Hamburg, January 28 – Less than one in ten daycare centers in Hamburg has enough staff to provide needs-based childcare, according to a new study. Specifically, as of March 1, 2024, only 9.5 percent of daycare centers in the Hanseatic city met the scientifically recommended staffing levels to ensure good early childhood education, care, and upbringing for all children, as stated in the study “Staffing Levels in Daycare Centers” by the Bertelsmann Foundation Gütersloh.
Staffing Shortages Across Hamburg’s Daycares
The study highlights a significant deficit in personnel resources across the city’s childcare facilities. Nearly 26 percent of daycare centers have less than 60 percent of the recommended staff resources available. Another 44.1 percent of daycare centers have between 60 and 80 percent, and 20.4 percent have between 81 and 100 percent.
Experts from the Bertelsmann Foundation and the Austrian Institute for Family Research considered that a daycare specialist can only dedicate approximately two-thirds of their working hours to direct pedagogical work with children due to absences and administrative tasks.
According to the North Statistics Office, Hamburg had almost 1,200 daycare facilities in 2024, where more than 22,000 employees cared for 85,689 children. This included 26,670 boys and girls in crèches, 51,079 in elementary school, and 7,940 older children. The proportion of children with at least one foreign parent was almost 45 percent.
Regional Disparities in Staffing Levels
In a national comparison, daycare centers in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony show even worse figures, with 84 percent having to manage with less than 60 percent of the recommended staff resources. Full staffing there is below one percent.
In contrast, Baden-Württemberg and Bremen show much better results, with almost 36 and 32 percent respectively achieving a staffing level of 100 percent. Only 4.3 and nine percent of daycare centers there have less than 60 percent of the recommended staff.
Impact on Child Development and Equal Opportunities
“Daycare centers could promote children’s education and development significantly better if they had adequate staffing,” said Anette Stein, Director of Education and Next Generation at the Bertelsmann Foundation. This applies particularly to daycare centers that support children in their multilingualism or children with integration assistance, as these tasks pose special pedagogical requirements.
“Equal opportunities can only exist if it is possible to respond to all children according to their needs,” Stein added, emphasizing the critical role of sufficient staffing in ensuring equitable educational outcomes for all children.
The study underscores the urgent need for increased investment in personnel for Hamburg’s daycare centers to ensure high-quality early childhood education and care for all children.
Source: https://www.zeit.de/news/2026-01/28/studie-nur-jede-zehnte-kita-in-hamburg-mit-genug-personal
