Childcare workers at primary schools receive certificates

There are a total of 38 primary schools in the Waldeck-Frankenberg district and they all offer comprehensive care for pupils, both before and after school hours. 16 of these 38 primary schools also participate in the state programme "Pact for the Afternoon". This means that they provide care even until 5 p.m. and to a certain extent also during the school holidays. "With the Pact for the Afternoon, we want to make an even greater contribution to educational equality, so that children can be better supported individually," says District Administrator Dr Reinhard Kubat, explaining the objective. As a joint measure of the State of Hesse and the Waldeck-Frankenberg district for integrated and customised education and care, the Pact for the Afternoon also contributes to the compatibility of family and work.

An important part of the offer is further training for the childcare workers, for the staff in the Pact for the Afternoon even according to a state-wide valid template for the implementation of qualification offers. District Administrator Dr. Kubat was pleased to be able to present the certificates to the first ten caregivers who took part in the training. The qualification series was offered to all primary school caregivers by the district's Schools and Education Department, implemented by the Protestant Fröbelseminar in Korbach. The small ceremony was supposed to take place in November 2020, but could only be held now due to the pandemic.

The ten caregivers had to complete a very demanding programme. In 88 teaching units on ten further training days - on Saturdays and during the autumn holidays 2020 - they dealt with pedagogical basics and their role in the "school system", with all-day schooling and the legal framework. Frequent reflections were held on the daily practice at the schools. In order to obtain the certificate, the support staff had to take a presentation exam in front of Melanie Brück, the head of the Protestant Fröbelseminar in Korbach, Claudia Alexi, a specialist teacher, and Svenja Lotze, a representative of the specialist supervision of the district's schools and education service... in all ten cases with great success.

"It is not enough to simply offer supervision of the school children within the framework of the Pact for the Afternoon - content must also be taught there," the district administrator emphasised the importance of the offer. In addition to the school social workers, the childcare workers are also important contact persons for the children in case of problems of various kinds. Therefore, one and a half years ago, when the special need for a qualification of Pakt support staff was determined by the state of Hesse, the district immediately looked for a practicable way to implement it. "We have found the ideal partner in the Protestant Fröbelseminar," said the district administrator, praising the excellent qualification work.

In the meantime, numerous other providers of the Pact for the Afternoon have already contacted the Schools and Education Department to learn more about this qualification model. The district of Waldeck-Frankenberg has thus become a pioneer for the implementation of the required further training for Pakt caregivers. The second qualification series, which starts in September, shows how well the training offer is accepted: again, ten caregivers have registered to participate in the school year 2021/2022.