Start school enrollment examinations: This is how our children are supported!

Start school enrollment examinations: This is how our children are supported!

In the Göppingen district, school enrollment examinations will begin in September 2025 for children born between July 1st, 2020 and June 30th, 2021. This group will start school in September 2027. The examinations are carried out by employees of the child and adolescent health service reported.

In total, around 2,700 children are expected to be examined in the first phase of the school entry examination (ESU step 1), which is similar to the number last year. The measures aim to identify support needs at an early stage and to identify necessary support in discussions with educators and parents.

School enrollment examination in detail

The examinations take place at various locations, including the Göppingen health department, the Helfenstein health center in Geislingen and numerous daycare centers. It is particularly important that the studies include both children from daycare centers and those who do not attend kindergarten. Last year, around 2,600 children were examined, including 77 children who did not have a place in kindergarten.

Parents will be required to provide certain documents. This includes the vaccination book, the yellow early detection booklet and a voluntary parent questionnaire. The educators also complete a questionnaire about the child's development, which includes, among other things, valid developmental milestones and questions about hyperactivity. A medical assistant from the health department then carries out a basic examination, a so-called screening, which includes height, weight, language development, motor skills and behavior supplemented.

The results of the examinations are then discussed with a doctor from the health department. These experts evaluate the examination results and documented findings and inform the parents in writing or verbally about the further process. If the language screening results are abnormal, a special examination (SETK3-5) will be arranged.

Goal of the funding

The overarching goal of the school entry examination is to support the children. In the penultimate year of kindergarten, it should be ensured that the necessary support measures are provided in the last year of kindergarten. The parents must give their consent to be interviewed by the educators. The procedure is viewed as the first step in a longer process, which usually leads from school readiness to the children actually starting school.

The introduction of mandatory language support in the last year of kindergarten under the “SprachFit” program is aimed specifically at children in need of support whose needs have already been determined in ESU Step 1. This ensures that all children are optimally prepared for their school career.