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Revolution in holiday care: New law from 2026 for primary school students!
On December 1st, 2025, a workshop on the planned holiday care for primary school children took place in the Dingolfing-Landau district.
Revolution in holiday care: New law from 2026 for primary school students!
Something exciting is happening in Bavaria when it comes to holiday care for primary school children! From autumn 2026 there will be a legal right to *holiday care*, as the Dingolfing-Landau announced. This is part of a broader plan to close the gap in care after kindergarten and provide children with reliable care during the school holidays.
A *workshop*, organized by youth welfare planner Birgit Rötzl in the district office, brought together representatives from municipalities, education authorities, schools, Lebenshilfe, after-school care centers and other specialists to work together to develop solutions to the challenges of holiday care. The event was moderated by Susanne Gruber from the SAGS Institute, who in her role made a crucial contribution to bringing current topics up for discussion.
The legal framework
The new concept, which is being promoted by the *All-Day Support Act* (GaFöG) and the Federal Ministry for Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, stipulates that from August 2026 all children in the first grades are entitled to full-day care. This entitlement will be further expanded until the 2029/2030 school year, so that ultimately children in the second to fourth grades can also benefit from this legal entitlement. But don't worry, taking advantage of the offer is voluntary.
The key points of the law include eight hours of care on five working days. Teaching times are taken into account. The entitlement also applies during holidays, although the federal states have the option of setting a maximum closing period of four weeks. The federal government is providing an impressive 3.5 billion euros for investments in educational infrastructure to support these comprehensive plans, as recht-auf-ganztag also explains.
Challenges and outlook
Despite the promising plans, those responsible for the project face some challenges. In the workshop, topics such as staff shortages, spatial conditions and financial issues were discussed. There was a unanimous desire for *common standards* and stronger cooperation structures to meet the diverse needs of families.
The participants agreed that reliable training and good planning are essential. Maria Hertreiter, an experienced specialist from OGTS Pilsting, clearly illustrated how important cooperation between the various actors is.
By creating a legal right to holiday care and the initiatives based on it, those responsible in the district are taking a significant step towards the compatibility of family and work. This should not only improve the quality of life for families, but also significantly increase the educational and participation opportunities for primary school children. It remains exciting to see how the next steps will develop, and we are already looking forward to the ideas implemented from 2026!