Nursery for children with a disability: integrative kindergarten, special-needs kindergarten and inclusion
Nursery registration is coming up.
Other parents compare opening hours and journeys.
You are asking yourself something quite different:
Which nursery can really support my child well?
Will my child get the support they need there?
And what happens when the nursery already closes at midday?
This article gives an overview of the different options. Terms and procedures differ by federal state and provider. For your personal situation, local advice is therefore always worthwhile.
Inclusion in nursery: what does it mean?
Inclusion in nursery means that children with and without a disability play, learn and grow up together in one group.
German child and youth welfare law provides that children with and without a disability should be supported together, as far as their needs allow (§ 22a SGB VIII).
In practice, this means: many nurseries accept children with a disability. How well it works, however, depends heavily on the individual setting. On the group size. On the staff. And on whether additional support is approved.
Integrative kindergarten and integration place
An integration place (Integrationsplatz) is a nursery place with additional support for a child with a disability or at risk of a disability.
This often means more staff or a smaller group, and the child receives targeted support. Some settings specialise in this and are called an integrative kindergarten (Integrationskindergarten) or integrative nursery.
Whether and how many integration places exist varies greatly by region. There are often waiting lists. It is therefore worth starting your search early.
Special-needs kindergarten
A special-needs kindergarten (heilpädagogischer Kindergarten), sometimes also called Förderkindergarten, cares exclusively for children with special support needs.
Groups are usually small. Specialist educators accompany the children, and therapies such as speech therapy, occupational therapy or physiotherapy often take place directly in the setting.
For some children, exactly this protected setting is right. For others, an inclusive group with support is the better path. There is no right or wrong decision here.
Which nursery suits our child?
These questions can help with the decision:
- How much support does our child really need in everyday life?
- Do they feel comfortable in larger groups, or do they need calm and fixed caregivers?
- Which therapies do they need, and where should they take place?
- How long is the journey, and how does the child get there?
- Do the opening hours fit our family's daily life?
If possible, spend a morning observing in the setting. And speak openly about what your child needs.
Integration assistants in nursery
Some children need a person in nursery who accompanies them directly through the day. This support is called Integrationshelfer or Inklusionsassistenz.
It is applied for separately and differs from the integration place. Whether it is approved depends on individual need.
Applying for a place and costs
The nursery place itself is applied for, as for all children, through the nursery or your city's registration portal.
The additional support for a child with a disability is usually applied for separately, mostly from the provider of Eingliederungshilfe, and in the case of a mental (psychological) disability from the Jugendamt (youth welfare office). Which office is responsible differs by federal state.
Whether the additional support costs you anything, you will find out from the responsible provider. The usual parental fee for nursery follows the rules of your city or municipality.
Allow enough time. Weeks or even months can pass between application and approval.
When nursery ends at midday: the au pair as a complement
Many families have finally found a suitable place.
And then care ends at 12 or 1 pm.
Or the nursery is closed during the holidays.
This is exactly where an au pair can help.
They live with you as a family member for a time and can pick your child up from nursery, eat with them, play and accompany familiar afternoon routines. And they can create time for siblings.
Important: an au pair is not a professional. They replace neither an integration assistant nor therapy. They complement what nursery and professionals provide, in everyday family life.
You can read how we prepare au pairs for life in a family with a child with a disability at the au pair academy. If you would like to know whether an au pair fits your family's daily life, feel free to talk to us in a free consultation call.
Our tip from Besondere Sterne
Don't plan care only from the morning. The afternoons, the holidays and the edge times are often what decide whether family life works. A good nursery and an au pair do not exclude each other. They complement each other.
