Education

The Future of the city begins in kindergarten

Kindergarten is the first educational institution in a person’s life. It forms the foundation for a child’s educational journey and provides the optimal environment for individual skill development and age-appropriate learning processes. In a group setting, and under the expert guidance of educational staff, the youngest members of our society can actively explore, understand, and shape their world.

Best opportunities for a good start into life for all children

The importance of early childhood education cannot be overstated. It lays the groundwork for lifelong learning, critical thinking, and social skills. It plays a crucial role in the development of children and, therefore, in the development of our society and our shared future in the city. In Vienna, all children should have the best possible start into their life, including their education. Kindergartens, as the first significant building block in the multi-level education system, have a special role in Vienna's education plans. For this reason, attending a municipally run kindergarten or a subsidized private early childhood education institution in Vienna is either free or heavily discounted for all children until they start compulsory schooling. But it’s not just the municipal kindergartens in Vienna that are free; private early childhood education institutions in Vienna can also be subsidized based on funding agreements. The goal behind this is to promote the education of all Viennese children and strengthen the compatibility of work and family life for parents or guardians. About one-third of all Vienna's kindergarten spots are directly provided by the City of Vienna itself, while the remaining two-thirds are offered by private educational institutions.

© PID/Martin Votava

Vienna’s kindergartens as places, where diversity, appreciation and equal opportunities are highly regarded 

In Vienna, special attention is given to ensuring that kindergartens and after-school care centers are places, where early childhood educators can create an environment, where every child can learn through play and gets the support needed in their respective development. According to Vienna's so called Education Plan, kindergarten children in Vienna ought to be able to take the first steps of their educational journey in an environment, where diversity, appreciation, and equal opportunities are highly regarded. "It takes a village to raise a child," an ancient African saying goes. Translated into our modern world, it could mean something like the following: To support a child in growing-up, a responsible environment, familiar caregivers, and reliable, competent educational partners in educational institutions are needed. The qualified staff at Vienna’s municipally run kindergartens and after-school care centers see themselves as experts in educational partnerships with parents when it comes to the well-being and education of the children entrusted to them. The City of Vienna relies on trusting cooperation with families. The central goal is to give all children the space to actively shape their world and to offer them the best educational opportunities right from the start.

© C. Jobst/PID

Vienna’s Kindergartens as places, where educational content is delivered in age-appropriate manners

In the kindergartens of the City of Vienna, educational content is delivered in an age-appropriate manner: the youngest children learn through playing, working, discovering & exploring, acting & reflecting, creating & observing. Modern pedagogy is guided by scientific findings. A particular focus is placed on the specific development of language, mathematical, and scientific skills. Early foreign language education is especially emphasized by integrating it into the daily lives of children, for example, through singing English songs, using English-language picture books, or playing together while early childhood educators are communicating in English with the children. Additionally, children are supported in their motoric and psycho-social development, among other areas. In Vienna’s municipally run kindergartens, learning is meant to be joyful, always playful, and conveyed in a community setting. These essential principles and the underlying pedagogical approach in working with children are also reflected in the mission statement of the municipally run kindergartens and after-school care centers.

© PID/Martin Votava

All-day kindergartens to ensure work-and-family-balance in Vienna

Since kindergarten is not only a place, where social interaction is promoted but also, where children are introduced to a healthy diet, the share of organic ingredients in meals in Vienna’s kindergartens is no less than 60% - with processed milk, the share is even 100% - after all, high-quality food and drinks are important building blicks for the healthy development and well-being of children. In adition, children are taught the importance of local food, with the entirety of fresh meat, milk, and eggs used in the kindergartens of the City of Vienna coming from Austria. To support working parents, regardless of their financial background, and to ensure the compability of work and family life, not only are more than 90% of the approximately 350 municipally run kindergartens open all day, but attending one of the approximately 350 municipal kindergartens is also free of charge.

© PID/Martin Votava

Vienna as a pioneer in all-day schools and the Viennese Campus Model

In Vienna’s schools, teaching and learning according to modern pedagogy meets up-to-date school infrastructure. That way, all eager-to-learn children are helped by the City of Vienna by providing the perfect conditions for their further educational journey, which is an approach, the City of Vienna is very keen on, no matter what type of school. To reflect the reality of most parents' lives, Vienna strives to be leading in enabling free of charge all-day care for around 245,000 schoolchildren. A key part of this modern school infrastructure is the Viennese Campus Model. This model does not only enable cross-age learning from one another but also enables the merger of learning units and leisure activities. Furthermore, combining kindergarten, school, and leisure pedagogy at one location not only allows children to complete their educational journey at a place, which they are already familiar with, but the architectural concept behind the Viennese Campus Model also leads to optimal spatial usage of the available infrastructure. Through the shared use of spaces, which are consciously designed with plenty of green areas, children learn to interact with those, who are older or younger than themselves. Besides emphasizing green space and sufficient outdoor areas for plenty of sports, the Campus Model also places great importance on the usage of sustainable building materials and green energy.

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Digital education becoming increasingly important

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear that digital education is becoming increasingly important. Vienna responded early to the new requirements for school operations: In Vienna’s schools, not only is the acquisition of digital knowledge among students promoted to help Vienna’s youth in becoming ready for the future's changing job market, but Vienna’s schools are also supported by the City of Vienna in acquiring the necessary devices and digitalization efforts, that are needed for a modern up-to-date digital education.

In Vienna, no one is getting left behind

The belief, that education creates opportunities is deeply rooted in Vienna’s educational system. Therefore, the City of Vienna offers all Viennese students, who happen to have occasional learning deficits, and who are attending primary school, middle school, or lower secondary school (AHS), usually aged between 6 and 14, free tutoring during the summer months, because in Vienna, it’s believed that everyone should be offered the best educational opportunities, and education should not depend on the parents’ background but should be accessible to everyone. Moreover, the so-called VHS Learning Stations offer weekly support during the school year, where students can get help with current studying material, homework, or preparing for upcoming exams. However, the City of Vienna does not only invest in educational offerings that benefit the youngest members of our society but also pursues the approach that it is never too late to continue learning. Projects aimed at preventing school dropouts and catching up on compulsory education, as well as funding for adult education, along with German courses and basic education courses for new immigrants, ensure that no one in Vienna should feel left behind.

© PID/Johannes Zinner

Apprenticeship training is a priority in Vienna

In Vienna, more than 17,000 apprentices are trained in around 3,500 companies, with 500 apprentices being trained directly by the City of Vienna, which itself is an international top figure. But Vienna is not just about boostering apprenticeships: The Vienna Adult Education Centers (Volkshochschulen), comparable to munically subsidized communiy colleges make up the largest adult education institution in the German-speaking world, where more than 120,000 course participants continue their education each year at 33 locations and 7 specialized institutions.

© PID/Christian Houdek

Leisure and holiday activities for Vienna’s children

The City of Vienna offers a wide range of leisure and holiday programs for children and young people during the summer months, allowing parents not to worry about where their children can receive high-quality care during the summer. The leisure and holiday programs offered by the City of Vienna range from summer and sports camps for children aged 6 and older to the so-called “Holiday Play” (Ferienspiel), which offers children and young people new, varied supervised activities every day during school break, to Vienna’s park supervision program, where children between 6 and 13 years old are provided with games, crafting materials, and sports equipment for their leisure activities free of charge. But that’s not all: To allow families with low incomes to go on vacation, the City of Vienna maintains a subsidy program for children and families.

© PID/Martin Votava

Vienna’s Libraries as a key to education for everyone

Libraries are not only places of learning, encounters, and communication; they also provide access to information, education, culture, and entertainment. All of this should be accessible to everyone, regardless of financial means. To meet this demand, the City of Vienna operates the Vienna Libraries as one of the city’s central cultural and educational institutions: more than 1.4 million media at 39 locations throughout the city invite you to learn, work, relax, communicate with each other and linger, thus contributing to the personal development of all users and ensuring everyone’s participation in social life.

© PID/Martin Votava

Further information on education in Vienna can be found at:

City of Vienna - Education. List of all institutions and activities to acquire knowledge and skill at all ages. https://www.wien.gv.at/sozialinfo/content/en/10/DirectoryDetail.do?liid=8

City of Vienna - Education & Research https://www.wien.gv.at/english/education-research/

City of Vienna - The School System in Vienna. https://www.wien.gv.at/english/education/sulsystem.htm

City of Vienna - Libraries in Vienna. https://www.wien.gv.at/english/education-research/libraries/index.html

City of Vienna - Holidays for families. https://www.wien.gv.at/sozialinfo/content/en/10/SearchResults.do?keyword=Holidays+for+families

City of Vienna - Holidays for young persons. https://www.wien.gv.at/sozialinfo/content/en/10/SearchResults.do?keyword=Holidays+for+young+persons

Smrta City Vienna. Viennese Campus Model. https://smartcity.wien.gv.at/en/viennese-campus-model/

Smart City Vienna. Fit for the future through digital education. https://smartcity.wien.gv.at/en/digital-school/

City of Vienna - German language and basic education courses https://www.wien.gv.at/english/social/integration/learning-german/

City of Vienna - German language courses and tutoring for children https://www.wien.gv.at/english/social/integration/learning-german/children.html