SPD calls for new state concept against bullying in schools

The SPD is calling for a new state concept against bullying in schools. «Children must be able to feel safe in their school. Where fear, exclusion and systematic bullying determine everyday school life, young people can neither learn well nor develop freely," said SPD state chairman Ulf Kampf to the German Press Agency. It should not depend on which school a child attends or how well the local structures already work as to whether help is provided quickly and professionally.

“The state government must take more responsibility here. For me, good education doesn't just mean good teaching. It also means that every child can go to school happily and without fear,” said Kampfer.

The SPD education politician Martin Habersaat emphasized, “Mobbing is not a dispute in the schoolyard that will somehow go away. It is a systematic process of exclusion and violence.” That's why schools needed more than good intentions. “You need clear processes, qualified staff and quick professional support if a case escalates.”

Decentralized intervention teams are supposed to help in schools

There is already a nationwide action plan against bullying and cyberbullying in schools - from the perspective of the SPD parliamentary group, this should be redrafted. In addition, there should be new, decentralized intervention teams that advise and support schools in acute cases of bullying. In the future, teachers and school social workers should also deal with the prevention and detection of bullying as well as intervention in their training and further education.

According to the SPD's wishes, schools should also be helped to create new protection concepts. “At the same time, school psychology, youth welfare and school social work must work better together. A teacher or a school should not be left alone in a serious case of bullying. And especially no affected child should have the feeling that they have to deal with it alone,” said Habersaat.