With this family support service, the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam 2022 reacted to the steadily growing number of students and employees with family responsibilities as well as the number of young families in the surrounding districts. The university and the parent-child group of Kinderwelt gGmbH act together as a local contact point with specialist pedagogical support that helps families with their tasks, problem solving and everyday hurdles. In the parent-child group with pedagogical support, families can feel perceived in their diversity and be accepted into a community of interest at a low threshold. The service is financed by the state capital Potsdam.
The tasks and goals of the parent-child group are based on the family situation of the families. The group is based on the fact that parents who otherwise look after their children at home accompany them to the group, thus creating a social support system. A meeting place is also created for employees on parental leave or in a transitional phase to daycare. For newly appointed professors, this childcare model facilitates their start at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam. Parents organise and determine the various activities and the daily schedule with the help of the educational staff. The spacious family room of the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam as well as an adjoining sleeping and resting room are available for the programme. The rooms are located in House 5 Room 002 on campus. The Department of Education and Social Sciences is located there, as well as two day care centres, the Family Centre and the FAMteam as a representative of the family-friendly university.
The parent-child group takes place Mondays to Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. with advance registration and is aimed at parents with children between zero and six years of age.
In cooperation with the FAMteam of the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam and the Bachelor's programme "Education and Upbringing in Childhood", low-threshold offers are being developed, such as a family café or thematically related impulses (workshops). It is also planned to involve students from the social and educational science programmes in short and long-term internships.
Further information and contact details can be found on the website of Spielgruppe PLUS