2025

New recommendations on school education, counselling and support for sick pupils

In March 2025, the Conference of Ministers of Education presented new recommendations on school education, counselling and support for sick children and young people ('Empfehlungen zur schulischen Bildung, Beratung und Unterstützung von erkrankten Kindern und Jugendlichen'). The recommendations aim to improve the opportunities for participation and overall personal development of sick pupils and provide important impetus for the further development of appropriate educational opportunities at various learning locations.

Key points of the recommendations are:

• Education, counselling and support services: Providing educational services for sick pupils is a task for all types of schools and educational programmes. The recommendations emphasise the importance of educational services in clinics or similar institutions as well as in the home environment. These services are intended to help sick pupils keep up with their schoolwork. A consistent task in school education, counselling and support for young people with illnesses is to recognise and develop their strengths and potential in addition to their specific needs.
• Educational diagnostics and individual support: Process-accompanying educational diagnostics are a prerequisite for individual educational learning and support planning during illness and beyond.
• Multidisciplinary cooperation: The recommendations emphasise the importance of cooperation between teachers, medical and therapeutic professionals and guardians. Close cooperation is crucial to ensure the best possible support for sick pupils.
• Transition management: Reintegration into the original school or a new school is considered from the outset. Successful transition management is crucial to enable pupils to change schools smoothly and continue their education successfully.

Joint recommendation by the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma and the Conference of Education Ministers on dealing with antiziganism in schools

In March 2025, the Conference of Education Ministers (Bildungsministerkonferenz) and the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma (Zentralrat deutscher Sinti und Roma) adopted and presented their first joint recommendations on preventing and specifically combating antiziganism in schools.

„Schools must be learning environments that are critical of antigypsyism and free of antigypsyism, thereby ensuring equal opportunities for all children and young people,“ the recommendations state. Children and young people should develop an awareness of and advocate for the protection of Sinti and Roma from discrimination in society.

The main points of the recommendations are:

1. Awareness and knowledge: The recommendations emphasise the need to spread knowledge about antigypsyism and to raise awareness of its various manifestations. This is crucial in order to be able to effectively counter antigypsyism.
2. Mandatory curriculum content: The persecution and Holocaust of Sinti and Roma must be an indispensable part of the curriculum. However, the discussion must not be reduced to the perspective of the victims.
3. Self-empowerment and resistance: The recommendations emphasise the importance of teaching forms of self-empowerment and resistance among Sinti and Roma. The integral contribution of Sinti and Roma to German culture should also be made visible.
4. Cooperation with self-organisations: The conference recommends cooperation with Sinti and Roma self-organisations and anti-discrimination agencies to ensure comprehensive education and support.

The Conference of Ministers of Education will support the implementation of the recommendations in the individual Länder and evaluate them after a certain period of time to determine whether the goal of sustainably combating antigypsyism in schools is being achieved.

In December 2022, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (Kultusministerkonferenz), the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma and the Alliance for Solidarity with the Sinti and Roma of Europe published a joint declaration on teaching the history and present situation of Sinti and Roma in schools.

2024

New recommendations for school support for children and young people with special educational needs in the area of emotional and social development

In December 2024, the Conference of Ministers of Education (Bildungsministerkonferenz) adopted „Recommendations on school education, counselling and support for children and young people with special educational needs in the area of emotional and social development“ (‚Empfehlungen zur schulischen Bildung, Beratung und Unterstützung von Kindern und Jugendlichen im sonderpädagogischen Schwerpunkt emotionale und soziale Entwicklung‘).

The recommendations aim to improve special educational support for pupils with emotional and social difficulties and to place greater emphasis on prevention, individual support and cooperation between all those involved.

The new recommendations cover several key aspects:

• Early support: It is emphasised that early intervention is crucial to counteract the consolidation of dysfunctional behaviour. Schools should therefore pay particular attention to emotional and social development in order to be able to take preventive measures and provide appropriate support services.
• Multidisciplinary cooperation: The recommendations promote close cooperation between teachers, school psychologists, special education specialists and other support services. These multidisciplinary teams should work together to provide individual support to pupils and focus on their specific needs.
• Individual educational opportunities: In order for pupils with these support needs to develop new strategies for action, they need opportunities that are based on their own experiences and also focus on their social environment and school education. The basis for support is an attitude of trust, care and understanding, combined with clear rules, norms and values. On this basis, individual special educational support plans can be drawn up with the help of systematic behavioural observations and documentation.
• Strengthening emotional and social skills: A central point of the recommendations is the promotion of emotional and social skills. Schools should implement measures that help pupils improve their self-awareness, self-control and social interactions.
• Inclusion: The recommendations emphasise the importance of including affected pupils in mainstream schools. The aim is to create sustainable educational relationships and promote contact with peer groups in familiar social environments.
• The continued need for special educational support should be reviewed regularly, also to ensure that the measures continue to meet the individual needs of the pupils.

Declaration on the portrayal of Judaism in educational media

In December 2024, the Conference of Ministers of Education, the Central Council of Jews in Germany, and the Association of Educational Media adopted a comprehensive joint statement and recommendations on the appropriate and differentiated representation of Judaism in educational media. The declaration aims to break down prejudices, stereotypes and distortions in the teaching of Jewish history, culture and religion. The declaration and recommendations are aimed at creators of educational media, education authorities and teachers.

The declaration comprises twelve key points that are of crucial importance for a factually correct, didactically appropriate and unbiased portrayal of Judaism and related topics. The most important aspects include:

• Topicality and diversity: Jewish life should be presented in its present form and diversity. The declaration emphasises that Judaism in Germany, Europe and the world is a living part of society whose voices must be heard in educational media.
• Integration into society: Jews are an integral part of German society. Educational media should avoid portraying them as ‘strangers’ or ‘others’ and instead emphasise their role as part of the community.
• Differentiated perspectives: The portrayal of Judaism must take into account the different ways of life, both religious and secular, and reflect the diversity of Jewish identities.
• Avoiding stereotypes: Educational media are called upon to avoid stereotypical representations that can lead to anti-Semitic prejudices. This includes a critical examination of historical and contemporary representations.
• Anti-Semitism as a subject: Anti-Semitism should be treated not only as a historical phenomenon, but also in its current manifestations. The declaration calls for educational media to provide age-appropriate information about anti-Semitism and explain its manifestations.

The twelve points of the declaration are followed by detailed practical recommendations on the central topics of „Jewish life today“, „Jewish religion, ethics and culture“, „Jewish history from antiquity to the present“, „The State of Israel“ and „Historical and contemporary anti-Semitism“. Furthermore, cross-thematic pedagogical and methodological-didactic aspects such as language, materials and sources, and tasks are addressed.

The Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs has already passed resolutions on this topic in the past, including:

• Joint Declaration on Teaching Jewish History, Religion and Culture in Schools (2016)
• Recommendations for dealing with anti-Semitism in schools (2021)
• Annotated collection of materials for teaching about Judaism

These resolutions form the basis for ongoing work on an appropriate and differentiated representation of Judaism in educational media.

Framework for the qualification of school leaders

In December 2024, the Conference of the Ministers of Education of the Länder (Bildungsministerkonferenz) adopted the „Framework for the Qualification of School Leaders“ (‘Orientierungsrahmen für die Qualifizierung von Schulleitungen‘) This framework represents a significant step towards ensuring and promoting the quality of school education in Germany and is intended to strengthen school leaders in their central role as managers.

The framework was developed by the Commission on Teacher Education and comprises six central areas of responsibility:

• School development with a particular focus on teaching development and quality management,
• Personnel management and development,
• Health promotion and management,
• Internal school communication and cooperation,
• External school communication and networking,
• Organisation, administration, digitisation and law.

In addition, the orientation framework presents examples of how objectives can be formulated in specific school management actions, which illustrates the different directions in which a focus and continuous professional development can be set within each area of responsibility.

The Conference of the Ministers of Education sees the introduction of the orientation framework as an important measure for meeting the challenges of today's educational landscape, such as inclusion, digitalisation and the diversity of the student body.

Recommendation for action for the education administration on the use of artificial intelligence in school education processes

In October 2024, the Conference of the Ministers of Education of the Länder (Bildungsministerkonferenz) adopted a „Recommendation for action for the education administration on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in school education processes“ (‘Handlungsempfehlung für die Bildungsverwaltung zum Umgang mit Künstlicher Intelligenz (KI) in schulischen Bildungsprozessen’).This recommendation aims to enable schools to deal with AI in a constructively critical way and to make the best possible use of the potential of these technologies for learning and teaching.

The recommendation for action covers several key topics:

1. Influence of AI on learning and didactics: AI applications should support teachers and create a personalised learning environment that addresses the individual needs of students.
2. Changing the examination culture: The Standing Conference calls for an adaptation of examination formats to take into account the skills needed to use AI and to make performance assessment transparent and fair.
3. Professionalisation of teachers: Teacher training and professional development should systematically integrate the use of AI in order to be able to adequately assess the opportunities and risks of these technologies.
4. Regulation and legal framework: The KMK is committed to clear legal requirements that ensure the protection of students' personal rights while promoting the use of AI applications in the school context.
5. Equal opportunities: All learners should be given the opportunity to develop skills in dealing with AI in order to be able to act as responsible citizens in a world characterised by digitalisation.

The recommendation for action is based on important preliminary work by the federal states. This includes the supplementary recommendation of the Standing Conference ‘Teaching and Learning in the Digital World’ (‘Lehren und Lernen in der digitalen Welt‘) (2021) to the strategy of the Standing Conference ‘Education in the Digital World’ (‘Bildung in der digitalen Welt’) and the impulse paper of the Standing Scientific Commission of the Standing Conference ‘Large Language Models and their Potential in the Education System’ (‘Large Language Models und ihre Potenziale im Bildungssystem‘) (2024).

These documents and the drawing on of further scientific expertise, including at a specialist conference on the topic and through a written consultation process, have created the basis for the current recommendations. In the sense of an orientation framework, they form the common position of the Länder on the use of AI applications in school education processes.

Recruitment and training of teachers

In June 2024, the Standing Conference agreed on further measures to ensure the supply of teaching staff by implementing the concept “Measures to attract additional teachers and to structurally supplement teacher training” (‘Maßnahmen zur Gewinnung zusätzlicher Lehrkräfte und zur strukturellen Ergänzung der Lehrkräftebildung’). The resolution “Designing additional pathways to teaching” (‘Gestaltung von zusätzlichen Wegen ins Lehramt’) created a specific common framework for the design of qualification pathways to become a single-subject teacher as well as the introduction of so-called lateral entry master's programmes and dual study programmes. These are intended to supplement initial teacher education by enabling people to achieve a comparable or equivalent qualification for a teaching profession or for the teaching profession. The created pathways are intended to supplement, but not replace, the basic teacher training. There is no obligation to implement them. The existing resolutions on the content and structural framework for teacher training remain unchanged. These are additional measures that are based on the model of the two-phase initial teacher training in terms of the relevant standards of the Standing Conference for the educational and subject-specific sciences and the subject didactics, as well as in terms of their design. In view of this, the following order of precedence is recommended for access to the preparatory service for the state-specific regulations:

(1) state examination or Master of Education

(2) lateral entry with two derivable subjects

(3) lateral entry with one derivable subject

One of the aims of the current decision is to integrate graduates of alternative teacher training programmes as seamlessly as possible into the preparatory service or into teaching at school, even if they move to another federal state. It is intended to make a decisive contribution to facilitating the cross-border mobility of teachers recruited through the additional measures.

StarS – A strong start in primary school

In June 2024, the Standing Conference initiated a three-year development phase for the „A Strong Start in Primary School“ (‘StarS – Stark in die Grundschule starten’) project, which is being carried out by the Institute for Educational Quality Improvement (Institut für Qualitätsentwicklung im Bildungswesen – IQB) and is intended to expand educational monitoring. In order to assess how well the transition from pre-school to primary school is going, diagnostic tools are to be developed to assess the learning situation at the beginning of school and learning development at the beginning of the second grade, which will serve to monitor both the system and the individual.

Agreement on Work in Primary School

In March 2024, the Standing Conference adopted an “Agreement on Work in Primary School” (‘Vereinbarung zur Arbeit in der Grundschule’). The agreement is based on the 2015 resolution “Recommendations for Work in Primary School” (‘Empfehlungen zur Arbeit in der Grundschule’), which thus acquires a binding character and is intended to provide a uniform framework for work in primary schools throughout Germany.

This implements another political project of the Standing Conference from 2020. It also presents “Key Points for a Spelling Framework”(‘Eckpunkte für einen Rechtschreibrahmen‘) and a Concept for Teaching Connected Handwriting” (‘Konzept zur Vermittlung einer verbundenen Handschrift‘).

The agreement draws on current pedagogical, subject-specific and didactic findings in order to meet the challenges of a changing society and the changing needs of pupils. Changed social and individual conditions place great demands on primary schools in particular, and primary schools must respond to these in order to provide pupils with the foundations for a successful future educational career.

The agreement includes the consent of the Länder to establish a minimum number of 94 hours for the Land-specific timetables for grades 1 to 4. In addition, the range of subjects taught at primary school ensures a common course of education and thus forms the basis for successful further learning for all pupils. The core subjects taught in primary school – German, mathematics and social studies – have been strengthened in the new agreement with a minimum of 53 hours and with these subjects now accounting for more than half of the total number of hours. For more information on the "Agreement on Work in Primary School’, see the chapters on the organisation of primary school and teaching and learning in primary school.

Starting Opportunities Programme

In Spring 2024, the Federal Education Ministry and the Länder agreed on the Starting Opportunity Programme (Startchancen-Programm). The largest education programme in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany to date, it started on 1 August 2024 and will run for ten years. The federal and state governments are each providing Euro 1 billion per year in funding.

With the Starting Opportunity Programme, the federal and state governments are addressing the fact that educational success in Germany still depends heavily on social background. The aim is to improve educational and opportunity equality and break the strong link between educational success and social background. It complements the activities of the Länder in increasing equal opportunities, decoupling educational success from social background, and establishing training maturity and employability.

The programme targets schools in challenging situations, i.e. schools with a high proportion of socio-economically disadvantaged pupils. Approximately 4,000 schools are participating, of which around 60 per cent are primary schools and 40 per cent are secondary schools and vocational schools, with the latter primarily offering vocational and training preparation courses.

Specifically, the Startchancen programme comprises three pillars: Pillar I implements an investment programme for modern infrastructure and equipment that is more conducive to learning. Pillar II supports needs-based measures for school and teaching development, and Pillar III provides targeted support for multi-professional teams in schools.

The programme also aims to initiate systemic changes in the education system. It will be scientifically monitored and evaluated.

2023

Recommendations for the further development of the educational quality of all-day schooling and other all-day educational and care services for children of primary school age

In October 2023, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (Kultusministerkonferenz) adopted „Recommendations for the further development of the educational quality of all-day schooling and other all-day educational and care services for children of primary school age (‘Empfehlungen zur Weiterentwicklung der pädagogischen Qualität der Ganztagsschule und weiterer ganztägiger Bildungs- und Betreuungsangebote für Kinder im Grundschulalter‘.

Following the enshrinement in federal law of the legal entitlement to all-day support and care for children of primary school age, it is the responsibility of the Länder to determine the qualitative framework for all-day services in the federal states. The twelve recommendations provide impetus for the further development of the quality of formal, non-formal and informal learning throughout the day and define what educational quality encompasses. For example, the role of children in designing the programme, the importance of well-being and positive pedagogical relationships, strong cooperation between professions and stakeholders based on a common understanding of education, the reference to the child's living environment and social space, as well as a needs-based spatial concept and healthy lunch provisions are emphasised.

The specific implementation and design of the framework conditions are carried out by the Länder in the context of their specific systems and structures.

A good two-thirds of all schools in Germany are currently organised as all-day schools. About half of all pupils attend corresponding offers in the extra-curricular time. With the implementation of the legal entitlement to all-day education, a further increase in all-day schools and further all-day educational and care offers is to be expected.

Alignment of structural framework conditions for the upper secondary school level

In March 2023, the Standing Conference decided to further harmonize the structural framework for the upper secondary school level. This is based on the political plans for the "Länder agreement on the common basic structure of the school system and the overall national responsibility of the Länder in central education policy issues" (‘Ländervereinbarung über die gemeinsame Grundstruktur des Schulwesens und die gesamtstaatliche Verantwortung der Länder in zentralen bildungspolitischen Fragen') of October 15, 2020.

Among other things, the harmonization will strengthen the social science subjects by requiring at least six school semesters (instead of the previous four). In future, science subjects will be taught for a standard three hours at basic level or as foundation courses. Previously, two-hour courses were also possible. Teaching the necessary skills for a world shaped by digitalization has also been included in the basic section on the objectives of the upper secondary school.

The changes to the upper secondary school level agreement must be implemented by 2027 at the latest for the students who will then enter the introductory phase. The first Abitur based on the new regulations will therefore be taken in the Länder by 2030 at the latest.

Measures in response to teacher shortage

In response to the need for teachers, the Standing Conference agreed on further measures in March 2023. In a joint declaration, the Länder reaffirmed their close cooperation to date and adopted the following measures, among others:

• The Länder are committed to increasing the attractiveness and appreciation of the teaching profession in society.
• The Länder maintain sufficient capacities at teacher training colleges and for the preparatory service to meet the needs of the respective federal state and in this context reaffirm the principle laid down in the federal state agreement on the common basic structure of the school system and the responsibility of the federal states as a whole in central education policy issues, according to which it is the responsibility of the respective federal state to ensure a sufficient number of teachers for its own teaching provision.
• Together with their universities, the Länder are further developing the teacher training courses in line with demand.
• The Länder call on the federal government to take up negotiations in the Joint Science Conference (Gemeinsame Wissenschaftskonferenz – GWK) on the continuation of the teacher training quality campaign as part of its overall social responsibility.
• The Länder make it easier for so-called lateral entrants from other courses of study or with other degrees to enter the teaching profession.
• The Länder will provide appropriate training for so-called lateral entrants. They will develop common standards for the qualification.
• In addition to the procedural optimizations already implemented, the Länder are examining the possibility of employing teachers with only one teaching subject, which is already common practice in other countries.
• The Länder are examining ways to improve the recognition procedure for qualifications obtained abroad and to qualify international applicants with qualifications obtained abroad for the teaching profession more quickly.
• In particular, the Länder will examine the recommendations of the Standing Scientific Commission (Ständige Wissenschaftliche Kommission – SWK) of the Standing Conference, which focus on exploiting the potential of qualified teachers.
• The Länder are continuing their efforts to relieve teachers of organisational and administrative tasks.