Due to the question raised by Pilar to Graz for Kids, I decided to write a short information on flexible, short-time children care services in Graz. As some expats only pass through Graz and stay here only for short periods, it gets difficult for their kids to be integrated in the regular preschool system, which is rather conservative from an organisational viewpoint.
To be more precise, the application process for preschool (nursery and kindergarden) goes like this:
a. at the beginning of each year, around January or February, preschools organise so called open days and all families are welcome to get to know the institution and the staff
b. in March there is an enrollment phase
c. around June you get to know if you got a lucky draw (well based on specific criteria, such as being a resident) and then your offspring would start in September.
For those staying only for short periods it gets more difficult, especially if you are a non permanent resident…
However, there is a childcare care from the Karl Franzens University of Graz, which was initially founded to support university staff needing punctual child care. This is open to everybody and it is called MAMA. It stands for “Mit allen Menschen Arbeiten”, i.e. “To work with everybody”.
At MAMA they take kids from 0-6 years old.
It’s a drop-off group, the child stays there without the parents.
It’s closed on weekends and public holidays.
You need to book in advance!
You can choose the number of hours for your kid’s care between 8:00 and 18:00.
Costs: 59,00€ for 10 hours or on an hourly basis (as per 2012).
According to their website all teachers have been trained to work with children, so they are kindergarden teachers.
Their website is http://www.mama.co.at but unfortunately it’s only in German.
I’ll keep you updated on further services of this nature!
