Introduction/specifics

Dear Families,

A warm welcome to Nordlichter!

Would you like to get to know our daycare centre? Please contact us directly by phone or email to arrange a visit.

Visits take place as individual guided tours. This gives us the opportunity to show you our facilities and introduce you personally to our educational approach, while also allowing plenty of time for your questions.

Nordlichter is an inclusive daycare centre with six groups. Since 2024, our centre has been operated by SPE Mühle. Since August 2026, we have also been a certified Family Centre NRW (Familienzentrum NRW).

Children with different backgrounds, abilities, experiences and needs come together at our centre. Our focus is always on each individual child – their personality, strengths, interests and opportunities for development.

Different Together – Inclusion at Nordlichter

We understand inclusion as a fundamental principle of our educational work.

Every child is different, and we see this diversity as a natural part of everyday life. We want every child to experience a sense of belonging, to be able to participate and to be recognised for their individual strengths and needs.

Our centre has extensive experience in supporting children with disabilities and children with additional support needs. Our facilities and staffing structure enable us to take different support needs into account within everyday life at the daycare centre.

For us, the child always comes first – not their support needs. Children should be able to play, learn, explore, make friends and shape their everyday lives together.

A Situation-Oriented Approach – Focusing on the Children

Our educational practice is guided by the children's life situations, interests and needs. We pick up on topics that are currently important to them and create opportunities for play, exploration, creativity, movement and learning together.

A reliable framework provides children with orientation and security. At the same time, we deliberately avoid an overly rigid daily schedule, leaving room for meaningful play, spontaneous discoveries and the children's own ideas.

Movement Is Part of Everyday Life

Children also discover and understand their world through movement. We therefore provide a wide range of opportunities for running, climbing, balancing, experimenting and being physically active together.

We take different physical abilities and individual stages of development into account. In addition to our two movement rooms, we are able to use the neighbouring municipal sports hall at certain times. Our spacious outdoor area also provides a wide variety of opportunities for movement and play.

Discovering and Experiencing Nature

Experiences in nature are an important part of our everyday educational practice. Our outdoor area gives children the opportunity to experience and observe nature first-hand and to explore a variety of natural materials and surfaces.

We respond to the children's curiosity and questions and encourage them to observe plants, animals, weather and the changing seasons. Through their own experiences, children can develop curiosity, appreciation and a responsible attitude towards nature and the environment.

Family Centre NRW – Supporting Families Together

Since August 2026, Nordlichter has been a certified Family Centre NRW (Familienzentrum NRW). This means that we see ourselves not only as a place of education and care for children, but also as a point of contact and support for families.

We aim to support families, bring people together and make it easier to access counselling, support services and other opportunities. To achieve this, we work closely with a range of cooperation partners and counselling services.

Our Parent Café provides a welcoming space to meet and connect with others. In the Family Centre information area, families can find up-to-date information about activities, cooperation partners, counselling services and other forms of support.

Spaces for Playing, Exploring and Connecting

Our daycare centre extends across two floors. A colour concept inspired by the work of artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser guides children and families through the building and helps with orientation.

In addition to our group and activity rooms, children have access to various open play areas and two movement rooms. Our spacious outdoor area surrounds the building and offers plenty of space for physical activity, playing together and experiencing nature.

Many Professions – One Team

At Nordlichter, staff members with different professional qualifications, skills and experience work together. This multiprofessional approach is an important resource, particularly for our inclusive work.

Different professional perspectives help us to see each child as a whole, support individual development and work together to identify appropriate forms of support.

Rooms

Our daycare centre offers children a wide variety of spaces across two floors for playing, learning, moving, exploring and resting.

Ground Floor

There are four groups on the ground floor:

• Green Group – Group Type III

• Yellow Group – Group Type I

• Red Group – Group Type I

• Orange Group – Group Type II

Each group has its own group room as well as an additional adjoining room. As part of our partially open approach, these rooms are designed with different areas of focus, offering children a variety of opportunities for play, learning and exploration.

The groups also have sleeping and rest areas as well as child-friendly washrooms with changing facilities. Open play areas are located next to the Yellow and Green Groups and can be used by all children. These spaces provide opportunities for children from different groups to meet and play together.

A movement room provides additional opportunities for physical activity and a variety of movement experiences.

The ground floor is also home to our Parent Café, which provides a welcoming space for families to meet and connect. In the information area of our Family Centre, families can find up-to-date information, brochures and details about our cooperation partners, counselling services and other support available to families.

Upper Floor

The upper floor is home to:

• Blue Group – Group Type I

• Purple Group – Group Type III

Both groups have their own group room and an additional activity room. The two groups share a sleeping/rest room and a washroom.

The upper floor also has a second movement room and a therapy room.

Spaces That Create Opportunities

The design of our rooms supports our partially open educational approach. Each child's own group provides orientation, security and a sense of belonging. At the same time, open areas and a variety of activity and movement spaces give children opportunities to follow their interests, meet children from other groups and gain new experiences.

Outdoor Facilities

Our spacious outdoor area extends all around the daycare centre and offers the children plenty of space for **playing, moving, exploring and sharing experiences together**.

Natural areas and a variety of surfaces such as sand, grass and stones provide a wide range of sensory and physical experiences. The children can run, climb, observe, experiment and develop their own ideas for play.

We consider our outdoor area an important **space for learning and exploration** and an integral part of our everyday educational practice. Here, children experience nature and the changing seasons first-hand, encounter plants and animals, and explore a variety of natural materials.

Playing outdoors together also provides many opportunities for children to interact with one another, make agreements, overcome challenges and test their own abilities. In this way, **physical activity, experiences in nature, independence and social learning** naturally become part of everyday life.
 

Daily Schedule

A Day at Our Daycare Centre

Our day begins at 7:30 a.m. The children arrive gradually and are welcomed in a calm and friendly atmosphere. It is important to us that every child has the time they need to settle in and start the day at their own pace.

Our educational routine does not follow a rigid timetable. In line with our situation-oriented approach, we respond to the children's interests, needs and the topics that are currently important to them. Free play, shared activities, physical activity, creative experiences, conversations and outdoor play therefore do not take place at exactly the same time every day.

Group circles and educational activities are also adapted to the current situation and the needs of the children and groups. This allows time for meaningful play, spontaneous discoveries and topics that the children are particularly interested in.

Children bring their breakfast from home and can eat it during a designated period in the morning.

Lunchtime is organised according to the children's ages and groups. Afterwards, we take each child's individual need for sleep, rest and relaxation into account. Children who do not sleep are also given the opportunity to enjoy a quieter period during the day.

In the afternoon, the children have a snack, followed by more time for play, social interaction and activities.

Pick-up Times

We provide families with reliable pick-up times:

• First pick-up period: from 2:30 p.m.

• Children with a 45-hour childcare arrangement must be collected by 4:30 p.m. at the latest.

A reliable daily framework is important to us. At the same time, we keep our routine flexible so that everyday life at our daycare centre can be guided by the children, their needs and their experiences.

Food

We receive our lunch from an external catering provider. The menu is predominantly vegetarian, with fish dishes served occasionally. Meals are prepared using the cook-and-chill method and reheated at our daycare centre ready for lunchtime.

The current menu is made available to families. Throughout the day, children have access to water and unsweetened tea.

In the morning, children have the opportunity to eat breakfast in their group and start their day at the daycare centre in a relaxed way. Children bring their breakfast from home. We ask families to provide a balanced, child-friendly breakfast.

We see mealtimes as more than simply providing food; they are also an important part of our everyday educational practice. In a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere, children experience a sense of community, develop increasing independence and learn to recognise and express their own needs, such as hunger, thirst, food preferences and feeling full.

Basics

Our educational work is guided by the children's life situations, needs, interests and individual opportunities for development. We understand education as an active process: children explore their environment, ask questions, develop their own ideas, build relationships with others and learn through play and everyday experiences.

The foundation for this is formed by reliable relationships, a sense of orientation and an environment that provides children with both security and freedom to explore.

Partially Open Approach – Belonging and Freedom to Explore

Every child at Nordlichter belongs to a permanent group. Their own group and familiar educational staff provide security, orientation and a sense of belonging.

At the same time, we open up our daily routines wherever this is meaningful for the children. As part of our partially open approach, children can also use play areas and activity rooms outside their own group, meet children from other groups and follow their individual interests.

For us, a partially open approach does not mean that children are left on their own or are expected to move freely throughout the daycare centre at all times. We provide a reliable framework and support each child according to their age, stage of development and individual needs. Some children quickly and independently make use of these opportunities, while others initially need more closeness, support and orientation.

Inclusion – Diversity Is Part of Our Community

For us, inclusion is not a separate support measure, but a fundamental principle of our educational work.

Children bring different abilities, individual circumstances, languages, experiences, family cultures and support needs. We recognise this diversity and see it as a natural part of our community.

Our aim is to enable participation and a sense of belonging for every child. This also means recognising barriers and adapting our educational support, spaces and activities so that as many children as possible can participate in everyday life together.

Children with disabilities or additional support needs are not defined by the support they require. We see every child as a whole person, with their individual strengths, interests, relationships and opportunities for development.

Movement – Experiencing the World Through the Body

Movement is a natural part of children's everyday lives. Through movement, children explore their bodies, discover their abilities and limits, and gradually develop greater confidence and independence.

Our movement rooms, open play areas, outdoor space and the use of the neighbouring sports hall at certain times provide a variety of opportunities for running, climbing, balancing, physical activity and playing together.

Our aim is not for every child to achieve the same things. Instead, we provide opportunities for movement that take different abilities into account, encourage children to try things out and enable them to experience their own individual successes.

Nature Education – Discovering, Experiencing and Understanding

Children develop an understanding of nature particularly well when they are able to experience it for themselves. Our outdoor area offers many opportunities to do so.

Sand, soil, stones, plants, animals, weather and the changing seasons continually provide new opportunities to observe, ask questions, explore and play. We respond to the children's discoveries and interests and support their exploration rather than turning every experience in nature into a pre-planned activity.

In this way, children can experience connections first-hand and develop a relationship with their environment. We believe that a respectful and responsible attitude towards plants, animals and natural resources develops above all through encounters, personal experiences and shared activities.

What Connects These Principles

Our partially open approach, inclusion, movement and nature education are not separate elements. They come together naturally in everyday life at Nordlichter.

We aim to provide children with a reliable framework combined with genuine opportunities for exploration and participation. Children are encouraged to follow their interests, build relationships, move, experiment, participate in decisions, overcome challenges and receive support whenever they need it.

Our guiding principle is: As much independence as possible – as much support as necessary.

Employee

Many Skills – One Team

At Nordlichter, a multiprofessional team works together to support children's development and enable them to participate fully in everyday life at our daycare centre.

Different professional qualifications, experiences and perspectives enrich our educational work. Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, while close collaboration remains an essential part of our work. We share observations and professional perspectives and, where needed, work together to develop appropriate forms of support for each child.

Collaboration takes place both within individual groups and across groups. This allows the different skills and expertise within our team to be used throughout the daycare centre and to benefit children beyond their own group.

Our Team Includes

• Daycare centre manager and deputy manager

• Early childhood educators

• Special needs educators

• Special education professionals

• Social education professionals

• Psychomotor development specialist

• Childcare professionals

• Inclusion support staff

• Trainee educators and participants in the Voluntary Social Year (FSJ)

• Housekeeping staff

• Caretaking and cleaning staff

Every member of our team contributes through their individual role to making our daycare centre a reliable place for learning, everyday life and community for children and families.

Working with External Specialists

As part of our inclusive approach, we also cooperate with external therapeutic and educational professionals and specialist services. Depending on each child's individual needs and the relevant requirements, certain support and therapy services may be provided directly at our daycare centre.

These may include:

• Speech and language therapy

• Occupational therapy

• Physiotherapy

• Early intervention

• Early intervention for children with visual impairments

• Autism-specific therapy

Professional communication between families, our educational staff and the external specialists involved supports a coordinated and holistic approach to each child's individual development and needs.

Qualification

Our multiprofessional educational team brings together professionals with a range of qualifications and areas of expertise:

• Social education professionals

• Special education professionals

• Early childhood educators

• Childcare professionals

• Psychomotor development specialist

• Special needs educators

These different areas of professional expertise complement one another and are a particular strength of our inclusive approach. Through regular professional exchange, we bring together different perspectives on each child's development, needs and strengths and use them to support our everyday educational work.

Additional Offerings

Activities and Services for Children and Families

In addition to our everyday educational work, Nordlichter offers a wide range of additional activities and services for children and families. As a Family Centre NRW (Familienzentrum NRW), we deliberately make our services available beyond the families attending our daycare centre:

The services and activities offered by our Family Centre are open to all families in Hilden – regardless of whether their child attends our daycare centre.

Family Centre NRW

Together with our cooperation partners, we regularly offer free activities and services for families. These are designed to reflect different interests and life situations and provide opportunities for meeting others, learning, counselling and sharing experiences.

Our activities and services include, for example:

• Griffbereit – a multilingual parent-child programme

• Parent-child physical activity sessions

• Father-child activities

• Courses on first aid and emergencies involving children

• Counselling services for parents and families

• Family education programmes

• Intercultural and language development activities

• Information and advice on Education and Participation (Bildung und Teilhabe – BuT), social benefits and financial matters

• A variety of other activities, courses and events for children and families throughout the year

Many of these activities take place directly at our Nordlichter Family Centre.

We regularly publish our current free activities and upcoming dates on our Instagram account “nordlichter.muehle”.

Nordlichter Family Centre on Instagram (@nordlichter.muehle)

Inclusion and Individual Support

At Nordlichter, inclusion is not an additional service but a fundamental principle of our educational work. In addition, we provide children with targeted support according to their individual abilities, circumstances and needs.

Therapy and Support

Through our cooperation with external professionals and specialist services, depending on each child's individual needs and the relevant requirements, certain support and therapy services may be provided directly at our daycare centre.

These may include speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, early intervention, early intervention for children with visual impairments and autism-specific therapy. Communication between families, our educational team and the professionals involved helps to ensure coordinated support tailored to each child.

Movement and Physical Activity

A wide range of opportunities for movement is part of everyday life at Nordlichter. Our movement rooms, outdoor area and the use of the neighbouring sports hall at certain times provide opportunities for physical activity, exploration, playing together and a variety of movement experiences.

Activities offered through our Family Centre, such as parent-child physical activity sessions, further complement this focus.

Experiencing Nature and Ecology

Our outdoor area gives children opportunities to discover and experience nature first-hand. They encounter plants and animals, experience changing weather and seasons, and explore a variety of natural materials.

We respond to the children's questions and discoveries and aim to encourage an interest in nature and the environment as well as a respectful and responsible approach to natural resources.

Cooperations

As a Family Centre NRW (Familienzentrum NRW), we work closely with a range of organisations, counselling services and specialist services in Hilden and the Mettmann district. Through this network, we can help families find suitable services and contacts for a variety of questions and individual needs.

Our cooperation partners include:

• Volkshochschule Hilden-Haan (Adult Education Centre) – German language and integration courses as well as other educational programmes

• DRK Familienbildungswerk Mettmann (Family Education Centre) – activities, courses and events for families

• Evangelisches Familienbildungswerk Ratingen (Protestant Family Education Centre) – activities, courses and events for families

• Grundschule am Elbsee (Primary School) – supporting the transition from daycare to primary school

• Grundschule Beethovenstraße (Primary School) – supporting the transition from daycare to primary school

• Psychologische Beratungsstelle der Stadt Hilden (Psychological Counselling Service) – counselling for families, including regular counselling sessions at our Family Centre

• Kreisintegrationszentrum Mettmann (District Integration Centre) – counselling and activities promoting intercultural inclusion

• Therapiezentrum am Bahnhof Hilden (Therapy Centre) – therapeutic services at our daycare centre as well as consultation for families and educational staff

• Theralog Logopädie Hilden (Speech and Language Therapy) – speech and language therapy at our daycare centre as well as consultation for families and educational staff

• Frühförderung Lebenshilfe Mettmann (Early Intervention Service) – early intervention services at our daycare centre as well as consultation for families and educational staff

• Stellwerk der Stadt Hilden – services for families and advice on benefits for education and participation (Bildung und Teilhabe – BuT)

• Sozialberatung SPE Mühle (Social Counselling Service) – advice on education and participation benefits, social benefits and financial matters

• geMEinsam – support in the area of inclusion

• Graf Recke Stiftung – support in the area of inclusion

Through this network, we can connect families with appropriate support in an accessible and needs-based way and coordinate different services where appropriate. Some services provided by our cooperation partners are available directly at our Family Centre.

Teamwork with school

The Entire Daycare Journey Is Preparation for School

We see the entire time a child spends at daycare as preparation for school. For us, preparing children for school does not begin only in their final year, nor does it mean introducing formal school lessons early. From their very first day, children gain experiences and develop skills that support them throughout their educational journey.

In our everyday educational work, we incorporate the educational areas defined by the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and provide a wide range of playful opportunities for learning and exploration. Through playing, exploring, moving, creating, storytelling and interacting with others, children develop independence, language skills, social and emotional competencies, concentration, creativity and problem-solving skills.

Our approach is guided by the children's interests, questions, individual abilities and stages of development. Learning should inspire curiosity, be enjoyable and build on the children's own experiences.

Building Bridges to Primary School

As children approach school age, the upcoming transition becomes a greater focus. We respond to the questions and expectations of our future school children and support them in approaching this new stage of life with curiosity, confidence and a positive outlook.

We see ourselves as building bridges between daycare, families and primary schools. We work closely with primary schools in our local community. Our cooperation partners include Grundschule am Elbsee and Grundschule Beethovenstraße.

Families are also actively involved in this transition. Through communication, information and cooperation with the schools, we aim to ensure that the transition from daycare to primary school is as reliable, positive and well supported as possible for both children and their families.

Our goal is not for children to already “know how to do school” when they start primary school. Instead, throughout their entire time at daycare, we want to provide them with a wide range of educational experiences, confidence in their own abilities and a genuine enjoyment of learning.

Teamwork with parents

A trusting, respectful and cooperative partnership with parents and families is an important part of our educational work. Families know their children, their individual needs, experiences and life circumstances particularly well. Regular communication helps us work together to provide the best possible support for each child.

Everyday conversations provide opportunities for regular exchange. During scheduled parent and developmental meetings, we take time to look together at the child's development, strengths, interests and individual needs.

Our families bring a variety of languages, cultural experiences, family structures and life circumstances to Nordlichter. We see this diversity as a natural part of our community. We aim to meet all families with openness and respect and to take different perspectives and needs into account in our work together.

Parents and families can participate in and help shape life at our daycare centre in many different ways – for example through celebrations and joint activities, events for parents and families, parent surveys and participation through elected parent representatives. We see participation as an opportunity, not an obligation. Not every family has the same amount of time or the same personal or financial resources available.

As a Family Centre NRW (Familienzentrum NRW), our partnership with families extends beyond everyday life at the daycare centre. We create opportunities for families to meet and connect, offer events and activities, and cooperate with counselling services, family education providers and other partners. When families have questions or need support, we help them find suitable services and contacts.

Our aim is to create an open, reliable and respectful partnership in which families feel that their concerns are taken seriously and that they are welcome and valued members of our community.

Specifics

Working Together with Families

A trusting and respectful partnership with families is an important part of our educational work. Parents and other caregivers know their child particularly well. We therefore see regular communication as an essential foundation for working together to support each child.

Our families bring a variety of languages, cultural experiences, family structures, ways of life and perspectives to Nordlichter. We see this diversity as a natural part of our community. We aim to meet families with openness and respect, take different life situations into account and learn from one another. It is important to us to create a sense of connection while also recognising and valuing differences.

In addition to everyday conversations, scheduled parent and developmental meetings provide time for a more detailed exchange about each child's development, interests, strengths and needs.

Families have different opportunities to participate in and help shape life at our daycare centre. These include joint celebrations and activities, events for parents and families, as well as participation through elected parent representatives. The different ideas, experiences and perspectives of our families enrich our daycare community.

As a Family Centre NRW (Familienzentrum NRW), we also aim to support families in a wide range of life situations. We provide information about counselling and support services, help families find suitable contacts when needed, and create opportunities to meet, connect and exchange experiences through our Parent Café and other activities.

It is important to us to recognise that family involvement can take many different forms. Not every family has the same amount of time or the same linguistic, financial or personal resources to participate in daycare activities. For us, a positive partnership is therefore not measured by how often parents help with events or activities, but by respectful, reliable and open communication and cooperation.

Our aim is for every family at Nordlichter to feel seen, taken seriously and welcome.