Colleagues Sabrina Müller and Nina Mayenfels from the Wagnersweg Protestant integrative daycare center in Birkenfeld and Sven Jung, vice principal of the Nahetal School, a school with a focus on learning. They gave the participants an impressive insight into the work of the two facilities. As always, the event was organized and carried out by and with the City of Idar-Oberstein's daycare social work team.
Since 2020, the management teams of the daycare centers in the city of Idar-Oberstein, their provider representatives and their specialist advisors as well as those responsible at the city youth welfare office have met regularly twice a year for a cross-provider daycare center management conference. The need for professional exchange, enriching discussions, work on common topics and valuable input - also from external guests - is unbroken and the participants are always numerous.
In recent years, the conference has dealt with many interesting and moving topics in the daycare world, such as child sexuality, the transition from daycare to school and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In addition, the facilities present will give each other insights with pictures, films and short presentations on specific focal points. New or newly designed daycare centers also introduce themselves. This creates valuable contacts and, where appropriate, cooperation or reciprocal visits. Positive effects can be that the daycare centers can learn from each other or at least perhaps receive helpful suggestions.
At the most recent conference, the presentation of the two facilities was followed by group discussions in which the following questions were addressed: How can support, inclusion and integration succeed at the daycare center and in the transition to school? Where do I see opportunities and where do I experience limitations with children with special needs and/or children who challenge us? Important feedback from the groups was that special educational content should be more strongly integrated into school education and that a lack of staff and spatial conditions often make it difficult to implement inclusion. Furthermore, an open and appreciative attitude towards every child was emphasized as particularly important. The children should be accepted for who they are.