More school psychologists than before are employed at the school psychology and inclusion education advice and support centers (SIBUZ). With 39 additional permanent positions and 26 temporary positions, the number of school psychologists will increase by a good third, the education administration announced. The background is the psychosocial stress caused by the corona pandemic, from which many children and young people are suffering. With the additional staff, these should be better absorbed. Settings have already been “largely done,” said the authority.
Almost 5,000 students from Ukraine are now being taught at Berlin schools, and a further 1,000 have registered to attend the school. Now there is a new offer for the Ukrainian children and young people: German-Ukrainian schools are to be set up in Kreuzberg and Steglitz. In Kreuzberg, a primary school location with two classes is being built at the Aziz-Nesin elementary school in cooperation with the Carl von Ossietzky school. In addition to German as a foreign language and Ukrainian, the subjects art, music, mathematics and sport are offered in German with the support of a Ukrainian teacher. In Steglitz, a German-Ukrainian school for grades 7 and 8 is being built at the Helene-Lange School in cooperation with the neighboring Hermann-Ehlers-Gymnasium. According to the education administration, the long-term goal is the establishment of a state European school. Staff for the new classes are available.
There will be no school inspections this school year either. In recent years, the inspections have been suspended due to the pandemic, in the last school year they were suspended to relieve the schools. The reasoning is this year: “In order not to burden the schools with additional tasks in view of the special challenges”, Education Senator Astrid-Sabine Busse (SPD) decided “in an intensive weighing process” to suspend the school inspection again.
In future, all children at primary schools will be able to go to after-school care without a needs test. So far, supplementary care at open all-day elementary schools was only possible for first and second graders until 4 p.m. without proof of need. Now this applies to all children up to the sixth grade. Parents still have to submit an application, but the need is “determined and decided by the youth welfare office according to the parents’ application,” said the education administration. In the future, fifth and sixth graders will be able to go to after-school care during the holidays without an additional needs test.
The Hygiene Advisory Board has a new member: Tobias Tenenbaum, Chief Physician at the Clinic for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at the Sana Klinikum Lichtenberg, has been with us since August. Patrick Larscheid, representative of the Berlin medical officers, and Reinhard Bartezky from the professional association of paediatricians left the advisory board in March. With Tenenbaum, there is again an expert in child and adolescent medicine on the committee. The Hygiene Advisory Board advises the education administration on questions related to the pandemic and its consequences. In addition to physicians, it includes representatives from schools, parents, students, districts and senate administrations.
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School swimming will again be offered to the full extent, the education administration announced. School swimming centers are to be increased to twelve this school year. At the beginning of the last school year there were five school swimming centers, now they are to be set up in all districts. There, trainers from the swimming association support the teachers in swimming lessons. Swimming lessons in Berlin take place regularly in the third grades. Intensive swimming courses are to be held again during the autumn, Easter and summer holidays in order to catch up on the backlog of learning to swim caused by the pandemic. More than 1700 children took part in this year’s swimming courses during the summer holidays and achieved the seahorse or a swimming badge in bronze or silver.
