in the family. Daycare centers provide children with stimulation and educational support in all areas to help them develop their individual abilities and interests. General and targeted play and learning activities help them to develop independence, decision-making skills, and creativity. The group gives children the opportunity to learn and practice social behavior, resolve conflicts themselves, take responsibility, and learn to represent their own interests.
All daycare centers employ qualified educational staff. In daycare centers with many children from immigrant backgrounds, additional staff may be hired to help immigrant children settle in and to support the coexistence of all children and parents.
Daycare centers offer different forms of care depending on their concept and structural facilities.
Daycare centers accept children from 8 weeks of age, from the age of one, two or three until they start school. Up to 25 children attend a group of the same age or mixed ages. Part-time and full-time places are available.
The focus is on the overall development of the child. The educational programs are developed according to a situation-oriented approach. Part-time children attend the daycare center in the morning and afternoon, while the children are at home during lunchtime.
In various facilities, a continuous part-time program with meals until 2:00 p.m. is offered, as far as space and staffing allow. For full-time children, childcare is generally available from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. They receive a hot meal and an afternoon snack and have the opportunity to rest. In addition, there is a "full-time on certain days" option, which allows part-time children to take advantage of full-time care on certain days of the week.
Crèches
The nurseries care for children from eight weeks of age until they start kindergarten. The educators work closely with the families to accompany and support the development of all children's overall personalities. Each child brings their own individual pace of development to the group. The children's autonomous motor development is respected. Municipal
nurseries support children's independence, curiosity, willingness to learn, and vital and emotional strengths. The creation of suitable spaces for experience and play helps children to gradually explore the world around them.
Day nurseries
After-school care centers provide educational supervision for school-age children aged 6 to 14 during school breaks (before and after school and during holidays). The children eat lunch together, do their homework, and actively organize their free time.
The educational work of the after-school care center is strongly influenced by the school. That is why a trusting cooperation between the school, parents, and after-school care center is so important. To balance out the demands of school, the focus is on leisure activities. Of course, the children can continue to maintain their outside contacts (friends, sports clubs, etc.). After-school care places are available for 2, 3, or 5 days a week, depending on the number of places available.
Groups with a large age mix
In some daycare centers, the state capital of Mainz operates “groups with a wide age range,” in which children of a broad age range (e.g., preschoolers and school-age children in the same group) are cared for. This gives children the opportunity to build lasting relationships over several years, not only with the educators but also with other children.
The group size is typically 20 children. Care is taken to maintain a balanced ratio, usually ten preschoolers and ten after-school care children. The daily routine—and thus the educational content—is tailored to the diverse needs of all the children.
Groups with a small age mix
In recent years, many daycare centers have formed mixed-age groups with 15 places for children aged eight weeks to one year until they start school. Since August 1, 2010, two-year-olds have had a legal right to a place in kindergarten, and since August 1, 2013, one-year-olds have had a legal right to a place in childcare. For this reason, more places are being created for children under the age of three, as far as staffing and space allow.
This is mainly being implemented in groups of 15 with a small age mix.
Integrative daycare centers
Integrative daycare centers are attended by disabled and non-disabled children aged three to school age. The focus is on learning and living together. This lays the foundation for a better understanding between disabled and non-disabled people. The municipal integrative daycare center Lerchenberg accepts children aged three to school age who require special educational and therapeutic care due to a hearing and/or speech impairment.
Children with speech impairments are usually admitted after a corresponding diagnosis by the Clinic for Speech and Communication Disorders at Mainz University Medical Center.