In 2015, the state government, together with the municipal umbrella organizations, the umbrella organizations of independent welfare organizations, the churches and the state youth welfare offices, agreed on a training agreement for the elementary sector in North Rhine-Westphalia. This forms the basis for the financial support of further training in the elementary sector.

Since 2018, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia has been funding further training measures for educators in the elementary sector through a subject-related lump sum, which is passed on annually to the youth welfare offices by the state youth welfare offices. The aim of the funding is to set positive quality impulses in the field of early childhood education.

In 2025, training measures on the following topics are eligible for funding:

1. Everyday integrated language education

The training measures can focus on the implementation of everyday integrated language education as well as the following key areas:

2. Observation and documentation

The training measures can include the following focal points:

• Process-oriented quality development of observation and documentation processes in childcare
• Introduction and use of digital software to implement development and educational documentation
  

The orientation guide and further information can be found on the Kita portal: www.kita.nrw.de

3. Promoting media literacy

The training measures can include the following focal points:

• Promoting the media literacy of educational staff
• Developing and implementing media education offers for working with children
  

4. Prejudice-conscious upbringing and education, participation and social inclusion

The training measures can focus on the following areas:

• Reflecting on discriminatory and prejudiced attitudes and actions
• Promoting diversity-conscious and discrimination-critical skills and action strategies among educational staff (discrimination-sensitive action)
• Introducing and implementing the anti-bias approach in educational work with children and families
• Dealing with challenging situations in the context of inclusion
  

5. Overcoming the challenges of dealing with the pandemic

The training measures should take greater account of protecting and maintaining the physical and mental health of children and educational staff. The training measures can focus on the following:

• psychological health/resilience (for the target group of staff and children alike)
• body, health and nutrition (including, for example, education for sustainable development)
• promoting children's physical development
• participation and children's rights
• quality development/staff development in times of the pandemic (e.g.
• Educational and educational partnerships with parents
  

6. Process-accompanying specialist consultations for language daycare centers

The training measures are aimed at process-accompanying specialist consultations, which are based on the guideline for the granting of grants for measures to strengthen day-to-day integrated language education work in daycare centers from 6. December 2023 (MBl. NRW. Issue 2023 No. 50 of 28.12.2023 pages 1481 to 1538) (continuation of the former federal funding for language daycare centers). The training measures can focus on the following areas:

• language education integrated into everyday life and multilingualism,
• observation and documentation procedures in the area of language,
• inclusion and cooperation with parents,
• adult education

In addition to the regular training courses, the state youth welfare offices of the regional associations offer special courses for language daycare centers. Please get in touch with the respective contact persons at the state youth welfare offices.

7. Practical guidance

The training and access routes into early education practice have become more pluralized. For this reason, greater professionalization of practical guidance for those currently in training as well as career starters or career changers is becoming all the more important. The training measures can focus on the following areas:

• Basics of practical guidance and mentoring (including role and task clarification, coaching and feedback techniques)
• Communication and interaction in a multi-professional team (including Conflict management and team dynamics)
• Methods of adult education (skills transfer/reflection in the area of child development and early education concepts)
• Individual support and differentiation (practice-oriented approaches to supporting trainees' individual learning processes)
• Legal framework conditions and documentation of learning processes (e.g. supervision and data protection)
• Legislative framework and documentation of learning processes (e.g. supervision and data protection)
  

8. Development, application and review of child protection concepts in accordance with Section 11 (2) and (4) of the NRW State Child Protection Act

The training measures can include the following focal points:

• Development, application and review of child protection concepts in accordance with the NRW State Child Protection Act. This includes:
• Training in the context of organizational protection concepts
• Training for the performance of tasks in accordance with Section 8a (4) and (5)
• Obtaining external expertise for the development and review of child protection concepts
• Measures to strengthen child protection through materials
• Designing and implementing the pedagogical concept for safeguarding the rights of children in child day care

The "Funding principles of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia on the granting of grants for further training measures for pedagogical staff in the elementary sector" for the year 2025 apply to the processing of the subject-related lump sums.

The FAQs on the funding principles are also updated annually. These are divided into questions about the content and topics of the training courses and questions about the organization of the financial processing within the framework of the subject-related flat rates.

If you have any questions about the subject-related lump sums, please get in touch with the contact persons at the state youth welfare offices:

For the Rhineland Regional Association

General queries about the funding principles:

Sonja Hennings, Tel.: 0221 809-6276, e-mail: sonja.hennings [at] lvr.de (sonja[dot]hennings[at]lvr[dot]de)
Ina Weckmüller. Tel.: 0221 809-4232, e-mail: ina.weckmueller [at] lvr.de (ina[dot]weckmueller[at]lvr[dot]de)

For questions about the qualification measures

"Everyday integrated language education and observation":
Angelina Groß, Tel.0221 809-4089, e-mail: angelina.gross [at] lvr.de (angelina[dot]gross[at]lvr[dot]de)

"Inclusion, anti-bias approach, prejudice-conscious upbringing and education"
Jeanette Cremer, Tel.: 0221 809-4060, e-mail: jeanette.cremer [at] lvr.de (jeanette[dot]cremer[at]lvr[dot]de)

"Media literacy promotion in child daycare"
Tanja Bräsen, Tel.: 0221 809-4046, E-Mail: tanja.braesen [at] lvr.de (tanja[dot]braesen[at]lvr[dot]de)

"Early childhood education"
Silvia Franken, Tel.: 0221 809-4225, E-Mail: silvia.franken [at] lvr.de (silvia[dot]franken[at]lvr[dot]de)

"Child protection in daycare"
Janina Passek, Tel.: 0221 809-4074, E-Mail: janina.passek [at] lvr.de (janina[dot]passek[at]lvr[dot]de)
Jens Arand, Tel.: 0221 809-4097, e-mail: jens.arand [at] lvr.de (jens[dot]arand[at]lvr[dot]de)

"Professionalization of practice guidance"
Henriette Borggräfe, Tel: 0221 809-4170, e-mail: Henriette.Borggraefe[at]lvr.de

For the area of the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe

General queries about the funding principles:

Raphaela Eilting, Tel.: 0251 591-3195, e-mail: raphaela.eilting [at] lwl.org (raphaela[dot]eilting[at]lwl[dot]org)

Regional district of Münster:
Silke Lindart, Tel.: 0251 591-4186, e-mail: silke.lindart [at] lwl.org (silke[dot]lindart[at]lwl[dot]org)

Regional district of Arnsberg:
Andrea Averbeck, Tel.0251 591-7689, e-mail: andrea.averbeck [at] lwl.org (andrea[dot]averbeck[at]lwl[dot]org)

Regional district of Detmold:
Andreas Bönkhoff, Tel.: 0251 591-8570, e-mail: andreas.boenkhoff [at] lwl.org (andreas[dot]boenkhoff[at]lwl[dot]org)

For questions about the qualification measures:

Marco Lehmann, Tel: 0251 591 - 1590; e-mail: marco.lehmann [at] lwl.org (marco[dot]lehmann[at]lwl[dot]org)

In 2025, there will be an update in the area of "Everyday integrated language education/multilingualism", which we would like to draw your attention to: Since 2015, around 200 certified multipliers have been available to providers and childcare facilities for further training in the area of "Everyday integrated language education/observation tools". They were trained by the Lower Saxony Institute for Early Childhood Education and Development - nifbe under the direction of Prof. Dr. Renate Zimmer on the basis of the professional principles of "Everyday integrated language education and observation in the elementary sector - principles for North Rhine-Westphalia". There are currently still around 80 multipliers in use. This number is too low for the childcare landscape. From 2025, it will no longer be mandatory to use multipliers certified by the state. Further training in the area of everyday integrated language education and observation procedures can then be carried out by all instructors who are particularly qualified in this subject area and in the respective observation tools. However, the approximately 80 trained multipliers will continue to be available for further training. You can find the contact details and all further information on the profiles of the certified multipliers in the following list.

The content of the professional principles "Everyday integrated language education and observation in the elementary sector - principles for North Rhine-Westphalia" remain valid. All instructors can also use the content and implementation recommendations as a guide:

Well-trained educational staff are essential for the implementation of targeted language education integrated into everyday life. With this in mind, two pilot projects have been implemented in North Rhine-Westphalia as part of the "Bildung durch Sprache und Schrift (BiSS)" initiative: The project "Bewegte Sprache - Alltagsintegrierte Sprachbildung durch Bewegung" (Moving language - everyday integrated language education through movement) was carried out with educational teams in the district of Herford and accompanied by the Lower Saxony Institute for Early Childhood Education and Development (nifbe). The project "Targeted language education integrated into everyday life in key situations" took place in the Ruhr region, accompanied by the scientific working group of the University of Koblenz-Landau.

In both projects, a concept was developed that can be used to qualify educational staff in the area of everyday integrated language education. The following brochure describes the two concepts, their main content and their structure in order to highlight similarities - but also differences. The nifbe working group's curriculum remains the basis for training multipliers in "Everyday integrated language education and observation" in NRW. However, the multipliers can draw on the "Talking to children" concept in their training measures, in particular to deepen the topic of language education strategies.