Vorkurs Deutsch 240: Free German Language Support Before School Starts
If your child isn't yet fluent in German by the time formal language screening happens, roughly a year and a half before school starts, Bavaria has a free, structured answer ready: Vorkurs Deutsch 240, 240 hours of combined kita and primary school language support delivered across the last two kindergarten years. Since a December 2024 legal reform, language screening is mandatory for every preschool child in Bavaria, whether they attend a state-funded kita, family day care, or are cared for only at home, and it's the screening result, not migration background or nationality, that determines whether a child is assigned to the Vorkurs. Once assigned, participation is required rather than optional, backed by Article 37 of the Bavarian Education Act (BayEUG), and Article 119 BayEUG even allows a fine as a last-resort enforcement tool if parents don't ensure attendance. There's no cost to families either way, the course itself is entirely free.
The Official Rule
Finding out your child has been assigned to a language support course can feel like unwelcome news if you’re new to Munich and still getting a handle on the school system, but Vorkurs Deutsch 240 is built to be a genuinely practical head start, not a mark against your child.
Since a legal reform that took effect on December 17, 2024, language screening before school enrollment is mandatory for every preschool child in Bavaria, not just those attending a state-funded kita. The reform introduced a new school-based Sprachscreening, run every February and March, that specifically reaches children in family day care, in a Schulvorbereitende Einrichtung, in a Heilpädagogische Tagesstätte, or cared for only at home, groups that previously risked being missed if a family’s kita never ran the older SISMIK or SELDAK observation.
What decides whether your child is assigned to the Vorkurs is the screening result itself, not your family’s background. Under Article 37 BayEUG, a child whose screening shows an increased need for language support is required to attend a state-funded childcare facility offering the integrated Vorkurs in their final year before school, and the kita reports this directly to the family’s assigned primary school by the end of February.
| Period | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Second-to-last kindergarten year (first half) | Participation voluntary for this stretch |
| Second-to-last kindergarten year (total) | 40 hours of kita-based language support |
| Last kindergarten year | 80 hours in kita, plus 3 x 45 minutes weekly at the primary school |
| Total across both years | 240 hours combined |
None of this costs a family anything. Participation in the Vorkurs is free of charge, delivered jointly by kita staff and primary school teachers under state guidelines, so there’s no separate fee to budget for on top of your regular kita costs.
Once your child has actually been assigned, this shifts from an offer to an obligation. Article 37 BayEUG makes participation mandatory rather than optional at that point, and Article 119 BayEUG allows a fine, under Bavaria’s general regulatory framework for administrative violations, as a last-resort tool if parents don’t ensure their child attends. In practice this is rarely the first response to a missed session, but it signals that the obligation is a real one, not a suggestion.
What Real People Say
Among educators and childcare associations across Bavaria, the December 2024 reform is widely discussed as closing a real gap: earlier versions of language screening relied heavily on a child already being enrolled in a state-funded kita, which meant children in family day care or cared for at home by a parent could slip through without ever being assessed. Guidance aimed at Kita staff and parents alike now frames the new school-based screening as the safety net for exactly those families, and stresses that the process is meant to feel routine rather than singling a child out, since large numbers of children go through it every single year as a standard part of preparing for Grundschule.
Step by Step
- Ask your child’s kita directly whether and when the language screening will happen, especially if your child isn’t in a state-funded kita at all.
- If your child isn’t in any childcare setting, contact your assigned primary school to confirm they’re included in the newer school-based Sprachscreening in February or March.
- Once a Vorkurs assignment comes through, treat it as confirmed rather than optional, since it becomes a legal obligation under Article 37 BayEUG at that point.
- Keep track of which kita has the Vorkurs cooperation with your assigned primary school, since it isn’t always the closest kita to your home.
- Ask what happens after the Vorkurs ends, so you have a clear picture of how the language support connects into your child’s actual first year of school.
Compliance Note
This page explains the general Bavarian framework following the December 2024 reform, but it is not legal or educational advice, and details can vary as the rollout continues. For your specific situation, confirm current screening dates and Vorkurs arrangements directly with your kita or your family’s assigned primary school.
FAQ & Common Pitfalls
Is Vorkurs Deutsch 240 only for children with a migration background?
No, and this is worth clarifying because it's a common assumption. Assignment is based entirely on the objective results of the language screening itself, not on nationality, migration background, or which language is spoken at home. In practice, children who aren't yet fluent in German are the ones most often assigned, but the legal criterion is the screening outcome, not where a family comes from.
Do I need to apply for a place in the Vorkurs?
No. This isn't a program parents sign up for. Your child's kita carries out the language screening (previously using the SISMIK and SELDAK observation tools, now moving to the reformed BaSiS instrument), and if the result shows a language support need, the kita reports this directly to your family's assigned primary school by the end of February. From there, participation is arranged between the kita and school, not something you need to separately request.
What if my child isn't in a Kita at all?
Since the December 2024 reform, that no longer means your child is skipped. Children in family day care, in a Schulvorbereitende Einrichtung (SVE), in a Heilpädagogische Tagesstätte (HPT), or cared for exclusively at home are all meant to be invited to the language screening as well, through the new school-based Sprachscreening that now runs every February and March. If you're not sure whether your child has been included, it's worth contacting your assigned primary school directly.
What actually happens if we just ignore the Vorkurs assignment?
Once a child has been assigned, participation is a legal obligation under Article 37 BayEUG, not an optional offer, and Article 119 BayEUG allows a fine as a last-resort tool if parents don't ensure attendance, following Bavaria's general regulatory framework for administrative fines. In practice, schools and kitas tend to treat non-attendance as something to resolve through conversation first, but it's genuinely not something to simply disregard.