Is a child ready for school? This is tested during a special examination in the health department. However, there are again not enough dates for all prospective first graders in Hesse.
Wiesbaden (dpa / lhe) - Before the first day of school, all primary school students in Hesse should actually be medically examined by the health department. However, this year too, staff shortages mean that some municipalities were not able to offer all parents an appointment. However, some investigations are still being carried out during the summer holidays.
"Due to the corona pandemic, we were only able to start the initial examinations later and initially only on a smaller scale," explained Maria Karathana, head of the department for pediatric and adolescent medicine at the Frankfurt Health Department. Also because of the arrival of refugees from Ukraine, the "order could not be completely fulfilled".
However, all children with special needs and developmental problems were examined and the families were advised. This also applies to prospective ABC shooters who are scheduled for a preliminary course because of their poor knowledge of German. "Unfortunately, we currently lack the time and resources for the children without special needs or abnormalities," explained Karathana.
In principle, in the interest of children and young people, the state of Hesse has been aiming for 100 percent implementation of school enrollment examinations since April 2022, explained the Ministry of Social Affairs in Wiesbaden. This is also an important concern of the health authorities. “However, whether this can be fully realized for the coming school enrollment year will also depend on the further developments of the corona pandemic and its effects on the health authorities,” said the ministry.
The state of Hesse has relaxed the 100 percent quota for school entrance examinations for the current school enrollment year due to the effects of the pandemic, explained Renate Braun, head of the pediatric and adolescent medical service in the Gießen district. "We couldn't / can't examine all the children in the school year, the last examinations are still going on now and also during the summer holidays." The reason is, among other things, additional tasks for the corona vaccinations.
The greater time required during the examinations due to hygiene requirements also plays a role, and there have also been staff shortages in the past few months as a result of Covid diseases, added a district spokeswoman. In 2022, almost 2,500 children were reported to the Gießen district for school entrance examinations. The health department made around 1,760 appointments, 1,434 of which were taken. The proportion of children examined is therefore around 57 percent - in the previous year it was around 34 percent.
In Offenbach - despite the corona pandemic and the associated restrictions - around 98 percent of the children starting school could be examined this year, as city spokesman Fabian El Cheikh announced. The remaining small remainder have an appointment within the first weeks of school in September.
Height, weight, vaccination and preventive status as well as important previous illnesses are recorded during the school entry examination. There is an eye test, a hearing test and various tests on fine and gross motor skills, language and behavior. This is to check whether the children starting school are up to the task, as El Cheikh explained. If there is a need for support, parents will be advised accordingly. "The school entrance examination serves above all the well-being of the children, because a good start to school can be decisive for the further course of life."
In Kassel, the examination had to be canceled for almost 250 of the 4,000 prospective elementary school students, a spokesman for the city said. The reason was the high number of infections in January. "Unfortunately, these examinations could not be made up for." In addition, around 100 children did not appear at the doctor's. "In these cases, we are in contact with the responsible schools," explained the spokesman. Currently, around 60 additional Ukrainian children are being examined who are scheduled to start school in September.
In Wiesbaden, too, it was not possible to examine all children because of the corona pandemic, according to a city spokesman. Around two-thirds of the prospective elementary school students had an appointment, including all those with special needs. Further examinations would be offered during the summer holidays. In addition, the schools have the opportunity to register children who have abnormalities or need clarification even after they have started school, the spokesman explained.
According to a spokesman, Darmstadt will manage to examine all the children this year - "but we will also need the summer holidays for this". In the past period during the Corona crisis, around 60 percent of future school children were examined.
