With heart and mind: school social work as a lifeline for Hamburg's children

With heart and mind: school social work as a lifeline for Hamburg's children

The Geschwister-Scholl district school in Hamburg represents a concise example of the challenges with which schools are faced with socially disadvantaged districts. The modern school building, which consists of solid concrete and lots of glass, is not only a place of learning, but also a backing for around 870 pupils who come from problematic social conditions. These conditions are characterized by escape trauma, violence, debts, addiction and housing shortages. Headmaster Dirk Voss emphasizes that the school has a duty of care beyond pure education and has to actively provide support in order to counter these challenges.

In this context, eight social educators work at the Geschwister-Scholl district school who are integrated into class as part of the school team. They maintain a relationship of trust with the students and offer targeted support in areas such as addiction and self -harm. In order to get the social problems under control, these school social workers organize prevention projects, a free school breakfast and a student parliament. In addition, the class teams meet regularly to discuss current difficulties and develop solutions.

the social index as an aid

Another important instrument for the identification of social challenges is the school social index, which was developed in 2020 by the Ruhr University Bochum on behalf of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The index depicts the social composition of the student body and does not serve to evaluate the pedagogical work, but helps to specifically distribute resources to schools with high stress. An update of the index took place in 2023 to enable even more precise statements about social needs in schools. The goal is to better support these highly stressed schools.

This support is becoming more and more urgent in view of the growing stress, especially in the experience of corona pandemic. A survey by the Robert Bosch Foundation has shown that many students are very mentally stressed. In Hamburg, school senator Ksenija Bekeris plans to create 100 new positions for school social workers - also at high schools. These bodies cost around 7.2 million euros annually and are designed in response to the complex challenges.

educational inequality and necessary measures

The problem of social inequality in the education system is not new. In Germany there is a clear separation of educational opportunities, which depends heavily on the social conditions. Children from disadvantaged circumstances systematically do worse, which questions the meritocratic ideal that says that individual services and skills should decide on social origin. Education thus acts as a sorting machine that decisively decides on employment opportunities and social participation.

In order to counteract this unjust distribution, extensive reforms are necessary. So far, political measures have often only shown limited success in reducing educational inequality. The creation of new programs to support schools in disadvantaged areas, such as school social work, is a step in the right direction, but an overall strategy is required to address the deeply rooted social and economic problems.

Overall, developments in schools such as the Geschwister-Scholl district school shows the urgent need for school social work as an integral part of education. Only by strengthening these offers can it be possible to enable pupils from challenging conditions.

maz-online.de reports that the Geschwister-Scholl district school in Hamburg fulfills its duty of care, while School Ministry.NRW highlights the school social index to support schools. The political dimension of these challenges is comprehensively treated in the analysis of bpb.de