School social work in Aalen: A bright spot for our children!

School social work in Aalen: A bright spot for our children!

Aalen, Deutschland - In Aalen, school social work has been on solid soil since February 1, 2025. The educational committee of the local council has decided on a revised concept for school social work, to which only three votes from the AfD. The decision on the municipal council decision is expected in the next meeting, which is already heating the minds. Over 6,000 students now benefit from this offer, which includes more than 19 specialists with 13.45 full -time positions that work at the urban schools. This not only established school social work in Aalen, but is also continuously expanded to smaller primary schools.

How important this support is, illustrate voices from the local council. Ralf Meiser from the Greens described school social work as a "huge need". For many children, it is the first point of contact in difficult situations. But the AfD's critics also spoke up and described the concept as "little goal". Rather, Andreas Lachnit from the AfD called for a targeted use of resources in the event of concrete problems, while whether Frederick Brütting brave the current challenges, especially with regard to psychological stress. He makes it clear that the reality of mental illnesses cannot be ignored in children.

need and challenges

The school social work has also been firmly anchored in the Ostalb district since its introduction in 2000. The need for social work support has increased significantly in recent years. Schools in the district have made new applications for job and job extensions in order to meet current needs. Here it becomes clear that social work is not only asked at focus schools, but also in the context of all -day care and the diverse challenges of a changing social life.

Currently there are 59.75 full -time positions for school social work in the Ostalb district, whereby the number of jobs has almost doubled in the past ten years. Nevertheless, the proportion of school social workers with 1.49 positions each remains behind the national average. An outlook on the coming years shows that the number of 6 to 18 year olds in the Ostalb district should increase by almost 13 % by 2030, which will further increase the pressure on the already tense situation in the education sector.

new approaches for mental health

In this challenging time, the introduction of mental health coaches in schools from the school year 2023/24 is becoming increasingly important. According to a survey as part of the German school barometer, there were considerable reports on behavioral problems among children and adolescents. The teachers reported an increase in motivation problems (68 %), conspicuous seclusion (39 %) and even aggressive behavior (23 %). Federal Minister of Family Affairs Lisa Paus emphasizes that children and adolescents are heavily burdened by persistent stress, pandeemie -related needs and geopolitical crises.

Especially in times when refugee children from Ukraine have traumatic experiences, it is crucial that schools can react to these special circumstances. Therefore, school social work is not just a support, but an indispensable part of the school system, which must be expanded in perspective.

The city of Aalen remains committed in this regard, but will also face challenges, especially with regard to financial uncertainties from July 2025. Because a threatening reduction in grants from the country could significantly impair the further planning and implementation of school social work. The city currently contributes around 631,000 euros to financing annually, while it is dependent on grants of 225,000 euros annually from the state and 458,000 euros.

The important question remains: does it manage to keep school social work stable and to adapt to the increasing need? The way to the future will show whether the right decisions will be made.

Further information can be found in the reports of Schwäbische Post , schwäbische.de and German school portal .