According to the Bavarian Youth Association (BJR), the legal right for primary school children to full-day care will also be a challenge for youth work. “Of course, the full day comes into competition for the children’s time in the afternoon, and at this point the youth associations are worried about their offspring,” said BJR President Philipp Seitz. On the other hand, the full day also offers the opportunity to reach children through cooperation with schools who would otherwise not have become aware of youth work offers.
Seitz called for youth work not to be saved in view of the considerable sums needed to expand all-day care. “It is important at this point, however, to focus not only on the whole day, but also on the financing of youth work in general.” Children and young people are still suffering from the consequences of the corona pandemic. Therefore, offers for them must be revived and expanded.
Bavaria’s Family Minister Ulrike Scharf (CSU) emphasized that the Free State supports the municipalities in creating 130,000 places for the care of primary school children. “Youth work is of course the focus – especially in view of current global political events. With active youth work, we are laying the foundation for a generation that takes part in our democracy, advocates for international understanding and justice and our common values of freedom and lives of respect.”
The Bavarian Youth Ring is the working group of youth associations and youth groups in Bavaria, which, according to information, reaches two thirds of all children and young people in Bavaria with their offerings. The BJR met for its general assembly in Nuremberg from Friday to Sunday. One topic on Saturday should be the legal right to all-day care for primary school children, which will be gradually introduced nationwide from August 1, 2026. Holiday care for school children is also central, said Seitz. For decades, youth work has been offering various activities during the holidays, reaching hundreds of thousands of children and young people. The special program for holiday offers, which has been funded by the Free State since 2020, underlines their importance, said Seitz. “From a youth work perspective, it is very important for the implementation of the all-day support law in Bavaria that this program is continued permanently and will be part of the solution.”