Lisa Kabisch from the City of Salzgitter's daycare entry coordination and network office and Nicole Palm, the city's youth welfare planner, also took part in the conference, as the city of Salzgitter has also been participating in the federal program "Daycare entry: Building bridges to early education" since 2017. As part of the federal program, ten playgroups for children have been created in cooperation with independent providers since 2017. These playgroups are mostly located in the daycare rooms of cooperating daycare centers and serve to prepare children for a successful start to daycare or school. Through language support measures, parent discussions and activities aimed at promoting motor and cognitive skills, children who have not yet attended a regular nursery or crèche are prepared for integration into a regular childcare group.

Parents also have the opportunity to find out more about parenting and the childcare and education system in Germany from the group leaders and educational specialists who run the Kita-Einstieg playgroups in which their children take part. In addition to supporting children, the playgroups also serve as a place for information and advice. Of the 269 families supported up to and including 2020, 136 stated that they had a Syrian migration background. In most cases, these families came to Germany directly in the course of the refugee movement from 2015 onwards. The playgroups are currently preparing for the arrival of Ukrainian refugee children with a total capacity of 117 places. An expansion of the number of playgroups by up to a further five groups is planned, depending on the immigration situation.

The Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Lisa Paus, praised the work of the federal program: "It is important to me that all children have a good start. This includes good childcare. Good childcare means early education. And early education is a key to equal opportunities - especially for children growing up in poverty. That is why my ministry supports the "Kita-Einstieg" program. It has been a great success: more than 13,000 children have found their way into daycare thanks to the dedicated work of the specialists and the wide range of services on offer. We have provided the impetus with our program. With their wealth of experience and local networks, the individual locations are well positioned to continue and consolidate the services."

At the conference, coordination and network centers reported on their successes in "Kita-Einstieg", presented continuation strategies and discussed them with federal, state and municipal decision-makers. The federal "Kita-Einstieg" program entered its final phase in 2022 and is now focusing entirely on sustainably consolidating the experience gained, the services developed and the structures established in the municipalities.

Initial successes have already been achieved in Salzgitter. In many cases, children with support needs have been identified early on by the educational supervisors in the Kita-Einstieg playgroups and parents have been given help in dealing with the increased demands of their children. By the end of 2022, the federal program will have reached around 550 children in Salzgitter on a permanent basis.

Further information and insights into the implementation of the federal "Kita-Einstieg" program can be found on the website www.fruehe-chancen.de/kita-einstieg. (opens in a new tab)