The demand for daycare places remains unbroken in Peiting - with consequences for the coming kindergarten year.
Because there is a lack of childcare places, the Therese-Peter-Haus for children is temporarily tight.
The municipality is also desperately looking for additional staff.
Peiting
- Also this year, due to the corona pandemic, there was no open day at which parents could inform themselves personally in advance in the various daycare centers in Peiting. After all: The online registration, which the municipality introduced last year, went off without any problems, says the administrative employee in charge, Wolfgang Schweiger.
From the point of view of the community and the parents concerned, the result that the system spat out in the end is less positive. Although all of the existing groups were filled with more people, 25 kindergarten children were left without a childcare place, says Mayor Peter Ostenrieder. From the point of view of the town hall chief, there are several reasons for the fact that demand clearly exceeds supply. On the one hand, the emergency group in the Caritas kindergarten was no longer available; on the other hand, the corona crisis and the associated uncertainties also play a role. Many parents of the so-called corridor children would make use of the opportunity to send their offspring to kindergarten instead of school for a year longer, Ostenrieder knows from discussions with the kindergarten management. "We have to meet this legal requirement."
Crèche places are also in demand
This also applies to the parish crèche, which is already fully occupied with 48 children.
There, however, the additional demand had already become apparent at the beginning of the year, whereupon the municipality took countermeasures.
As reported, two additional crèche groups are to be set up temporarily in the Alfons-Peter-Grundschule by the beginning of the kindergarten year in September.
"One group is already fully occupied with twelve children," said Ostenrieder.
The second now serves as a buffer for further registrations.
The administration has now also considered a solution for the lack of childcare places in the kindergarten.
For example, there is to be a temporary emergency group in the Therese-Peter-Kindergarten's exercise room.
In order to be able to use at least the corridor as an alternative play area, the cloakrooms there are to be relocated to the entrance area, which has so far been used as the cafeteria for the open all-day school.
As is well known, this will move into the new building that is currently being built for the new school year.
The procedure has already been discussed with the management of the facility, says Ostenrieder.
"Everyone goes along."
Hope for the punctual completion of the new kindergarten
But there is still one big catch that affects both the crèche and the kindergarten: the additional groups need specialist staff to look after the children. The municipality has therefore advertised eight childcare positions, and kitchen help is also being sought. Not an easy undertaking in view of the empty job market, the mayor is well aware of that. After all, he is confident that he has already received some applications.
With the additional emergency group, a total of 420 kindergarten children will be looked after in the individual facilities in Peiting from September, according to Schweiger. The whole development makes it clear once again the urgency to move into the new kindergarten on time next year, emphasizes Ostenrieder. The new facility on Jägerstrasse, the construction of which has just started, offers space for seven groups. It remains to be seen whether the ambitious schedule can be kept.
