When parents receive certain social benefits or have a low income, it is often not easy to provide their children with the same opportunities for leisure activities 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, field trips, and shared lunches at school and daycare, as well as in 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 adolescents can benefit from the education package.

The support covers the following areas:

Up to age 18:

• Participation in social and cultural life—for example, in a sports club or music school—is supported with a monthly flat rate of 15.00 EUR.

Up to age 25:

• Support for personal school supplies, such as writing, math, and art materials, sportswear, and school backpacks. The amount of support varies between the first and second semesters and is adjusted annually. 
• Costs for supplementary, appropriate learning support are covered to the extent that such support is necessary to achieve the learning objectives established under school law.
• For one-day field trips organized by schools, daycare centers, and child care providers, the actual costs are reimbursed.
• For multi-day field trips organized by daycare centers and child care providers, as well as for school trips conducted in accordance with school regulations, the actual costs are covered.
• Subsidies are provided for communal lunches for students (if the school is responsible) as well as for children in daycare centers and in home-based childcare.
• The necessary actual expenses for transportation to the nearest school offering the chosen educational program (monthly student passes) are covered, provided they are not otherwise covered.