Places for the disabled

Why the Graz crèche is a pioneer

Happy play in the new Mikado crèche(Bild: Jakob Traby)

Premiere in Graz: for the first time in Styria there is a crèche with explicit places for girls and boys with disabilities - more are to follow. The operator of the facility is also remarkable: the association Tagesmütter/-väter.

Five attempts, five rejections: when parents look for a place in a crèche for their young children with disabilities, it often proves frustrating. Many facilities are not confident that they can adequately cater to the needs of these children.

However, there are specially trained staff among the Styrian childminders. "We have 25 years of experience in this area," says Managing Director Daniela Wohlmuth. Now they have gone one step further and opened their first crèche in Annenstraße in Graz - with a focus on inclusion.

Finally getting a place after five rejections
Bright, friendly rooms, a green inner courtyard with a hill, three teachers, four caregivers, a social worker and an educational scientist: these are the key features of the Mikado crèche. Opened in December 2023, it is now going into full operation. There are two groups and soon two disabled children in each of them. In one case, the parents had just received five rejections.

Official opening of the crèche with Kurt Hohensinner, Daniela Wohlmuth and Werner Amon.(Bild: Markus Wohlmuth)

State Councillor for Education Werner Amon (ÖVP) also attended the official opening on Wednesday. He once again emphasized how much the mood in Styrian elementary education has changed for the better over the past two years: "We have a net 500 more elementary educators in the system."

Amon hopes that more inclusive crèches will soon follow in Styria - the childminders would certainly be ready for this, according to Wohlmuth. "The earlier you support a disabled child, the better," emphasizes City Councillor for Education Kurt Hohensinner.

New assistance in crèches
Incidentally, there is also a positive innovation at state level, which Hohensinner also welcomes. Assistance in crèches was introduced on September 1. This is a legal entitlement - usually up to the age of three - to assisted attendance at a crèche. According to Doris Kampus (SPÖ), the first applications have already been submitted.