Childcare

Childcare for children who do not yet go to school

Childcare in a day care centre (Kita = collective term for crèche, kindergarten and, if applicable, after-school care) takes place at your place of residence. Exception: If you have an employment contract with the university, you can apply for a place at a day care centre even if you do not live in Göttingen but in the surrounding area.
Registration for day care centres is done centrally via the registration portal of the City of Göttingen.
Most day care places are allocated in August. Be prepared for waiting times for a childcare place.
An alternative to the crèche is care by a day care worker. The University has been working with the Kindertagespflege Göttingen e.V. for more than 10 years. There you can get advice on day care and find a day care worker.
The childcare costs for children under 3 years of age are socially scaled, i.e. if you have a low income, you can apply to the Youth Welfare Office to have the costs covered. Otherwise, depending on your income, you pay between 270 and 580 euros per month for 8 hours of care per day, plus a contribution for lunch.
In kindergarten (for children over 3 years of age) there are no care costs unless your child is to be looked after for more than 8 hours a day. You have to pay the costs for meals (50-80 euros/month) unless you have been granted benefits according to the Federal Participation Act (BUT).

Children from the age of 6 start school in August at a primary school, where they stay for 4 years before moving on to secondary school.
Which primary school your child attends depends on where you live in Göttingen (each primary school has its own catchment area). Registration takes place directly at the secretary's office of your primary school. Exception: Independent schools accept your child regardless of a fixed catchment area (for example: Bonifatius 1, Waldorf) or the "English class" at the Leinebergschule).
At the primary school, there are the following childcare options, for which you can book lunch:
- Reliable primary school daily until 1 pm without holiday care.
- Open all-day school 4 days until approx. 3:15 p.m., 1 day until 1 p.m.
- After-school care (fee-based offer usually until 5 p.m. incl. holiday care)
The school holidays last approx. 13 weeks per year. If you do not have an after-school care place for your child, the University, the University Sports Centre and also the City of Göttingen offer holiday care which can be booked on a weekly basis.
From the 5th grade onwards, the school is no longer based on the catchment area, i.e. you can choose freely between 5 grammar schools (“Gymnasium”) and 4 comprehensive schools (“Gesamtschule”).