School Entrance Examination

The school entrance examination

In the last year before starting school, all school-age children in Wolfsburg undergo a school entry examination at the health department.

The school entry examination is relevant for each individual child in order to identify any need for support at an early stage and to initiate support measures in good time before the start of school. Participation in the school entry examination is mandatory by law.
Families receive a written invitation about two weeks before the examination date.

Families receive the following documents with the invitation letter:

Parent preparation form
Information letter on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Information sheet on the procedure for the school entry examination

Please bring the following to the school entrance examination

Completed parent preparation form
Yellow medical check-up booklet
Vaccination card
WoBkiS-4 form from the kindergarten
Any existing aids (e.g. glasses, hearing aid, shoe inserts, ...)
Any other relevant diagnostic reports (from specialists, from the SPZ/ ZEUS, from speech therapy or occupational therapy practices, ...)

The school entry examination includes, among other things

Survey of vaccination status, medical check-ups, medical history and other socio-demographic data
Determination of height and body weight
Vision and hearing tests (see below, mobile services)
Developmental screening according to SOPHIA
Behavioral observation
Orienting physical examination

The school recommendation

At the end of the school entry examination, a final discussion takes place between the parents/guardians and the doctors, during which a school recommendation is made. School-relevant abnormalities, recommendations for further diagnostics and appropriate support options until the child starts school are discussed with the parents/guardians present. The aim here is to ensure the inclusion of as many children as possible in everyday school life.

If necessary, a doctor's note is given to the attending pediatrician, ENT specialist, ophthalmologist or specialist of another discipline.

Families will receive a copy of the school recommendation. We send the original school recommendation to the elementary school in accordance with the legal requirements.

The school recommendation only contains the findings that are directly relevant to school.
Flexi children

Flexi children are children who turn six in the period from July 2 to October 1 of the year they start school.

School attendance can be postponed by one year by means of a written declaration from the legal guardians to the school. The informal declaration must be submitted to the school by May 1st before the start of the school year in question.

Flexi children are also required by law to take part in the school entry examination.
Early school enrollment / optional children

Children who do not turn six until after October 2 of the year they start school are referred to as "optional children".

Optional children can apply to start school early. Families must make an appointment with the elementary school of their choice themselves.

The same standards are applied for the school entry examination as for children of compulsory school age. We will be informed separately by the elementary school if a child is enrolled early. Only then can the school entrance examination take place. The school management decides on the early admission of the child.
Quality assurance

The contents of the school entry examination are standardized.

Together with 26 other child and youth health services in Lower Saxony, we work in Wolfsburg in accordance with the guidelines of the SOPHIA network (Sozialpädiatrisches Programm Hannover Jugendärztliche Aufgaben).

In the interests of quality assurance, regular working group meetings are held within the SOHIA network, as well as SOPHIA specialist conferences on topics at the interface between pediatrics and education.
Data collection

The data collected during the school entry examination is recorded anonymously, i.e. no conclusions can be drawn about the examined child or their family.

The statistical analysis of the data collected is carried out at local (for Wolfsburg), state and national level.

This aspect of health reporting (GBE) is important for the planning, implementation and evaluation of prevention and health promotion measures.

At the end of a survey year, the data is sent in anonymized form to the
the Lower Saxony State Health Office (NLGA) for evaluation at state level.
made available.

The results of all child and youth health services in Lower Saxony are compiled and statistically analyzed by the
NLGA and statistically evaluated.

Since 2010, the data has been published every two years in reports with a changing focus
published every two years.

The data for height and body weight are also transferred anonymously to the Robert Koch Institute via the NLGA. This enables regionalized analyses as well as cross-state comparisons of similar districts and cities (see below, Journal of Health Monitoring | 2/2023 |
School entry examinations (rki.de)).

For more in-depth insights and detailed information, please refer to the following linked documents

Do you have any questions?

Please feel free to send us an e-mail:

E-mail: kindergesundheit@stadt.wolfsburg.de

Filter Tags

Filter Tags

The school entrance examination