School social work in Aalen: A new glimmer of hope for students!

School social work in Aalen: A new glimmer of hope for students!

School social work in Aalen was established on February 1, 2025 at all urban schools. This decision was made at the end of January 2025 in a meeting of the local council's education committee and approved with three votes against the AfD. School social work should offer more than 6,000 students in Aalen access to the necessary support.

Currently, 19 specialists with a total of 13.45 full -time positions are in use to master the challenges of school social work. The revised conception aims to address problems such as unexcitedly lack, child welfare, democracy formation and cooperation with all -day offers. This was achieved, among other things, by a legally and content -sharp role of the specialists in dealing with psychological stress and family conflicts.

meaning of school social work

The majority of the political groups in the municipal council emphasize the need for school social work. Ralf Meiser from the Greens described her as a "huge need". Petra Pachner from the SPD emphasized that school social work often represents the first point of contact for children in difficult situations. Thomas Wagenblast from the CDU underlined the role of specialists as professional support during conflicts and crises in schools. Jochen Wörner from the free voters compared the school social work with a "fire brigade for the soul".

In a strong contrast, the AfD criticizes the concept and considers it to be “little effective”. Andreas Lachnit from the AfD calls for a targeted use of resources in the case of demonstrable problems and Marcus Waidmann combines psychological problems with corona policy and employment relationships in families. Mayor Frederick Brütting contradicts these statements and emphasizes the reality of the psychological stress that affects many children and adolescents.

financial uncertainties

Despite the fundamental support from the local council, the financial situation remains tense. From July 2025, the city fears that cuts in the grants are threatened by the country. The city of Aalen currently bears around 631,000 euros annually for school social work. The country's previous grants amount to 225,000 euros and that of the district to 458,000 euros per year.

These developments are part of a broader discussion about the challenges of school social work in Germany, where models such as the “Mental Fit in primary school” project are also discussed. This model sees the role of social and psychological specialists in school context as an increasing need to meet the increasing demands in today's educational landscape. It becomes clear that the control and financing of such initiatives is crucial for their success.

Further details on the situation and the challenges of school social work in Germany can be found in the reports of the Bundestag and the Federal Ministry of Health under and Federal Ministry of Health .