The first kindergarten was founded in 1975 on a private level – with state recognition. After other kindergartens joined us in the 1980s at the request of parents, the Kindergärten Finkenau e. V. association was founded in 1990, which was transformed into the Kindergärten Finkenau Foundation on January 1, 2010.

One of the founding board members was Konrad Mette, a qualified social pedagogue, who was able to implement his educational ideas of lots of exercise for urban children, participation, cooking together and the trip that took place several times a year at the time. The understanding of an inclusive attitude at the time formed a natural framework for dealing with children with disabilities right from the start. Over the decades, its focus shifted to the areas of personnel development and educational development of the facilities, as well as the implementation of new projects. The founding director Inge Schüler was responsible for the business side and the administration of the foundation from the outset and, in the course of her work, built up a lean administrative system that always focused on the needs and requirements of the facilities. With Uta Mette as the third member, the founding board was now complete and the foundation stone for today’s foundation was laid. Ms. Mette is a qualified psychologist and has been promoting the topics of child welfare and prevention in the foundation from the very beginning and is responsible for the area of further training as part of quality development.

The foundation currently has 30 daycare centers and GBS/GTS locations and more are planned. We educate and care for crèche, elementary and school children as well as children with disabilities or special talents. Some of our facilities are located in socially deprived areas, while others are in Barmbek, Wellingsbüttel, Othmarschen and Schanze, for example. The children come to us from around 8-12 months and some stay until they leave elementary school.

The foundation has been a member of the Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband since June 1, 1981. This provides us with the opportunity for a differentiated exchange with other providers and we are involved in the various working groups on specialist topics and quality development processes. We also use our voice to contribute content to discussions with specialist authorities and politicians.

The further development of our ideas also takes us as a provider beyond the framework of the daycare centers. We are receiving an increasing number of inquiries from companies and other providers regarding specialist advice or questions about work-life balance.

From the very beginning, we have stood up for basic democratic values and the freedom of the individual in our diverse society, as long as the needs of the community are respected. We are politically independent and offer space for all nationalities and people of different religions, which is why religious, political and other symbols remain outside our facilities.

Read even more about Finkenau in this press release (german).

Uta Mette

The qualified psychologist/systemic therapist is responsible for the internal training program for educational staff and employees from the housekeeping department. Together with her colleague on the board, Ms. Linda Köster, the content is reviewed annually to ensure it is up to date and changed if necessary. Ms. Mette is responsible for the area of further training as part of quality development. The aim is to impart the latest sound knowledge from the fields of education, developmental psychology, social pedagogy and related areas. It accompanies the daycare centers on site and supports the pedagogical specialists in the context of case supervision. Counseling services are available for children (training) and parents. Uta Mette is very familiar with working with children – the trained educator has worked in children’s homes, in child and adolescent psychiatry and in daycare centers.

Linda Köster

The psychotherapist for children and adolescents began her career at the Finkenau Foundation in 2007 as an after-school care manager. After a brief stint in child and adolescent psychiatry, she returned in 2011 to work for the foundation as a member of the Executive Board and Head of Counseling and Training. She has been a member of the Executive Board since November 2020 and is responsible for the areas of education/psychology, counselling and child protection as well as the internal training program for employees. She also accompanies the facilities on site and supports the pedagogical specialists in the context of case supervision. Linda Köster is also part of the Finkenau advisory team.

Dr. Marko Bleiber

Before his appointment to the Management Board in 2022, the qualified social pedagogue worked in various fields at the foundation. He started as an after-school care manager in 2009 and was involved in many educationally relevant topics at Finkenau at the time – such as educational and learning stories, development discussions and children’s trips. In 2012, he set up the then new Eulennest daycare center as a daycare manager. In 2015, Marko Bleiber changed his field of activity, first as a member of the Management Board and then as Head of Quality Assurance and Development.
On the Management Board, he is responsible for quality. He oversees the internal evaluation process and external audits. His responsibilities also include identifying needs, designing processes and transferring scientific findings into educational practice. As an expert in intergenerational encounters between children and senior citizens, he advises providers and associations.

Anna Roski

Anna Roski has been a member of the Board of the Finkenau Kindergartens Foundation since May 2023. She is responsible for the area of human resources with a wide range of topics such as employee recruitment, new hires and personnel development. Anna Roski has been employed at Finkenau since 2009 and completed her Master’s degree in Social Work while working as a language support worker at Kita Sonnenschein (Rothenburgsort). She opened the Wilde Finken after-school care center and managed the Frieberg daycare center for several years. As a divisional manager, Anna Roski initially gained further extensive experience in various functions and from all areas of the foundation before focusing primarily on the personnel area: for example, she took on the induction of new managers, was the contact person for the managers on the subject of observation with documentation and the contact person for the school locations. She also remains a speaker for internal training courses as part of her work on the board.

• Management and development of personnel
• Administrative and technical supervision
• Case supervision
• Consulting and training of parents
• Training with children
• Development of new projects
• Organisation and implementation of further training for our educational staff
• Suggesting and accompanying quality assurance processes
• Collaboration within the umbrella organisation
• Public relations work
• Involvement in committees, youth aid, etc., as well as networking activities
• Negotiating fees
• Business operations
• Development of new facilities

The board maintains close contact with its management and the educational staff. The management team meets with the board once a month, when all relevant issues of daily politics and important matters concerning the welfare organisation are discussed. The board visits the facilities regularly and takes part in team meetings and parents’ evenings.