Introduction

Our day-care centre is operated by the "Evangelischer Kirchenkreisverband für Kindertageseinrichtungen an Spree und Neiße" and is also an integral part of the Kreuzkirche parish in Görlitz. The parish centre that houses our day-care facility is named after Paul Gerhardt, the famous Protestant hymn writer.

Our facility offers nursery and kindergarten places in three mixed-age groups for children aged 2 to 6, as well as after-school care for children in Grades 1 to 4.

Our Protestant day-care centre is open not only to families belonging to the parish, but also serves as an important meeting place for children and families from a wide range of cultural, social and religious backgrounds. Christian values and attitudes are reflected in the relationships and everyday situations that shape life in our centre.

Rooms

The kindergarten has three group rooms connected by a large hallway. At the rear of the building, on the same level, there is a spacious group room for the after-school care children, a homework room and a hall. A small quiet room also provides children with a place to withdraw and relax.

Our group rooms are clearly structured and include several learning areas. These provide opportunities for activities such as role play and offer materials for construction play and educational games. The children can also engage in creative activities or retreat to a quiet area to look at books.

Together with the children, we create decorations for the rooms and adapt them to current topics and projects.

Outdoor Facilities

All outdoor areas can be accessed directly from our ground-floor rooms. A large outdoor play area surrounding our facility, away from traffic, offers plenty of green space and excellent opportunities for children to move, explore and gain experiences outdoors.

A covered outdoor area also allows the children to spend time in the fresh air regardless of the weather.

Daily Schedule

A stable daily routine forms the basis of our educational work. It provides children, as well as new staff members and interns, with the security and orientation they need. We place particular importance on starting the day together, sharing meals as a group, spending time outdoors every day, and observing designated rest and sleep periods. Alongside these firmly established routines, the children have plenty of flexible time that they can shape according to their individual needs and interests. Free-play periods also give children opportunities to interact with children from other groups.

Example of a typical day in the kindergarten

6:30–8:00 a.m.: Children arrive, free play
8:00 a.m.: Morning circle together
8:10 a.m.: Breakfast in the groups
8:30–11:30 a.m.: Free play, activities in the groups and garden, individual personal care and tooth brushing
11:30 a.m.: Lunch in the groups
12:00–12:30 p.m.: Pick-up of children leaving at lunchtime and preparation for the midday rest period
12:30–2:15 p.m.: Sleep and rest period for nursery and kindergarten children
2:15 p.m.: Getting up, followed by an afternoon snack
3:00–4:30 p.m.: Free play in the garden; in bad weather: activities in the kindergarten or after-school care group rooms

Example of a typical day in after-school care

6:30–7:30 a.m.: Before-school care
From 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (depending on when school finishes): Lunch, homework, organised activities, and free play in the group room, hall or garden

Quality Assurance

Our approach to quality development is guided by the Federal Framework Manual for Protestant Day-Care Centres and is based on procedures derived from Total Quality Management (TQM) and DIN EN ISO standards. On the basis of the National Catalogue of Criteria for Educational Quality in Day-Care Centres for Children, we develop and define the individual key processes of our work.

Depending on the respective area of quality development, objectives are agreed upon together with the provider, within the team or with parents and are documented in the centre’s quality management handbook. These objectives, as well as our educational concept, are regularly reviewed in accordance with professional standards and continuously developed further.

A particularly important aspect of our quality development is safeguarding the children entrusted to our care. Our centre has a comprehensive child safeguarding concept that was developed collaboratively with the team over several years and is continuously refined. It is based on applicable legal requirements and professional standards and describes both preventive measures and binding procedures for dealing with possible risks to a child’s welfare, boundary violations and abusive behaviour. The child safeguarding concept is reviewed regularly and, where necessary, updated to reflect current professional and legal developments.

Cooperations

Our facility maintains a partnership with the Luisenstift residential care home for older people, which is located directly next to us. Once every quarter, the younger and older generations come together to bake, play, sing, tell stories or take part in movement activities. On birthdays, the children bring joy to the residents with small musical greetings. In this way, the children gain an insight into the lives of older people, while the residents benefit from the children’s cheerfulness and enthusiasm for life.

Our day-care centre also works closely with the following institutions and services:

• Youth Welfare Office

• Public Health Department

• professional advisory services

• providers of training and continuing education

• professional working groups for exchanging ideas and experiences with other day-care centres

To ensure that all children have equal opportunities for a good start in life, it is important to us to provide children in need of additional support with access to services beyond our day-care centre. With the parents’ consent, we exchange relevant information with therapists and professionals from the respective services. These include early intervention services, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and paediatricians.

We also make use of various recreational and educational facilities, including:

• sports halls

• Neißebad swimming pool

• traffic education park

• library

• zoo

• cinema and theatre

• museums

To give members of the parish an insight into our day-care centre, we contribute to family church services and participate in parish festivals, providing opportunities for others to experience and learn more about our work.

Basics

The foundation of our educational work is the Saxon Education and Curriculum Framework as well as the Saxon Act on Day-Care Facilities for Children. In addition, our work is guided by the situational approach and by principles of religious education. We support and challenge the children in all areas of their development, making use of their natural joy of learning and curiosity.

As a day-care centre that complements and supports family life, we aim to fulfil the educational and developmental responsibilities entrusted to us and to continuously develop our work. Our goal is to support each child’s ability to learn, provide opportunities for independent development and thereby offer the best possible opportunities for growth and education.

We aim to maintain a balance between education and upbringing. Alongside a wide range of learning opportunities, such as general knowledge, music, natural sciences, physical activity and motor development, we also place great importance on social skills and emotional security. In addition, we seek to model and pass on fundamental Christian values and experiences. Together, these areas provide a foundation that prepares children comprehensively for future situations in life.

Every child is an active participant in their own development and receives our support in developing their individual potential. We treat every child with the same respect and appreciation, regardless of their social, cultural or religious background. We aim to be supportive partners by:

• giving girls and boys equal opportunities

• providing opportunities for children to discover and understand the world independently and actively through play, exploration and experimentation

• allowing space for their own experiences and ideas

• setting appropriate boundaries that provide stability, security and guidance

Another important part of our educational work is children’s participation. We create conditions that encourage children to become involved and actively help shape everyday life in our centre. Depending on their age and stage of development, they take part in decisions concerning:

• the design of rooms and the garden

• topics and projects

• group rules and appropriate consequences

• visiting friends in other groups

In this way, we give children opportunities throughout the day to engage in dialogue with other children and adults, negotiate matters on an equal footing and make decisions together.

Especially in our after-school care programme, it is important to us that children are increasingly able to determine their own range of activities. For example, during children’s meetings they help decide how their leisure time in after-school care is organised. Children from the different year groups elect representatives to the Children’s Council, which is involved in important decisions concerning the organisation of our after-school care programme. In this way, the children gain their first practical experiences of democratic participation.

Employee

Our team consists of:

• 4 state-recognised educators working with our nursery and kindergarten children
• 2 state-recognised educators working with our after-school care children
• 1 qualified social pedagogue serving as the head of the centre
• 1 social pedagogue with a Bachelor’s degree working as an additional educational specialist as part of the “KINDER STÄRKEN” (“Strengthening Children”) project, funded by the European Social Fund and the Free State of Saxony

(As of September 2026)

We also provide opportunities for interns completing a Voluntary Social Year, vocational training or school placements to gain practical experience in a day-care centre.

Our team is further supported by our housekeeping assistant, our caretaker and our parish educator. Once a week, the parish educator holds a short devotional session with our nursery and kindergarten children, and once a month he organises a special meeting for our after-school care children.

Teamwork with school

We maintain contact with the future primary schools of the children who are preparing to start school. Cooperation agreements are in place with Melanchthon Primary School and August Moritz Böttcher Primary School. These agreements include mutual visits by teachers and educators in the form of observations, as well as introductory classroom sessions in which our prospective school children can take part.

We consider the exchange of experiences and information about the children’s development between teachers and educators to be highly beneficial in supporting the transition from kindergarten to primary school. This also creates a positive foundation for a trusting and cooperative relationship between our after-school care programme and the primary schools.

Teamwork with parents

One of the key aims of our work is to build a trusting and cooperative partnership with parents, always with the child’s well-being in mind. Through ongoing interaction between children, parents and educators, all parents have the opportunity to become actively involved. We seek to identify parents’ interests and, wherever possible, incorporate them into our work.

Forms of cooperation include:

• general parents’ meetings

• group-specific parents’ meetings

• parent council

• joint planning and organisation of celebrations and events

• anonymous parent surveys

We use the following means of communication:

• individual admission meetings

• brief informal conversations during drop-off and pick-up

• letters to parents

• group information boards

An important part of our work is the regular developmental meeting with the parents of kindergarten children, which takes place at least once a year. If a child requires additional support, we assist parents in finding and accessing suitable external support services. Parents of children attending our after-school care programme can arrange individual meetings whenever needed. Parents are also welcome to speak directly with the head of the day-care centre.

We warmly welcome parents’ ideas, activities and skills, and appreciate every new contribution that enriches our work.

Holiday Care

For our after-school care children, we offer holiday care during the autumn, winter, Easter and summer holidays. During these periods, we provide a variety of activities both within and outside our facility, while also taking the children’s wishes and interests into account.

There are fixed closure periods for the entire facility around New Year and during the summer holidays. These dates will be announced well in advance.

Homework Support

When supporting children with their homework, we place great importance on age-appropriate self-checking and on encouraging them to complete their homework as independently as possible. We aim to further develop the children’s independence by gradually giving them more tasks and responsibilities.

Homework support is provided from Monday to Thursday. Friday (or the last school day of the week) is a homework-free day in our after-school care programme. This day gives all children and educators the opportunity to come together, for example to reflect on the week, take part in a joint activity, or celebrate birthdays.

Description and Stations

Our facility is located near the south exit of the train station, directly next to St. James’ Cathedral. It is easily accessible by bus and tram from all parts of Görlitz. Parking spaces for dropping off and picking up children are also available directly in front of our facility.

Stops:

Tram lines 2 and 3
Bus line B