It is the only city in northern Germany to offer children a free place in kindergarten since August 1, 2008. The free of charge concept is part of Mayor Frank Klingebiel's concept.

This is based on the desire for families to choose Salzgitter as a place to live and work due to the good family policy framework. With comprehensive care, but also equal opportunities for education, care for health, good conditions for living, working and leisure in the city, Klingebiel wants to develop Salzgitter into one of the most child and family-friendly cities in Germany by 2015.

For the new study, the scientists calculated the annual fees for two model families with one child aged 4 and two children aged 3.5 and 5.5. These three age groups cover the early childhood learning window, which is so important from an educational point of view. The support children receive during this time is a decisive factor in their later success or failure at school.

The fees were calculated for a gross family income of 45,000 euros (based on the average income in the manufacturing sector) and 80,000 euros (higher gross income). The study calculated the fee levels for the respective minimum booking times that exist in the respective cities. In the majority of cities, these amount to 4 to 5 hours in the morning. Where the minimum booking time is higher, the fees were charged accordingly. This standardization was necessary because it was the only way to determine comparable results in view of the very different fee statutes in the cities.

The excellent city of Salzgitter took its first major steps towards child and family friendliness on January 1, 2008 with the appointment of the first full-time children's officer in Lower Saxony. Other priorities include comprehensive school refurbishment and trend-setting youth and sports promotion. A catalog of further measures is currently being drawn up on the basis of an inventory.

This task is being coordinated by the Children's Commissioner, who reports directly to the Lord Mayor. Her remit also includes further networking existing initiatives, organizations, clubs and associations as well as developing and implementing projects as part of a network.

"A city becomes child and family-friendly to the extent that many partners actively work towards the goal," Frank Klingebiel is certain. The Lord Mayor sees this network in constructive cooperation between administration, politics, associations and business. "Such partnerships make progress possible for everyone involved," he emphasizes, citing the training offensive for scientific and technical professions that he launched with Region Braunschweig GmbH as an example.

Salzgitter would also like to underline its position as a child and family-friendly city with special attractions: on September 20, 2008, World Children's Day, a 4500 square meter pirate playground was opened on the eastern shore of Salzgittersee in Salzgitter-Lebenstedt with a children's and family festival.