Social affairs - GEW demands more money for school social work
The education union GEW is demanding more money from the state to support school social work. The state government must return to the agreed one-third funding, demanded GEW state chairwoman Monika Stein in Stuttgart on Wednesday. The local authorities currently receive a fixed annual amount of 16,700 euros per position. Due to pay rises and cost increases, this no longer corresponds to one-third funding. "According to calculations by the Association of Cities and Towns, one-third funding would amount to 22,000 euros per position," said Stein.
According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, the state has been covering a third of the costs for school social work since 2012. The school authorities, i.e. usually the municipalities, are actually responsible for this.
School social work can help to counteract educational inequalities and poverty, said Stein. In addition, school social workers also relieve the burden on teachers. "This relief for teachers is noticeable on a daily basis, because school social work provides close support to pupils in difficult life situations and in our multiple crises, reaching them at a low threshold and thus providing them with massive support," said Stein.
The GEW chairwoman therefore called for school social work to be expanded across the board. There are already school social workers at most secondary schools, intermediate schools, comprehensive schools and grammar schools. But only at a good 55 percent of elementary school. According to GEW, there were a total of around 1900 positions for school social workers in the south-west in 2022, spread across around 2800 people. In 2012, there were only 829 positions.
Social Affairs Minister Manne Lucha (Greens) spoke of a great success that school social work is part of everyday life at almost 70 percent of schools in the state. This puts Baden-Württemberg in the top group in a national comparison. Since 2012, the state's financial support has more than doubled. "In 2024, the state will provide up to 40 million euros in voluntary funding for school social work at public schools, which, mind you, is a mandatory task for local authorities that is not subject to instructions," said Lucha.
In the past two school years, the state had increased the flat-rate funding per full-time position to 17,800 and 19,600 euros through additional funding. Now that the special program has expired, the funding has returned to 16,700 euros per year.
The GEW receives support from the SPD parliamentary group in the state parliament. School social work is a necessary component of a modern school, said social policy spokesperson Dorothea Kliche-Behnke. "It must be guaranteed that every school can make use of school social work in the long term," said the SPD MP. The AfD takes a completely different view. Its education policy spokesperson Rainer Balzer accused the GEW of having the wrong priorities. "What we need is better early language support, more teachers and less bureaucracy and ideology in schools," said Balzer. School social work does not solve educational problems.
In addition, school social workers are often seen as assistance for the heavily burdened schools. "Young social workers in particular, who are new to the field, run the risk of "jumping in" here and there and being appropriated for school tasks, such as compensating for missed lessons and implementing educational plans," criticized Stein. However, this is not the task of school social work.
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- The demand for more funding for school social work extends beyond GEW, as schools in Stuttgart and throughout Baden-Württemberg could greatly benefit from an expansion of this service.
- Manne Lucha, the Social Affairs Minister in Stuttgart, has acknowledged the importance of school social work in reducing educational inequalities and supporting struggling students, with school social workers currently present at nearly 70% of schools in the region.
- GEW member and school social worker Manne Lucha has highlighted the impact of school social work on both students and teachers, explaining how these professionals provide essential support to pupils facing challenging life situations and alleviating pressure on educators.
Source: www.stern.de
