In the Municipal University Daycare Center, a total of 104 children from the age of eight weeks can be cared for from Monday to Friday, 7 AM to 5 PM. Priority is given to children of JGU employees and Humboldt scholarship holders. As this is a daycare center under municipal funding agency, only a limited number of spots are available for children not registered in Mainz. Employees of the University Medical Center can their children to the UM institutions.

Registration for the crèche and preschool is handled by JGU´s Family Services Center. Please fill out the application form for this purpose. We also require a copy of your child’s birth certificate and a copy of your employment contract with JGU, which you should upload to Seafile and share with us (you will find a corresponding link field in the application form). Registration for the municipal kita on campus via the Amt für Jugend und Familie (Office for Youth and Family) of the city of Mainz is also possible, but we recommend direct registration via the Family Services Center. An internal allocation committee, chaired by the Chancellor of JGU, decides on the allocation of places.

The costs for crèche places correspond to the crèche fees of the City of Mainz (as of 01.01.2018).

Contact Municipal Kita on Campus

Ina Weckop – Officer “Family Service” (Questions about registration, admissions process, etc.)
Email: familien-servicebuero@uni-mainz.de
Tel: +49 6131 39 24027
Forum 3 Room 00-314 55128 Mainz
Daycare Application Form (University Campus)

Julia Adams – Director (Questions about educational approaches, daily routines, etc.)
Email: kita.unigelaende@stadt.mainz.de
Tel: +49 6131 39 27455 (crèche) Tel: +49 6131 39 27450 (preschool)
Wittichweg 33 55128 Mainz
Website of the kita on campus

Childcare in Transitional Periods

In transitional care, children aged eight weeks to twelve years are looked after by educational specialists at the back-up facility 3 K – Kinder, Kunst Kultur run by pme familienservice GmbH. Transitional care is intended as a supplementary childcare option to enable you to return to the university after your parental leave if you have not yet found long-term regular childcare (daycare place, childminder, BHE). At the same time, this service also offers all international guests of JGU the chance to get a childcare place, even if they are only visiting JGU for one or two semesters and therefore usually do not receive a place in a municipal facility or with a childminder.

If you receive a place confirmation for your child, you will be granted the use of childcare in transitional periods for six months. During this time, you can use the care up to three days per week all day and with full board. You arrange the care days individually with the facility, whereby you must always commit to at least four weeks. As with daycare centers and childminders, there is an adjustment period at the beginning of the contract period.

As an employee of JGU or a Humboldt scholarship student, you pay a monthly flat rate as a personal contribution. This amounts to, for weekly supervision of

1 Day: €150.50
2 Days: €301
3 Days: €451.50

How to register my child

Application Deadlines for Childcare in Transitional Periods 2024/25

Due to increased demand, if you wish to start settling in at the beginning of the semester in April and October, you must submit your application two months in advance. Please note that it may not be possible for you to start settling in at the beginning of the month.

Further Information
Transitional Care Flyer
Transitional Care Guidelines

Contact

Ina Weckop – Officer “Family Service” (Questions about registration, admissions process, etc.)
Email: familien-servicebuero@uni-mainz.de
Tel: +49 6131 39 24027
Forum 3 Room 00-314 55128 Mainz
Download Transitional Care Application

Anna Bothe – pme familienservice (Questions about contract, daily routine, etc.)
Email: backup-3k-mainz@familienservice.de
Tel: +49 151 64592146
Münsterstraße 25 55116 Mainz
Website 3K (pme)

Childcare in Emergency and Exceptional Circumstances

There are situations in which, despite the best organisation of childcare, childcare gaps arise and parents need reliable care for their child or children at short notice. In these cases, JGU has been enabling you to use the back-up facilities of pme familienservice GmbH since 2009.

The childcare in emergency and exceptional circumstances is available for children aged between eight weeks and twelve years, on an hourly or daily basis at short notice, including evenings and weekends. As a member of JGU, you can use the emergency childcare service. free of charge for 3 days per year per child. Therefore, this offer cannot be used to bridge holiday periods at other childcare facilities.

If you wish to use the childcare in emergency and exceptional circumstances, you must register with pme’s free hotline by the evening before at the latest. The hotline is available daily, including weekends:

Hotline 0800 – 80 100 70 80

The childcare in emergency and exceptional circumstances takes place in the pme’s back-up facilities. You are not tied to the Mainz location, but can take your child to any pme back-up facility for childcare in emergency and exceptional circumstances, allowing you to choose the facility that is most conveniently located for you. For the Mainz campus, the nearest back-up facilities are in Mainz and Frankfurt, and for the Germersheim campus, they are in Mannheim and Karlsruhe. You can find an overview of all back-up facilities on the pme website.
If you are interested in using childcare in emergency and exceptional circumstances, we recommend that you and your child take a look at the facility during one of the regular open days, with no obligation. However, you can also use the childcare in emergency and exceptional circumstances without having seen the facility beforehand.

Childcare in emergency and exceptional circumstances in Mainz is provided at the backup facility ‘3 K – Kinder, Kunst, Kultur’ (Children, Art, Culture). It is located near the main railway station and Münsterplatz in the rectory of the Altmünster parish:

3K – Kinder, Kunst, Kultur
Münsterstraße 25
55116 Mainz

The university open house (taster day) at the institution in Mainz is held on the first Saturday of each month from 10 AM to 2 PM. Registration for the taster day is requested by phone: 06731-999054 or by E-Mail. Taster Saturdays in Mainz 2025: 06.12.25

Emergency Care Contact

Registration for Emergency Care

Hotline (Mon-Sun): 0800 80 100 70 80

Ina Weckop – Consultant “Family Service” (for questions about usage)
Email: familien-servicebuero@uni-mainz.de
Tel: +49 6131 39 24027
Forum 3 Room 00-314 55128 Mainz

Virtual Childcare

If you need to study or work from home while also caring for a child, it can be difficult to concentrate for extended periods. For these cases, we offer the option of using virtual childcare. Depending on the offer, this takes place either flexibly or at specific times. JGU members can use the virtual childcare free of charge for up to 10 days per year per child. Registration is via the pme web page. Please use your JGU email address exclusively for the registration.

Virtual Childcare 2025

Children’s Holiday Camp

JGU offers its members the opportunity to register their primary school children for children’s leisure activities in Mainz and Germersheim during the Rhineland-Palatinate school holidays. Since autumn 2024, there has also been the option of childcare on bridge days in Mainz.

The holiday program in Mainz is organized and conducted by pme familienservice GmbH. The holiday leisure activities are offered in all Rhineland-Palatinate holiday weeks, so you can already register your child for the entire year. In total, you have three weeks or 15 days of holiday childcare per child at your disposal. You can distribute these individually according to your needs across the school holidays.

Since autumn 2024, pme has been offering a pilot program for childcare on bridge days, which you can also use under the same conditions as the holiday childcare.

To register your child(ren) for holiday childcare, send an email from your university email address to ferienprogramm-frankfurt@familienservice.de. Important: Places in the holiday childcare programs are limited, the principle of first come-first served applies, so please contact pme at least four weeks in advance if possible.

As an employee of JGU, you pay a personal contribution of 90€ per week or 18€ per day per child.

Bridge Day Care 2025

Advent Care 2025

Advent care is an additional childcare service that is not counted towards your regular holiday care allowance. The use of Advent care is free of charge. The same applies here for registration: first come – first served.

Winter Holiday Care 2025/26

JGU has reserved places in the holiday care program of the Kinder- und Jugendzentrum Hufeisen for the children of its employees and students from Germersheim.

The offer is free of charge for children of JGU members. The information on the flyer regarding the price does not apply to you accordingly.

Please indicate by hand on the registration that you are an employee of the university and include a copy of your employment contract.

Holiday Program 2025

Contact Holiday Care

Annabelle Fischer – Holiday Care Mainz (Registration, questions about the program)
Email: ferienprogramm-frankfurt@familienservice.de
Tel: +49 151 58217689
pme Website

Saskia Magin – Holiday Care Germersheim (Registration, questions about the program)
Email: juz-germersheim@ib.de
Tel: +49 7274 702534
JUZ Germersheim Website

Ina Weckop – Consultant “Family Service” (for questions about usage)
Email: familien-servicebuero@uni-mainz.de
Tel: +49 6131 39 24027
Forum 3 Room 00-314 55128 Mainz

Employees of the University Medical Center can register their children with the childcare facilities of the University Medical Center.

Contact Childcare University Medical Center

Annette Diehl – Staff Unit Familienservicebüro (Family Services Center) UM
get in touch
Tel: +49 6131 17-8915
Website of the Family Services Center UM

Childcare in Mainz

From their first birthday onwards, children in Rhineland-Palatinate have a legal right to a place in a nursery or daycare centre. Parents must pay an income-based parental contribution for the childcare place. From their second birthday onwards, children are entitled to a free childcare place.

The municipal services currently include the following forms of care:

The application for an institution under the sponsorship of the city of Mainz is managed centrally by the Office for Youth and Family, Department of Daycare Centers. Registrations are only possible after birth, not during pregnancy. Allocation is based on a point system. On the website of the Office for Youth and Family, you will find a list of all municipal daycare centers. You can also log in online via the city’s Kinder-Kompass (Children’s Compass).

In addition to the daycare centers under municipal sponsorship, there are also daycare centers under denominational or independent sponsorship. You can also log in to these daycare centers via the city of Mainz’s Kinder-Kompass (Children’s Compass).

You can search for and find additional daycare centers in Rhineland-Palatinate through the Daycare Server Rhineland-Palatinate.

Child daycare can either take place in the household of the childminder (day mother/father) or the children are supervised by a caregiver in the parents’ household (BHE). This form of supervision is very individual and flexible, as the supervision times can be agreed with the caregiver. Day parents are self-employed, so you only pay the supervision costs of the childminder; payment for absences and vacation is agreed with the childminder. Parents who have their children supervised in daycare can submit a grant application to the city to have the costs of daycare subsidized up to €6.00/hour. BHEs, on the other hand, are employed subject to social security contributions. The parents are the employers and must continue to pay the BHE’s wages even during periods of absence. You can find information about private households as employers on the Minijob-Zentrale website. You may also be able to get the costs for BHEs subsidized by the city, but only if the BHE is qualified.

On the Mainz city website, you will find information about the regulations, costs and placement through the Office for Youth and Family Affairs. The ‘ChiK – Equal Opportunities in Childcare’ project is a service offered by the city, whereby places with childminders are subsidised by the city and can therefore be used by families of all income groups.

Childcare in Germersheim

From their first birthday, children in Rhineland-Palatinate have a legal right to a place in a daycare center or family day care. Parents must pay a fee for the childcare place, which is calculated based on their income, household size, and the extent of care. From their second birthday, children are entitled to free childcare.

The municipal services currently include the following forms of care:

For all daycare centers in the Germersheim urban area and in the Sondernheim district, you can register online via the city; the allocation is then carried out directly by the respective daycare centers. On the city’s website, you will find a list of all daycare centers. You can search for and find additional daycare centers in Rhineland-Palatinate through the Daycare Server Rhineland-Palatinate.

Family day care can take place either in the household of the childminder or the children are cared for in the parents’ household. This form of care is very individual and flexible, as the care times can be arranged with the caregiver. Parents who have their children cared for in family day care can apply for cost coverage from the Germersheim District Youth Welfare Office under certain conditions.

On the website of the Germersheim district, you will find further information, and parents can also find out about the process, placement, etc. in the information folder “Information for parents of children in daycare”, e.g., about the amount of the monthly parental contributions.

Schools

If your child turns six years old by August 31 of a given year, they are required to attend school in Rhineland-Palatinate, meaning they will be enrolled in an elementary school that same year.

Which state primary school your child will attend depends on the school district in which they are registered. You can find the school districts in Mainz and an overview of the schools in Germersheim on the respective city websites. For parents who already live and are registered with their children in the city, the primary schools will contact them in good time (about a year in advance) to invite them to register their children. If you are moving to Mainz or Germersheim, you should contact the primary school in your residential district as early as possible.

If you want to enroll your child in a private elementary school, you need to contact the school directly for registration. You can find the registration deadlines on the schools’ websites. The city of Mainz provides a list of all private elementary schools.

Both in Mainz and Germersheim, there are various special education schools with different focus areas (language, learning, or holistic development). To attend a special education school, a special education assessment is required. In most cases, parents must first register their children at the local elementary school. The parents or the school can then apply for an assessment of special educational needs. It’s best to contact the special education schools directly for information about admission requirements.

At the end of primary school, parents receive a recommendation from the teachers in the 4th grade with the mid-year reports, indicating which secondary school type would be most suitable for their child. To find out about the eligible schools, secondary schools offer information events. The dates are announced by the primary schools (and in local media). The registration period for state secondary schools runs from February 15th to the end of the month (February 28th or 29th) of the year in which your child transitions to secondary school. On the city of Mainz website, you will find a list of all state Gymnasiums and schools for the highly gifted, Realschulen plus, and Gesamtschulen. On the Germersheim district website, you will find an overview of all secondary schools. Registration and allocation of places in private secondary schools often take place before the start of the registration period for state schools, so if necessary, inform yourself in good time on the websites of the respective schools.