Childcare centre Insel seeks future with longer opening hours

The Insel childcare centre in Salzburg is seeking to secure its future by extending its opening hours, ORF reported on Tuesday. The facility is still waiting for clarity on urgently needed subsidies from the city and the state of Salzburg, with the start of the school year three weeks away.

From now on, Insel plans to offer childcare from Monday to Saturday, from 7.30am to 8pm. The centre is located near the Salzach river and the Aya Bad swimming facility, between Alpenstrasse and Franz-Hinterholzer-Kai.

“With this concept, we want to distinguish ourselves from other providers,” said Cornelia Lindner, managing director of Insel Haus der Jugend. She said afternoon childcare was becoming less viable as a standalone project, and that the centre therefore wanted to remain open until 8pm and offer corresponding programmes during those hours.

City says questions remain

The Salzburg City Audit Office is currently examining the facility. Insel has so far received around 180,000 euros a year in subsidies from both the state and the city of Salzburg.

The city says several questions about the centre’s future plans remain unresolved following a dispute between city politicians and Insel’s former board. In spring, Salzburg Mayor Bernhard Auinger of the Social Democratic Party put pressure on the centre’s team. Among other things, he called for greater transparency and a comprehensible educational programme from a new board.

According to the city administration, many parents have already been looking for alternatives for their children’s afternoon care in recent months.