Vienna Plans to Increase Language Support Staff in Kindergartens

According to the office of City Councilor for Education Bettina Emmerling (NEOS), there are currently 402 employees working in this area. New staff is to be hired at the beginning of 2026. The relevant individuals are currently undergoing their training, in two different institutions.

Two More Training Courses by MA 10

On the one hand, two more training courses for language support staff are being conducted by the Municipal Department 10 (Kindergartens) by the end of this year. Each of these courses is attended by 25 people, as the city council office informed the APA. In addition, elementary educators who will complete their college training in February 2026 are already taking the subject "early language education and support" in their basic training.

This means that the graduates of the elementary education training institutions (BAFEP) are also considered language support staff by law, it is emphasized. According to the city hall, 79 new educators have received a job offer from the city. Private kindergartens would also hire corresponding staff, it is said.

In the future, the number of language support staff will therefore continuously increase with the hiring of new educators. It is noted that the goal has not yet been reached, but a "big step" will be achieved at the beginning of the coming year. It is also pointed out that the number has already increased significantly. In 2020, there were still 250 language support staff employed in Vienna's kindergartens.

Recommendation Sent to Parents

Additional measures are also being implemented, as assured. It has already been arranged for recommendation letters to be sent to parents with children in need of language support - provided they are completing the last, mandatory kindergarten year. Parents are urged to keep their children in kindergarten longer than legally required. Instead of the minimum of 20 hours, a stay of 30 hours per week is recommended.

The office of City Councilor for Education Emmerling also welcomes the federal government's consideration of further obligations in the elementary sector. At the state level, there is no legal authority here, only recommendations can be made, it is emphasized.

Opposition Demands Further Measures

The opposition was unimpressed by the figures. Vienna's FPÖ club chairman Maximilian Krauss spoke of a "first step in the right direction." However, he also called for a mandatory language assessment for all children and, based on that, mandatory language support. Otherwise, the dramatic situation in Vienna's schools will not change: "Recommendations to parents are well-intentioned but completely toothless."

The Greens stated that Red-Pink has failed its own goal. They criticized that 500 new German support staff were promised by the end of the term, according to city council members Julia Malle and Felix Stadler. 258 kindergartens out of 622 locations have still not received a single hour of support. "With this snail's pace, Red-Pink will not get a grip on the Vienna education crisis," they were convinced.

ÖVP club chairman Harald Zierfuß pointed out that only around 300 of the support staff are employed full-time. The 1,000 language support staff promised by Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) during the Vienna election campaign for the current legislative period did not even make it into the government program of SPÖ and NEOS. "The half-life of mayoral promises is therefore short," noted Zierfuß.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.