Introduction

Welcome to the educcare Kita ratZFatz – a place where every child is seen, supported, and accompanied in their unique development.

“A child is what lies within.” – This guiding principle is more than just a pedagogical motto for us. It reflects our deep belief: every child brings their own strengths and talents, which they should be able to unfold at their own pace. Our role is to recognize these potentials and support children in discovering and developing them.

At the heart of our work lies participation. Children at our center are active co-creators of their daily lives. We involve them in decision-making, take their needs seriously, and create experiences in which they can feel a sense of agency. In this way, we foster confidence, responsibility, and trust in their own abilities – from the very beginning. Wie erzieht educcare? Unsere Bildungskonzeption

Our team follows the principles of the pedagogy of openness. This means that every child and every family is warmly welcomed – regardless of background, family structure, or developmental stage. Openness also means creating genuine opportunities for children to participate. They make decisions, take responsibility, and shape an environment that reflects their voices and ideas.

Our spaces are designed to offer both freedom and orientation. They flexibly adapt to the needs of the children while providing a clear structure – creating a sense of safety, belonging, and personal growth. We consciously balance freedom with reliability.

We work in a strengths- and needs-oriented way. Every child is seen as an individual with their own developmental path. With empathy, appreciation, and a clear pedagogical stance, we guide them along this journey and provide targeted support where it is needed.

Close collaboration with families is a central part of our approach. We see ourselves as reliable partners and create a “second home” where parents feel just as welcome and secure as their children.

As part of the educcare network, we benefit from the strength of an innovative organization that values pedagogical quality, professional development, and a strong team culture. Our work is based on sound knowledge, ongoing reflection – and a dedicated team working with heart and purpose.

Come and visit us to see for yourself how we at educcare Kita ratZFatz help shape a strong, creative, and self-determined future – in a space where children's voices are heard, and their potential is brought to life. Freier Träger von Kitas in Deutschland | educcare.de 

Quality Assurance

Our daycare centers are like a "second home" and provide excellent educational environments for every child. Parents find in us partners who support them in their personal life and career models. For companies and municipalities, we create individual and needs-based solutions in childcare.

For nearly 20 years, we have focused exclusively on the operation of daycare centers, and since 2015, we have been running one in Friedrichshafen, the ratZFatz daycare center, on behalf of ZF. Based on our educational concept, which is at the heart of our pedagogical work, we have developed structures and processes that make high-quality early childhood education possible in our facilities in the long term and sustainable. For you, this means: clear structures, guaranteed quality, efficient use of resources, and transparency.

The educcare educational and upbringing concept reflects the significance educcare places on early childhood education. It describes how we think about children, see the uniqueness of each child, and promote its individual development.

Our educational concept represents the professional attitude of our educators. It serves as a practical working tool for them and illustrates the need for responsible collaboration.

“One very important insight for us was how high the level of identification with the work is. 92% of our employees say, ‘My work has special meaning and is not just a job,’ and 87% believe they make an important contribution through their work,” says Axel Thelen, Managing Director of educcare, and adds: “We naturally want to maintain this enthusiasm for the work, which is why we continuously work with all our colleagues to get even better. Thanks to the benchmark study, we now have a very clear picture of our strengths, as well as our weaknesses. This is where we can make excellent progress!”

Employees also praise the fact that they can work independently, are treated fairly, feel welcomed as new staff, and enjoy a friendly work atmosphere. The responses came from an anonymous survey on categories like fairness, credibility, pride, team orientation, and respect.

In the annual parent and employee surveys, we thoroughly and carefully assess where structures and conditions need improvement. We are always in a continuous development process and have the ambition and drive to “aim higher!”

Basics

The company daycare of ZF Friedrichshafen AG follows the educcare educational and upbringing concept.

"A child is what is within it." – This guiding principle is more than just an educational concept for us. It expresses our deep conviction: Every child brings individual strengths and talents, which it may develop at its own pace. Our task is to recognize these potentials and support the children in discovering and further developing them.

The core of our work is participation. Children are active co-creators of their daily lives with us. We involve them in decision-making processes, take their needs seriously, and create experiences in which they can experience self-efficacy. In this way, we promote self-confidence, a sense of responsibility, and trust in their own abilities – from the very beginning!

Our team works according to the pedagogy of openness. This means: Every child and every family is warmly welcomed with us – regardless of origin, way of life, or developmental stage. Openness also means enabling children to truly participate in shaping their environment. They make decisions, take responsibility, and encounter an environment they can actively help shape.

Young children learn a second language in parallel with their native language using the immersion method. In everyday activities, a qualified educator consistently speaks English with the children in each group. In this way, children naturally acquire basic knowledge of a second language.

educcare has developed its own observation and documentation system, through which the development of the children is continuously tracked and documented in writing. Through attentive, perceptive observation, educators see and experience the child in its uniqueness and derive pedagogical actions from it. "Me-books" complement the personal learning history of the children. Their educational processes are recorded through video, wall documentation, or photo sequences. Parents thus gain a unique insight into the children’s development and daily life at the daycare.

In regular meetings, the pedagogical staff exchange views with the parents on the development of their child. Together, they reflect on upcoming learning steps and topics of the child, and agree on supportive impulses and offers. These development meetings are held every three months for children up to three years old, and every six months for older children.

Ensuring and continually improving the quality of the educcare educational daycare centers is an important goal for the provider. A key instrument for this is the annual parent and employee survey on satisfaction with the services of the daycare centers and the provider. The results of these surveys form the basis for further activities.