From Sept 20th – 22nd 2012, the federal state referees’ annual meeting took place in Potsdam. On request of Jens Müller, Brandenburg’s state referee, twelve of the 16 Länder followed his invitation to the Oberlinhaus in Potsdam. The following contents came to the fore.
(Non-educational) staff in SNE schools for physical and motor skills development
In all federal states, children and adolescents with SNE focus on physical and motor skills development are educationally promoted by both SNE teachers and additional educational staff at their appropriate SNE schools.
Furthermore they mostly need supplementary staff requirements and aid to ensure a holistic learning opportunity at school that complies with the pupils’ individual abilities and needs.
Therefore therapeutic and custodial staff is employed at the SNE school for physical and motor skills development. Individual assistants and other members of staff such as social workers, psychologists, and school physicians complete the assignment.
In the context of the meeting – at a first glance – facts and framework conditions of the Länder related to the issue of additional staff in institutional educational work with children and adolescents with physical disabilities were discussed.
Therapeutic
personnel:
All of the twelve
represented federal states employ therapists (physiotherapists, ergotherapists
and speech therapists) at their respective SNE schools.
Differences arise from organisational frameworks, mode of employment as well as quantities of therapies.
While in some federal states the schools’ therapeutic personnel is employed by the Land government, (e.g. in Baden-Württemberg the so-called Fachlehrer – subject teacher), it is the school maintaining body in other states that provides schools with therapeutic staff as a voluntary service (e.g. North Rhine-Westphalia).
Again, in other states such as Thuringia, the whole therapeutic care is carried out by external practitioners, which use the school’s facilities.
The funding models are as diverse: In many cases therapies are carried out following present medical prescriptions, which are subsequently forwarded and billed by the families’ health insurances. On the other hand, some schools independently decide on the extent of the therapies carried out.
Custodial personnel: Many pupils are in need of day-to-day custodial aid. This may include medical-custodial aspects as well as aids in daily routines, e.g. in handing food, assistance in visiting the toilet etc. Many schools provide nursing staff that perform medically essential services.
Moreover, young people serving a gap year (Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr), practical training or induction year, form a substantial backup to the academic routine.
Due to the shortfall of the Zivildienst – the civilian service – considerable changes and shortages have occurred in recent years.
Also, regarding custodial personnel, there are different procedural methods nationwide: Whilst some federal states allocate staff according to their actual demand, others act on key numbers.
Individual assistants: According to regulations in SGB XII and SGB IX respectively[1] so-called Schulbegleiter – school escorts – have been installed in recent years, which are funded by communal cost units (i.e. social security, youth welfare). The federal state referees’ work group will grant this particular topic a slot at its next meeting and will attempt to work out a code of practice.
Even though the respective organisational frameworks and configurations differ on national level, the following points prove essential to the referees’ work group: tuition, therapy and care are for most pupils with SNE focus on physical and motor skills development integral parts of institutional education. In terms of a networking, multi-professional approach, relevant educational offers should be carried out by continuous, preferably permanently employed members of staff. The range of necessary requirements and aids must be oriented at individual needs. The above mentioned points apply to all SNE locations. They are particularly to be considered in the currently expanding inclusive promotion.
“Quality pre-requisites of institutional inclusion for children and adolescents with SNE focus on physical and motor skills development” study
Guest-speaker to the working group was Prof. Reinhard Lelgemann, who presented the results of the current study dealing with quality pre-requisites of institutional inclusion (cf. this issue’s article).
The study, completed summer 2012, is based on comprehensive literature research, (qualitative) interview research as well as a (quantitative) survey. Out of this Prof. Lelgemann infers differentiated recommendations and hints on how to design inclusive educational opportunities at school, in special consideration of children and adolescents with physical and multiple impairments.
Further results can be found visiting the website of Würzburg university (please search “Lelgemann Würzburg Studie Inklusion”). It became clear, that it is an essential task to everyone involved to actively shape the current development.
Norbert Kuckartz
Translation: Ruth Stang