Overview

• Saxony’s coalition agreement with Greens and Left front-loads a previously approved Kita moratorium by boosting subsidies to uphold current staffing levels in the face of declining enrollment.
• The state will raise the standard per-child subsidy to €3,510 from August 2025, with an additional €60 increase slated for 2026.
• Local councils warn that the €23 million package covers less than 12 percent of the roughly €55 million needed this year to avoid cutting around 795 full-time educator posts.
• Trade unions Verdi and GEW say Saxony’s average ratio of 11.5 children per educator is the second worst nationwide and call for a binding plan to improve childcare quality.
• In Hamburg, falling birth rates under the demand-oriented voucher system have led to unused Kita capacity and pressured smaller providers to merge or close.