School starts in BW: Everything you need to know about the new school year 24/25

After six weeks of summer vacation, classes are starting again for around 1.5 million students in Baden-Württemberg. And for over 110,000 first-graders, school life is beginning for the first time. At the start of school, various topics are on the agenda of teachers, politicians and parents. We have summarized what they are.

The following topics will be important for the new school year:

The good news right at the start: Many of the vacant teaching positions in Baden-Württemberg have been filled. Although there are still around 250 positions open, said BW Minister of Education Theresa Schopper (Greens), this is significantly less than last year. At the start of the 2023/2024 school year, 565 positions were still open, compared to 890 the year before.

One of the reasons for this is that more places have been created for university courses – especially in primary schools. But around 400 career changers are also helping to combat the shortage of teachers in the country. This school year, they are also starting at high schools and in special education for the first time. Until now, direct entry into the other types of schools was possible.

But the shortage of teachers is not the only issue that concerns politicians in the school sector. Language support is on the to-do list of Education Minister Schopper. Starting this school year, sound language support will be introduced in kindergartens for children with special needs. It will start in the 2024/2025 school year in around 350 daycare groups. In three years, the offer is to be expanded across Baden-Württemberg. A so-called junior class is also intended to make the transition from daycare to primary school easier. In the future, only children who are really ready for school will be enrolled in school.

In addition to language, the Dealing with Artificial Intelligence (AI) increasingly relevant in everyday school life. According to the Baden-Württemberg Association for Education and Training (VBE), AI tools such as “ChatGPT” or similar are very popular with students. They are often used for homework. “The biggest problem: we don’t know what the truthfulness of a question will be,” said Oliver Hintzen, digital expert at the VBE. Teachers must make students aware that they can use AI programs to create texts, but then cannot be sure that the information in them is actually correct. “Teachers need to be trained here,” demands the VBE expert.

Baden-Wurttemberg

Challenges for Minister of Culture Schopper
Where things are going wrong at schools in BW in the new school year

How do we deal with artificial intelligence or a lack of teachers in the classroom? The new school year brings with it major construction projects that BW’s Minister of Education Schopper must deal with.

Following the AfD’s success in the state elections in Thuringia and Saxony at the beginning of September, demands for more Democracy education in schools. “I believe and hope that the weekend has now shaken up even the last few and made it clear to them that we really need to invest more in democratic education,” said Monika Stein, state head of the Education and Science Union. Other students should learn how to correctly recognize fake news. But the State Student Advisory Council is also calling for the rights of students to take part in responsibility to be strengthened.

Almost 112,000 first-graders are starting school this week. In addition to school bags, sports shoes and school cones, they also need a whole range of materials for lessons. This can be quite expensive. In most cases, parents spend over 300 euros on their children’s initial equipment. And the school enrollment celebration is not included in this.

Baden-Wurttemberg

The prices for school bags, stationery, etc. have risen sharply
At the start of school in BW: How much parents spend on their children’s school enrollment

First graders will soon be starting school again in BW. We talked to parents about how much they spent on the initial equipment and how they can save money.

But parents still cannot afford the school bags – which usually cost more than 200 euros when new. Instead, they have to rely on school bag donations. The Diakonie Baden-Württemberg has found that “an increasing number of families are coming forward with questions about their livelihood.”

More than 400 accidents occurred on the way to school in Baden-Württemberg last year. First-graders in particular are not yet able to properly assess the dangers of road traffic, according to BW Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU). Road users will therefore have to be even more considerate in the coming weeks than they already are. “We all bear responsibility for the safety of the weakest road users. Especially at the start of the new school year, we are all required to be particularly careful in traffic,” said Strobl at the start of the “Safe Route to School” campaign. After all, students should reach their destination safely.

Baden-Wurttemberg

More consideration required in road traffic
Baden-Württemberg: “Safe route to school” campaign for the start of school

In Baden-Württemberg, 426 accidents occurred on the way to school last year. The “Safer Way to School” campaign calls for more consideration in road traffic.

“Ideally, children walk to school,” says Carl-Eugen Metz, Director of Transport and Environment at ADAC Württemberg. This promotes independence and traffic skills. In his opinion, children should only ride their bikes to school after they have passed the relevant bike test, which takes place in the third or fourth grade.

And parent taxis continue to be criticized. In March of this year, the Association of Towns and Municipalities in Baden-Württemberg informed SWR that the heavy traffic before school started was having a detrimental effect on the safety of schoolchildren. The “dumping” of children directly in front of schools must be avoided, said the then BW Transport Minister Winfried Hermann (Greens). This is a real nuisance.

As in the rest of Germany, the number of violent crimes in schools has increased in Baden-Württemberg. Last year, almost 3,000 violent crimes were recorded. According to the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (NOZ), only North Rhine-Westphalia had more incidents. BW Education Minister Schopper emphasized to SWR that the state had already responded to the increase in violence and bullying in schools with comprehensive concepts.

The president of the German Teachers’ Association, Stefan Düll, demanded in the NOZ that more needs to be done on the subject of safety in schools. “I’m not talking about classic safety officers who organize a fire alarm twice a year. Safety includes violence prevention, anti-aggression training, road safety and crisis intervention,” said Düll.