39 specialists take care of the problems of children and young people in Salzburg’s compulsory schools. At least six positions are to be added in the course of the new year.
Whether bullying, violence, arguments with parents or truancy – there are currently 39 social workers working in Salzburg’s compulsory schools and taking care of the problems of children and young people. The state now wants to invest in the expansion of social work positions at educational institutions and is planning six more full-time positions for 2023. 320,000 euros are to be made available for this purpose. Half of the money comes from the federal government and half from the state. Education Minister Daniela Gutschi: “Even if the peak phase of the pandemic with homeschooling and the mentally stressful restrictions is over, we must continue to make every effort to protect children in particular from violence and to prevent school dropouts,” she is certain. In the past year, the social workers employed in the schools have supported the teachers to the extent of 700 hours per week. The main aim was to deal with psychological, health and social problems that the students had. The new positions are intended to increase the workload. By the way: While it was 85,000 euros in 2015, the state and federal government will support school social work in educational institutions in 2023 with a total of 2.1 million euros.
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