Kitas and schools in a state of flux

Schools open or closed?

First of all, a basic note: In view of the fact that the incidence figures will probably continue to rise in the next few days, it can be assumed that the following information on the situation in the schools may change at any time. You can find the current status for your federal state under CWDI.

In almost all Länder, the final-year classes are in attendance or - more correctly - in alternating classes. Special regulations apply to them, so that the following explanations do not apply to them.

In Baden-Wuerttemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia, schools are basically in distance learning for the time being. Admittedly, in some Länder this regulation only applies for the coming week at the moment. In view of rising incidence values, an extension of this regulation seems likely.

In Bavaria there is a phased plan. However, as all regions are currently above an incidence value of 50 (per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 7 days), there are some regions with alternate teaching; in most regions the schools are in distance teaching.

In Berlin, Brandenburg, Hesse and Schleswig-Holstein, the primary schools are in alternating instruction, while the secondary schools remain in distance instruction. In Berlin and Brandenburg, they are to return to alternating instruction the following week, if necessary. In Lower Saxony the situation is the same due to the incidence values.

In Hamburg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, both primary and secondary schools have alternating teaching.

In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, primary and secondary schools are in attendance as long as the incidence rate is below 150.

In Saxony-Anhalt, schools are in attendance; if the incidence exceeds 200, schools are closed; Saxony wants to keep schools open regardless of incidence.

In Thuringia, schools are currently in distance learning.

In most countries, attendance is compulsory and rapid tests are to be carried out from the next week or the week after. In some countries, only those students who have tested negative are allowed to attend classes.

There is some discussion about the implementation of the tests: for example, the question arises whether it would not be better to test the pupils before they enter the school, instead of them taking the rapid test themselves in class and at the same time as all the other pupils. In this case, there is certainly a residual risk if someone in the class is infected.

Kitas mostly open - but not in regular operation

With the exception of Hamburg and Berlin, where the daycare centres have been explicitly in emergency operation since January (Hamburg) and Thursday, 8 April respectively, the daycare centres in all other federal states have remained open for the time being. However, there are very different regulations, which are sometimes called restricted regular operation, sometimes extended emergency operation - or even differently. In some states, such as Brandenburg or Baden-Württemberg, daycare centres are officially open, but parents are strongly encouraged to care for their children at home. There is usually no compulsory testing for daycare children, but there usually is for educators.

However, as it can change from day to day or week to week, we recommend that you check CWDI from time to time to see which regulations are currently in force. You will certainly also be informed by the daycare management if something changes.

Emergency operation

Should daycare centers or schools be closed, then there is an emergency operation for both daycare centers and elementary schools, which parents may use under certain conditions. This often also applies to children who are in the 5th or 6th classes, provided that these classes do not count as primary schools, as is the case in Berlin or Brandenburg.

The prerequisites for the use of emergency care usually include that the parents work in an occupation relevant to care or are single parents. However, there are often further detailed regulations - therefore, please also look up or ask at your Kita or school.

Children's sick days or children's sick pay

If the daycare centers or schools are closed and you cannot use the emergency care, you can use the so-called children's sick days. See the individual regulations here (https://elternhotline.de/de/beitrag/126/was-ist-kinderkrankengeld-und-wie-kann-ich-es-beantragen).

However, if you've had to use them since the beginning of the year, you may soon run out of child sick days. It remains to be seen whether the legislator reacts to this situation - actually, there should be a further extension.

Published on 10.04.2021