| Faculty of Education, Education, School, and Behaviour, Research

Systematic language support in nurseries: University of Erfurt backs Thuringia’s Quality Compass

Thuringia is preparing for the state-wide introduction of standardised language assessment tests for five-year-olds. As part of the transfer project "Thuringian Quality Compass – Language Education and Inclusive Nursery Development", the 150 participating institutions will, from 1 September, be trialling a standardised procedure for language assessment for the first time. The observation tool "Milestones in Language Development" will be used for this purpose; it was selected in collaboration with the KOMPASS Sprache Teaching and Research Laboratory at the University of Erfurt and Erfurt University of Applied Sciences. It supports early years professionals in systematically observing language development, assessing it from a professional perspective and deriving appropriate language-support measures for everyday educational practice. The results will be incorporated into the scientific evaluation of the transfer project and will provide important insights for the further development of language education, as well as for the planned state-wide roll-out in Thuringia.

Christian Tischner, Minister for Education: “Better language skills on starting at primary schools take a huge strain off our colleagues there whilst at the same time improving educational opportunities for all children. With compulsory German tests and targeted language support, we in Thuringia are taking a consistent approach and ensuring that no child starts primary school at a linguistic disadvantage.”

As part of the “Thuringian Quality Compass” project, the language development of children aged between 48 and 59 months will be assessed in 150 nurseries from 1 September to 15 November 2026. Overall, the response was overwhelming: more than 300 centres submitted applications to take part. The selection was made through a comparative selection process in accordance with the guidelines and with due regard to a regionally balanced distribution.

“Language education integrated into everyday life is part of the educational remit of all Thuringian childcare centres and is underpinned by the Thuringian Education Plan. State-wide measures, such as improved staff-to-child ratios, strengthen the framework conditions for the language development of all children. Building on this, the transfer project ‘Thuringian Quality Compass – Language Education and Inclusive Kindergarten Development’ is developing a standardised procedure that is being prepared for implementation across the state. In this way, all centres across the state will ultimately benefit,” Christian Tischner continued.

(Press release from the TMBWK dated 31 August 2026)

Background

The coalition agreement set out key measures to promote educational equity, early childhood language development and inclusion. These include the mandatory introduction of language assessments at the age of five, as well as targeted support programmes for children with special needs prior to starting school. Key measures include the professional development of early years staff, the strengthening of educational partnerships and improvements to staffing levels in accordance with the Thuringian Nursery School Act, which will be implemented in stages from 1 January 2025.

To achieve these objectives and promote quality development in early years settings, the transfer project “Thuringian Quality Compass – Language Education and Inclusive Nursery Development” was devised. It provides targeted support to early years settings in strengthening language education and further developing inclusive structures.

Contact at the University of Erfurt:

Stephanie Kurtenbach
Dr. Stephanie Kurtenbach
Head of the KOMPASS language teaching and research lab
(Department of Special and Social Education )
stephanie.kurtenbach@uni-erfurt.de

More links

Back