When parents receive certain social benefits or have a low income, it is often difficult to offer their children the same opportunities in their free time or at school as children from families with higher incomes. However, children and young people in need are also entitled to participate in day trips, school trips, and communal lunches at school and daycare, as well as music, sports, and games in clubs and groups. This is where the education and participation benefits of the so-called education and participation package come in. Up to 2.5 million children and young people can benefit from the education package.

The support covers the following areas:

Up to the age of 18:

• Participation in social and cultural life, for example in sports clubs or music schools, is supported with a monthly lump sum of EUR 15.00.

Up to the age of 25:

• Support for personal school supplies, such as writing, arithmetic, and drawing materials, sportswear, and school bags. The amount of support differs between the first and second semesters and is adjusted annually. 
• Costs for additional appropriate learning support are covered to the extent that they are necessary to achieve the learning objectives set out in school regulations.
• For one-day trips organized by schools, daycare centers, and child daycare facilities, the actual costs are reimbursed.
• For multi-day excursions organized by daycare centers and child daycare facilities, as well as for school trips within the framework of school regulations, the actual costs are covered.
• Subsidies are paid for communal lunches for schoolchildren (if the school is responsible) and for children in daycare centers and daycare facilities.
• The necessary actual expenses for transportation to the nearest school of the chosen educational program (monthly student tickets) are covered, provided they are not covered elsewhere.