Saxony strengthens school social work and focuses on quality assurance

Saxony wants to improve the quality of social work in schools. The school authorities will be given more powers to check the suitability of specialists. In addition to the number of pupils, the number of school locations will also be taken into account in future when distributing funding for social work. The aim is to focus more strongly on quality assurance and quality development, it was said. Districts and independent cities would be supported more intensively in their conceptual work by the state youth welfare office. In order to implement all of this, the cabinet in Dresden amended the relevant funding guidelines on Tuesday.

"Schools have changed, so there is no question that school social work is absolutely essential," explained Social Affairs Minister Petra Köpping (SPD). The specialists make an enormously important contribution to giving children and young people equal opportunities for a good start in life. "This is why the state's school social work program is to be continued, further developed and expanded - and regulated by law for all types of schools. Further strengthening school social work is important to me because it is an investment in the future of our children."

According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, the state is supporting the districts and the three independent cities of Chemnitz, Dresden and Leipzig in this task with 37.2 million euros.