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Parent participation

16. How are parents able to influence the daily routine for their children?

Forms of parent participation

There are numerous ways in which parents are able to influence their children's experience of the day care centre, depending on the responsible provider. These variants range from active involvement on parents committees, including where appropriate the City Parents Committee, through contributions to festivities and excursions, to parents evenings and regular meetings with the teachers. The relationship to a child minder naturally permits an especially individual interaction. In the case of the municipal welfare providers, guidelines have been issued to create a basis for the cooperation between provider, day care facility and parents.

It is important that both teachers and parents already express their objectives and expectations during the first meetings before a child is accepted into the day care facility, and that educational concepts and the scope for parent participation are discussed. An individually specified period of familiarisation is also an ideal opportunity to become more closely acquainted with the development concept of the day care facility and its teaching staff.

Parents retain central responsibility

In accordance with statutory provisions (§ 1626 BGB), it is a basic tenet for the work of the child day care centres that central responsibility for the education of the children remains with their parents. The teachers, doctors and remedial therapists view themselves as specialist advisors. In the final instance, however, it is always the parents who take all important decisions for their children.

Parents and teachers promote the development of the children in partnership. Coordination of the education and development objectives is the most effective prerequisite for success in this respect. The relationship between parents and child day care centre is founded on transparency, trust and mutual information. The contact to families can take various forms, for example parents evenings, social get-togethers, discussion forums and the like.

Parent representatives

Direct parent involvement is possible through the parents committee of the day care facility. This committee contributes constructive ideas and suggestions regarding the further development of educational concepts, exercises influence on the work of contractually bound external service providers (e.g. meals providers), represents the opinion of the parents in matters such as changes of welfare provider, and organises festivities.

The individual parents committees support the work of the City Parents Committee. Through its Internet site, the City Parents Committee acts as a networking hub to promote exchanges between all parent representatives. The parents committee is able to present its own child day care centre to the other members of the City Parents Committee, reporting on its work and standpoints on fundamental issues.