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Dispute over compulsory full-time work: Parents in Leonberg demand freedom of choice!
Discussion about compulsory full-time attendance at Leonberg primary school: Parents demand choice model, decision in the social committee on July 9th.
Dispute over compulsory full-time work: Parents in Leonberg demand freedom of choice!
In Leonberg, an explosive topic is currently being discussed at the Sophie Scholl School: the introduction of an all-day requirement for primary school students. This step is in the context of the legal right to full-day care that will apply from the 2026/27 school year, which is supported by a majority of parents, such as Stuttgart News reported. Despite positive feedback on all-day care in a survey in which 55% were in favor of school until midday, only 29% of those surveyed expressed a desire for compulsory all-day schooling.
The model of mandatory all-day care recommended by the city administration, which is supported by both the school management and the teaching staff, is in conflict with the demands of the parents' councils, which are campaigning for an elective model. This would be a more open form of all-day care where parents would have the flexibility to decide for themselves whether they want to use the care or not.
Legal framework for all-day care
The background to this conflict is made clear by the All-Day Funding Act passed by the Federal Council on September 10, 2021. From 2026, all primary school children in the first grade will have a legal right to all-day support, which will be expanded to all grades one to four by 2029. According to BMFSFJ, this step was considered necessary to close the care gap between daycare and primary school and to improve the compatibility of work and family.
The legal entitlement, which is anchored in the Eighth Social Code (SGB VIII), stipulates a period of eight hours on all five working days. This also includes holiday periods, where up to four weeks of closure can be set by the states. The federal government is making up to 3.5 billion euros available to expand all-day care.
Implementation challenges
However, implementing mandatory all-day care poses challenges, as teachers from the Schelling School also emphasize. Problems such as a shortage of teachers and lack of space could affect the quality of care. At the Mörike School in Eltingen, the number of full-day hours has already been reduced in order to avoid overloading.
The debates surrounding the issue of compulsory all-day schooling at the Sophie Scholl School in Leonberg reflect the general challenges that come with the new legislation. Whether the city administration and the school authorities will be able to unite the different interests of parents and teachers into a consensus will become clear at the upcoming meeting of the Social Committee on July 9th.