According to experts, children from migrant families are less and less likely to attend a kindergarten.
In 2018, only one fifth of children with a migrant background were cared for in a day care center - in 2015 this figure was two percent more.
For the older children up to the age of six, the difference is even more blatant: The proportion of supervised three- to six-year-olds fell from 90 to 82 percent over the same period. This is the result of a review of the German Council of Experts for Integration and Migration.
This misses the chance to learn a new language at an age in which children are particularly well able, said study author Claudia Diehl of the University of Konstanz. In German schools, the experts still see great need to catch up in the integration of children and young people with foreign roots.
For non-immigrant families, by contrast, the proportion of children cared for during the study period rose slightly, to 41 percent among under-3s and 99 percent among older children.
"Especially in the field of education stronger efforts are required here," said SVR Chairman Thomas Bauer. For young people, access to the education system must be made more flexible, the SVR recommends.
The childcare places have become scarcer over the years. Especially for families with a migrant background, it can be difficult to find a day-care center for their child.
Germany was not prepared for the large influx of people in 2015 and 2016 - but nevertheless reacted well in many areas. Among other things, the number of integration courses had increased and the admission for teachers had been relaxed. In the kite field, however, there would be a lot of catching up to do.