Daycare and school: Improving language support in the Freyung district!

Daycare and school: Improving language support in the Freyung district!

A group of 50 specialists from primary schools and kindergartens recently met in the Freyung district office to discuss challenges and successes in language development. This event, which was organized by the cooperation officer Alexandra Bauer and the educational consultant Alexandra Stadler, had the particular aim of optimizing the transition from kindergarten to school. The new, central language tests that have been introduced since this year were also discussed in the current discussion muw-nachrichten.de.

A central concern of the discussion was the finding that there are different requirements for language proficiency assessments in kindergarten and primary school. In the course of this, an urgent appeal was made to the responsible authorities in order to better coordinate the instruments and specifications. In this way, the language proficiency surveys can be implemented more efficiently and in a more targeted manner and the basis can be laid for suitable support offers, such as the preliminary course German 240.

Innovations in language support

The changes brought about by the new law introducing mandatory language proficiency surveys were also discussed. This new regulation now stipulates that the language level of all children is recorded before they start school, including those children who are not cared for in a daycare center. Primary schools are required to assess language proficiency 1.5 years before starting school through a language screening, which will be carried out for the first time in March 2025 stmas.bayern.de informed.

Particular attention is paid to the “Bavarian language screening of individual language support needs – BASIS”, which was presented at the event. Parents will have the opportunity to register their children for this screening starting next year, unless they can provide a written statement from the daycare center that there is no increased need for language support. In these cases, however, parents of children with identified language needs are obliged to attend the appropriate daycare center with an integrated preliminary German course. This is seen as a great opportunity to provide children with the best possible language education.

Supportive measures to promote language

Another focus of the event was the “Bavarian language screening”, which is considered a funding requirement for daycare centers. Anyone interested can access the short digital versions of the SISMIK and SELDAK observation instruments free of charge via the IFP website. These instruments should not only be used to promote language skills, but are also of considerable benefit for development discussions and individual planning.

In her remarks, Alexandra Bauer emphasized the need for appreciative contact between the cooperation partners in order to promote the linguistic development of children in need of support. Anna Petrilak-Weissfeld from the State Institute for Early Childhood Education and Media Literacy was able to use practical materials such as books, games and dolls to promote language skills to show how language acquisition can be specifically supported. The event impressively underlined how important exchange and cooperation are in this area.

Anyone looking for further information on the subject of language support will find it in the “Newsletter for Parents”, which is provided by the Youth and Health Office. This contains valuable information to support language development and is available on the district office's homepage.