Regular primary school starts at 7:45am and usually finishes at 12 or 1pm, with lessons taking place continuously throughout the morning. Children can go home after school finishes or join an afternoon program (Nachmittagsbetreuung). Homework is often given for the afternoon/early evening. Whilst children usually keep the same teacher for all four years of primary school, this is not the same for the afternoon program, which can either be on-site or located elsewhere (Hort).
Schools with afternoon care can be either:
- Open school (Offene Schule) – Registration for this type of afternoon care is necessary. It includes lunch and supervised afternoon activities, as well as time to do homework, lasting until 4pm (or until 5.30pm if necessary). Children can be registered for 3, 4 or 5 days a week and it can change from one year to the next.
- Whole-day school (Ganztagsschule) – This is an interwoven schedule of lessons and supervised free-time activities until at least 3.30pm. Attendance is compulsory every day for the duration of the time at school (4 years). Usually both parents must be working to be eligible for a space.
In both cases, a fee is payable. The current fee is around 5.90€ per day plus lunch (approximately 4€).