School social work in Dresden: Rescue comes too late for many!

School social work in Dresden: Rescue comes too late for many!

School social work in Dresden faces major challenges. While the city council has withdrawn the planned cuts in school social work in a recent decision, this decision is too late for many schools. At the Dresden-Cotta high school, the offices of school social work have already been left, and most of the committed specialists have accepted other positions. A school social worker was released part -time in December 2024, another took up a new position at a primary school on April 1, 2025, such as Saechsische.de

school social workers are not employed by the city or schools, but work with free providers who have already responded to the previous announcement of cuts. The loss of these specialists also has an impact on other schools, such as the Bertolt Brecht-Gymnasium and the Hans-Erlwein-Gymnasium, which have also lost their school social workers. Thanks to an anonymous donation, the school social worker can remain for three months at the Martin-Andersen-Nexö-Gymnasium, while the Free Waldorf School is unsure whether its school social workers can continue to be employed by May 31.

importance of school social work

The missing school social workers lead to considerable gaps in the support of the students. The headmistress Ulrike Nawroth emphasizes the importance of trust and consistency in school social work. Bullying cases and other social problems are increasing, which continues to worsen the situation in schools. Departments are often overloaded due to the lack of teachers and can take less care of the individual support of the students.

Mayor Jan Donhauser (CDU), on the other hand, does not see the situation as a big problem and emphasizes that new attitudes are made by the providers. School social work in Dresden has existed since 2002 and is currently active at 12 schools in Dresden, with 25 school social workers being in use. The goals of this work are diverse: They include the creation of equal educational opportunities, the promotion of the well-being of the students in the community as well as the support of self-determination, such as vsp-dresden.org explained.

educational inequality and their consequences

In a broader context, it can be seen that social inequalities in the education system represent a constant challenge. Literature and studies, as from bpb.de , evidence that factors and social background have significant influence on educational success. Political measures are necessary to counter existing inequalities. Early and compensatory measures are elementary to promote competencies and avoid educational poverty. This also includes the qualitative expansion of early childhood educational offers as well as the promotion of social skills and suitable learning conditions in schools.

In the current crisis of school social work, it becomes clear how important such measures are. The sustainable reduction of social inequalities and the creation of equal educational opportunities require a comprehensive and integrated approach that includes all areas of education. This is the only way to achieve a positive development that supports both students and teachers in their daily work.