Kita Gutschein : what is it? - Berlin

Hi,
I have just recently moved to Berlin with my family. I am looking to put my son in a German- english kindergarten. They do have a vacancy starting November, but they wanted me to find out about the Kita Gutschein that I am eligible for. Where should i go to check this out. I am not attending any German language school anymore, but am looking for jobs. Will I get to put my son in the kindergarten in this case.

My daughter was going to a private day care in Duesseldorf, I was just wondering if there is some set up like this available here. there were just 5 kids and she seemed very happy to be in a smaller group when she first started staying away from me.

Thanks,

You usually get the "Gutschein" at the "Jugendamt". There are also some downloads of the request forms on the internet but it´s all different from state to state.

http://www.kitagutschein-berlin.de/

Request form download:
http://www.kitagutschein-berlin.de/downloads/anmeldevordruck.pdf

The "Gutschein" is not really a "Gutschein" in the meaning you expect, it is only the voucher stating that your kid is accepted under the child care system. You have to go to your local Jugendamt and apply for it, you will have to fill up some forms and the processing time is actually quite slow, it might take up to 6 weeks. The Gutschein will state how may hours per day your kid can stay in the KiTa. Once you are accepted you will get the voucher and bring it to the KiTa you found. All this procedure is needed because you do not pay any money directly to the KiTa, you pay to the Jugendamt and they pay the KiTa. Your payment is based on family income.

There are private KiTas here as well but they are not that common. Maybe the "Tagesmutter" setup is what you are looking from. It is a woman taking care of 3 to 5 kids in her own place. These Tagesmutter are control by the Jugendamt as well, so you have to follow the same procedure and get a Gutschein. But if your son is >3 years old it is not the best choice.

The good news is now KiTas are for free in Berlin for 3 years (the 3 years before going to school).

Huh. I pay my kita directly and they have on file the form from the Jugendamt which says how many hours I am entitled to (Charlottenberg, I assumed they were the same?). The amount was determined by family size and income and I was entitled as I was (and am) taking German classes. Afer 3, I think there is no requirement for such and at 5 (vorschule) it is free to aid in socialization. If your children don't speak German and you are not a native German speaker, you may get permission to allow your child to integrate.

We were allowed to start with the Tagesmutter before the wife starts working again precisely because of that, for the kid to integrate.

Additionally. f both parents are non-Germans, you MUST send your kid at least one year to a KiTa or the kid would need to do a German test (and pass it). At least it is like that for the normal German school system, no idea about kids studying in international schools.

Krieg- I'm paying for my 4 yo, but did not for my 5 yo (vorschule). Are you sure that the 3 years before school are free, because if so, I need to find out why I am being charged...?

Oh- and we got our gutschein in 3 days- the woman at the Jugendamt was wonderful and we were all extremely grateful for a kind word at that point, not having found some of the amts or kitas tremendously helpful.

It looks like they're doing it in stages. The last year of kita has been free since 2007 and the other two years will follow in 2010 and 2011.

Drei Jahre Kita kostenlos in Berlin.

It is a new law, it passed like 2 weeks ago. Before that new law only 1 year was for free. So you probably will get only with 1 extra year for free or maybe no difference at all

Hi,
Thanks for your replies. I will go to the Jugendamt nearby.

There's a really useful document issued by the Senate Administration for Education, Science and Research that includes information such as how the Day Care Coupon System works, the day care your child is entitled to, how to find the right place for your child, parental contributions, where to register and so on. The document, titled 'Elterninfo Englisch' can be downloaded from this webpage: http://www.berlin.de/sen/familie/kindertagesbetreuun.

Melanie

I was dreading the Gutschein until I went and applied for it. My husband and I are both registered as "Arbeitsuchend" in the Arbeitsamt and we are both non-Germans.
When I applied, I was about to start a German course but then I did not (but when I went there I thought I would soon, so I asked for the Schein asap). After a week I had the Gutschein letter at home (to start after 5 weeks though, on the following month) for 4-5 hrs a day! Which is excellent if you consider that we are both "home" at the moment! My Jugendamt was the one for Mitte, and all women there were pretty nice and helpfull, which is not always the case here (although I am not of the belief, like other fellow expats, that all Berliners are rude!).
Anyhow, the point is, just apply for it, you should be able to get something similar to what we got. If you need any other advice (from our limited experience), just pm me.

Tak care,
Lara