Federal Government promotes OER basic qualifications for all-day school staff

The Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) has published a new funding guideline for the competence development of all-day care staff without pedagogical training. Projects that test and disseminate basic qualifications based on the “Competent in All-Day Care” (KoGat) curriculum using open educational resources (OER) nationwide will be funded. The announcement appeared on September 14, 2026, in the Federal Gazette (Bundesanzeiger) under the official reference BAnz AT 14.09.2026 B1.

Background and Objectives

The guideline dated August 20, 2026, builds upon the federal “OER Strategy – Free Educational Materials for the Development of Digital Education.” It aims to establish sustainable structures for the qualification of all-day care employees who do not have pedagogical training—for example, in after-school care centers, the provider model, or the school model. The goal is the nationwide structural quality development of all-day educational and care services.

Specifically, at least 30 openly licensed learning materials for the implementation of the KoGat curriculum and at least 15 digital self-study offers are to be created. In addition, at least five model-tested basic qualifications and at least ten openly licensed materials for specific framework conditions or target groups are planned.

Three Funding Formats

Funding is provided in three interlocking formats:

• Format A “Develop and Disseminate OER/OEP”: Development and broad-impact preparation of learning materials based on the entire KoGat curriculum, published under the Creative Commons license CC BY.
• Format B “Test Basic Qualifications”: Model projects that develop, implement, and test practice-oriented basic qualifications for staff without pedagogical training.
• Format C “Scientific Program and Impact Monitoring”: A project for the independent scientific monitoring of the overall program.

The duration is a maximum of 30 months for Format B, and a maximum of 36 months for Formats A and C. The grants are awarded as non-repayable subsidies via project funding; non-commercial projects by universities and research institutions can be funded up to 100 percent.

Eligible Applicants and Procedure

Eligible applicants include associations and federations, legal entities under public law, non-profit companies, foundations, as well as state and non-state universities and non-university research institutions. The application process is designed in two stages.

• In the first stage, project outlines must be submitted by November 10, 2026, at the latest, via the OER strategy homepage at www.oer-strategie.de/oe_kogat/.
• In the second stage, authors of positively evaluated outlines will be requested to submit a formal funding application via the “easy-Online” electronic application system.

The German Aerospace Center e. V. (DLR Project Carrier) in Bonn is commissioned with the administration, Department of Education, Digitalization in Education, keyword OE_KoGat. The technical contact persons are Daniela Bickler and Nina Grüter (email: ganztag@dlr.de).

Legal Basis and Period of Validity

Funding is provided in accordance with §§ 23 and 44 of the Federal Budget Code (BHO) and as state aid on the basis of Article 25 of the European Commission’s General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER). There is no legal entitlement to funding; the granting authority decides within the framework of available budget funds at its proper discretion.

The guideline enters into force on the day of its publication in the Federal Gazette and is limited until June 30, 2027, and at the latest until December 31, 2030. It was signed in Berlin on August 20, 2026, on behalf of Bettina Schwertfeger.

Practical Significance

The call for proposals is aimed at qualification providers, schools, and daycare centers nationwide and addresses the shortage of skilled workers in all-day care. Through openly licensed, freely reusable materials, the results are intended to have an impact beyond the model funding and be made accessible to as many employees without pedagogical training as possible.

Source: Federal Gazette, Official Part, September 14, 2026, pp. 1–15 (official reference: BAnz AT 14.09.2026 B1).