For children who have reached compulsory schooling age but whose level of development does not yet allow them to cope with the challenges of primary school, Schul­kindergärten, Vorklassen or Grundschulförderklassen have been established in some Länder. Attendance is usually voluntary, although in most of the Länder in question the authorities are entitled to make it compulsory. As a rule, these institutions have organisational links with Grundschulen (primary schools) or special education institutions. Schulkindergärten seek to create and optimise the conditions for a form of schooling, training and education that is tailored to the children’s needs by nurturing – as far as possible on an individual basis – the children's ability to gain perceptions and express themselves, through exercises and the handling of materials designed to arouse and develop attention on the part of the children. School readiness should be promoted by supporting the child's interests, motivations and activities in play and everyday situations that make sense to the child, without prejudging the goals and content of school learning. Playing and learning in social contexts is of great importance.

Some Länder have established so-called Vorklassen (pre-school classes) for five-year-olds who have not reached compulsory schooling age but whose parents wish them to receive assistance with their preparation for primary school. Attendance of Vorklassen in Grund­schulen is voluntary. The purpose of such pre-school classes at primary school is to encourage the children to learn by playing but without anticipating the subject-matter dealt with in grade 1 of the Grundschule.

In individual Länder, children with disabilities of pre-school age can receive support in a Schulkindergarten if the parents so wish and the school administration determines the need for early childhood special needs education.

Definition of target group(s)

In recent years the Länder have made intensive efforts to establish diagnostic procedures as a basis for individual promotion. These include for instance establishing language levels prior to enrolment at school, studies of learning backgrounds on starting school, establishing learning levels, comparative and orientation work, and competence analyses in different primary and lower secondary level grades. On this basis, essential individual support measures can be initiated, which are systematically developed in individual learning plans and in individual support plans if there is a special need for support.

Specific support measures

Language proficiency diagnostics and language support in the early childhood sector

As part of the measures to improve language competence in early childhood, there are now a large number of important and established observation and documentation procedures in the Länder to determine the level of language competence before school enrolment and, if necessary, subsequent language support measures. These and other measures are designed to particularly support children and young people with a migrant background and children with deficits in language development as well as to compensate for social disadvantages. In recent years, almost all Länder have introduced procedures for language status observation and assessment in early childhood education and in some cases have established obligatory language promotion measures.

Language Day-Care Centres for Children – Because Language Is the Key to the World

With the federal programme Language-Kitas: Because language is the key to the world (Sprach-Kitas: Weil Sprache der Schlüssel zur Welt ist ), which has been running since 2016, the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend – BMFSFJ) promotes the teaching of language education in day-care centres integrated into everyday life, inclusive pedagogy and cooperation with families. Language day-care centres are supported on the one hand by additional language education specialists who work directly in the institution. On the other hand, they are continuously accompanied by specialist counselling. The programme is aimed at day-care facilities for children with an above-average proportion of children with a special need for language education and support. Between 2016 and 2020, up to Euro 1 billion were made available to implement the programme. A total of Euro 776 million was approved for the implementation of the program from 2016 to 2020. Up to an additional Euro 376 million will be made available for the continuation of the federal programme in 2021 and 2022.

Education through Language and Writing

To further develop quality in the field of language promotion and language diagnostics following a phase of intensive development and expansion, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (Kultusministerkonferenz – KMK) , the Conference of the Ministers of Youth and Family Affairs (Jugend- und Familienministerkonferenz – JFMK), the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung – BMBF) and the BMFSFJ agreed in October 2012 to implement a joint initiative to develop language promotion, language diagnostics and reading promotion. The research and development programme Education through Language and Writing (Bildung durch Sprache und Schrift (BiSS)) scientifically developed and further tested the linguistic education of children and the effectiveness of measures introduced in the Länder for language promotion, language diagnostics and reading promotion from primary to lower secondary level. Clusters of day care facilities for children and schools, in some cases together with other education institutions such as libraries, media centres, etc., worked together closely within the BiSS to exchange their experiences in the field of language diagnostics and development and to implement and optimise proven measures. The programme supported the necessary continuing and further qualification of the Erzieherinnen and Erzieher as well as teachers in this field.

In addition, special attention was to be paid to the needs of refugee children and youths as well as their access to (fast) language education on account of the increased new immigration.

From 2013 to 2019, the BMBF provided a total of around Euro 23.8 million to finance the overall coordination and scientific design of the programme by a consortium of sponsors, as well as evaluation and development projects and the further training of multipliers.

In March 2020, the initiative of the Federation and the Länder "Transfer of Language Education, Reading and Writing Promotion" (‚Transfer von Sprachbildung, Lese- und Schreibförderung‘ – BiSS-Transfer) was launched. The aim of the five-year transfer phase is to bring the results of BiSS to the wider community. To this end, up to 2,700 schools (and, if applicable, day-care centres) are to work in networks – with the support of the institutes for school development and quality assurance of the Länder – to firmly anchor improved measures of language education as well as reading and writing promotion in their institutions. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung – BMBF) is funding this transfer phase from 2020 to 2025 with around Euro 13 million. The Länder bear the costs for the personnel and coordination expenses of the participating schools as well as for the advisory and support tasks of school supervision and Länder institutions.

Support Strategy for Poorer-Performing Pupils

In October 2007, the Standing Conference adopted an "Action framework to reduce the number of pupils leaving school without a first general education qualification, to secure transition from the lower secondary school to the next educational level or to vocational education and training in the dual system and to lower the number of trainee drop-outs" ('Handlungsrahmen zur Reduzierung der Zahl der Schülerinnen und Schüler ohne Schulabschluss, Sicherung der Anschlüsse, Verringerung der Zahl der Ausbildungsabbrecher'). Among other measures, the action framework provides for:

• individual promotion of disadvantaged children and young people, as well as children and young people from migrant backgrounds
• continuing expansion of all-day schooling, particularly for those children who need encouragement and promotion and use of the extended timeframe for measures of in-depth career guidance and transitional accompaniment
• intensification of encounters with the workplace in lower secondary education
• support of promotion through networks of partners from school and outside school
• improvement of teacher training with regard to learning theory and learning psychology
• special assistance for pupils who are in danger of not achieving the Hauptschulabschluss
• the deepening of Vocational Orientation (Berufliche Orientierung)

As far as possible, these measures aim to halve the number of pupils leaving school without a general education qualification in all sectors of education.

The studies on international comparisons of school performance (PISA, PIRLS/IGLU, TIMSS), and the preliminary investigations into the attainment of the educational standards for the Hauptschulabschluss secondary general school certificate, have shown that a significant share of pupils in the different subjects do not achieve a minimum level of competences. As a result of these results, the Standing Conference has agreed to make the targeted promotion of poorer-performing pupils a focus of joint activities.

In March 2010 the Standing Conference adopted a targeted Support Strategy for Poorer-Performing Pupils (Förderstrategie für leistungsschwächere Schülerinnen und Schüler), which includes prevention, intervention and compensation measures. The aim of the support strategy is to significantly reduce the number of pupils not achieving a minimum competence development level by the end of their course of education. At the same time this should considerably improve their chances of achieving a school-leaving qualification and successfully participating in society and the world of work. The support strategy is, therefore, also related to the fields of action agreed as part of the Qualification Initiative for Germany “Getting ahead through education” (Aufstieg durch Bildung), particularly the goal of halving the number of pupils without a school-leaving qualification.

In this context particular attention is given to children and young people with a migrant background. The support strategy resolved by the Standing Conference relates to the achievement of the minimum standards for the Hauptschulabschluss or a comparable qualification. This also includes pupils with special educational needs covered by the individual focus Learning, more of whom are to be given the chance to achieve a Hauptschulabschluss or comparable qualification.

The guidelines of the promotion strategy include:

• individual support in teaching geared to the educational standards;
• facilitation of and targeted support for longer learning periods;
• hands-on lesson planning;
• greater support for pupils with a migrant background;
• help for pupils with special educational needs to achieve a Hauptschule leaving certifi-cate;
• development of suitable all-day offers and strengthening of educational partnerships;
• the professionalisation of Vocational Orientation and the shaping and securing of transitions;
• development of teacher training;
• evaluation of results.

Various approaches and measures are already being pursued in the Länder to promote poorer-performing pupils. These can be grouped into five strategy areas:

• improving individual support;
• restructuring learning: development of teaching geared to competences, new forms of acquisition of competences;
• facilitating qualifications, structuring transitions and safeguarding connections;
• connecting partners, coordinating action, building networks and cooperation;
• strengthening quality assurance and quality development, intensifying educational research.

In May 2020, the Standing Conference presented a "Report on the status of implementation of the support strategy for poorer-performing pupils" (‘Bericht zum Stand der Umsetzung der Förderstrategie für leistungsschwächere Schülerinnen und Schüler’). The successful approaches and measures to promote poorer-performing pupils will be continued in the coming years and the objectives associated with the promotion strategy will be pursued continuously and emphatically.

In October 2019, the Federation and the Länder agreed on a joint initiative to support schools in socially difficult locations. The initiative "School gives you strength“ (‚Schule macht stark) has been launched at the beginning of 2021. This initiative is intended to support schools in socially difficult locations in both urban and rural areas in order to better meet their challenges. At these schools, children and young people with major learning deficits are disproportionately represented.

Remedial teaching

Pupils with learning difficulties usually receive remedial teaching within the framework of teaching in mixed ability classes. To support these pupils, learning groups may also be set up for a certain period of time. However, these measures are accompanied by integrative work in class. The primary focus is on differentiating forms of planning, teaching and organising the teaching and education processes. In December 2003, the Standing Conference adopted basic principles for the individual promotion of pupils experiencing particular difficulties with reading and writing.

Plans for remedial teaching are to be developed to support these children that, as part of the overall schooling concept, will be agreed with all the teaching staff involved, as well as with the parents and pupils. For this group of pupils, the schools provide general remedial instruction during school hours or complementary remedial instruction after hours. Individual remedial instruction should continue until the end of grade 10. The resolution of December 2003 was revised in November 2007 and enhanced by principles governing the individual promotion of pupils experiencing particular difficulties in mathematics.

As well as the compulsory sports lessons at schools, adapted physical education may be offered. This is designed above all for pupils with motor deficits and psychosocial problems. Its aim is to impact positively on their motor development and improve their health and hence well-being.

Pupils who are experiencing difficulties in the learning process and who are liable to fail to achieve the educational goals of a school year may be given learning support individually in small groups in addition to the instruction they receive in class. Remedial programmes mainly concern German and mathematics as well as foreign languages. Additional instruction may be given in any timetabled subjects. The instruction is normally provided in the afternoon.

Support for children of occupational travellers

For children and young people whose life is characterised by continual moves and a consequent lack of continuity in their school development, an improvement in the schooling situation must aim above all at continuity, a stable relationship between pupil and teacher, and at elements which stabilise their school career and motivate those pupils to attend school. Children of circus artists, fairground entertainers and other occupational travellers have to change school up to thirty times a year. This particular situation calls for coordinated supporting systems that also work across the Länder in order to take into account the special learning conditions of these children and young people, allowing them to gain a school-leaving qualification and thus guaranteeing a successful transfer to working life.

The Länder have developed several schemes to improve the school education of the children of professional travellers. In all Länder, special regulations apply for teaching the children of professional travellers. This teaching is based on a system of Stammschulen and Stützpunktschulen (regular and base schools) that has been introduced in all Länder. The Stammschule is the school attended by the children of travelling families during the periods when they are not travelling. This is usually a school at the primary residence or winter quarters of the family. This is where the pupils’ files are kept and where certificates and the learning materials, and usually the school logbooks, are issued too. The Stützpunktschule are schools that the children attend when travelling. They are normally located near fairgrounds or the residential locations of the travelling family and are specially adjusted to meet the needs of travelling children.

In addition to the established home and base system, mobile schools in Nordrhein-Westfalen and Hessen supplement the regular teaching of children of occupational travellers at primary and lower secondary level.

During the travel times of the children of occupational travellers, remote supervision by the main schools or the mobile area teachers can also supplement the face-to-face lessons.

The mobile Bereichslehrer (regional teachers) make an important contribution to supporting and encouraging the travelling children in all Länder. They look after not only the children from their own Federal State but also travelling children and act as a link between the school and parents, the Stammschule and Stützpunktschule as well as the relevant teachers. They particularly offer counselling and information during the child’s entire school career, accompany the children outside the lessons and can also offer homework supervision and remedial teaching.

The school logbook for the subjects German, mathematics and the first foreign language, introduced by resolution of the Standing Conference, enables the children of occupational travellers to continue working on their individual learning status during the trip. Furthermore, the school logbook documents the individual learning development and is proof of their attendance at school. A supplementary handout for teachers contains all the necessary information on how to use the school logbook.

DigLu" ("Digital Learning on the Road") was designed as a further development on a digital basis. It creates a new type of digital learning infrastructure for children of occupational travellers that is compatible with data protection and transnational.

DigLu is a cross-Länder learning management system and provides children of occupational travellers, their legal guardians, their teachers at the home schools and support schools as well as their Bereichslehrkräfte with a variety of functions that can be used to improve learning support during the journey.

With DigLu, the children of occupational travellers can experience a new continuity of learning on the journey, receive seamless learning development and performance assessment, use a variety of digital teaching and learning materials regardless of location, and access offers from other digital systems.

Teachers at the main and support schools as well as the mobile Bereichslehrkräfte have the opportunity to supervise and support the children on the journey with the necessary continuity and to keep a constant eye on the learning development of the child during the journey. DigLu was successfully launched as a pilot project on 1 November 2020 with the pilot states of Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Hessen, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Sachsen and Thüringen. All other Länder will enter the trial phase by the end of 2022. After successful completion of the trial phase, it is planned to transfer DigLu to regular operation by all Länder and thus to firmly establish it as a cross-Länder system. DigLu is funded by the DigitalPakt Schule.

These support services, including the above-mentioned documents, information on the pedagogical concept, current information as well as access to institutions active in this field and to contact persons in the Länder and much more can be found on the homepage. The website is maintained by BERiD, the Association for the Promotion of School Education and Upbringing of Children of Members of Travelling Professions in Germany e. V. (Verein zur Förderung der schulischen Bildung und Erziehung von Kindern der Angehörigen reisender Berufsgruppen in Deutschland e. V.) with the support of the Arnsberg District Government (Nordrhein-Westfalen).

The above-mentioned support services and documents, current and further information on the pedagogical concept as well as access to institutions active in this field, to the contact persons in the Länder as well as to the Bereichslehrkräfte and much more can be found on the homepage of www.schule-unterwegs.de. The website is maintained by the Federal Association for the Promotion of Education and Training of Children and Adolescents of Travelling Professionals in Germany (Bundesverband zur Förderung von Erziehung und Bildung der Kinder und Jugendlichen von reisenden Berufsgruppen in Deutschland e.V. – BERiD e. V.) with the support of the district government of Arnsberg (Nordrhein-Westfalen).

Beyond the general education sector, young people who are required to attend vocational school, especially from the showman's trade, can acquire job-specific skills at three locations in Hessen, Nordrhein-Westfalen and Schleswig-Holstein. (Project BeKoSch – Vocational Competence for Showmen). Circus members can also take part in the vocational training measures, which are offered to young people from all Länder.

The Standing Conference discusses educational issues for travelling children and related questions, in particular on schooling and support schemes, in annual joint conferences with representatives of the associations and parents of professional travellers.

Measures to promote high-achieving pupils

In June 2015 the Standing Conference resolved a Support Strategy for High-Achieving Pupils (Förderstrategie für leistungsstarke Schülerinnen und Schüler). The recommendation emphasises the role of teaching staff in identifying high performance potentials and thus determining the initial learning situation in classes.

The target group covers pupils who already display very good performances as well as pupils whose potentials are to be identified and developed by targeted encouragement and support. The successful development of potentially capable and high-achieving pupils essentially depends on an early identification of their abilities and needs. A careful observation and diagnosis of the learning conditions of pupils is particularly important as the basis for an individualised plan of support in the school.

A systematic diagnostic process that accompanies learning in the school is indispensable to identify the high-achieving pupils at an early stage and encourage these through appropriate measures. The preparation of strengths and interests profiles as well as the sensitisation of the teaching staff for the necessity of appropriate encouragement for this group of pupils are the bases for pedagogical and methodological considerations as well as for advising the parents and legal guardians.

Various monitoring instruments are available for the targeted support of the individual development of pupils. Alongside observations in standardised situations, observation instruments for competence assessment in class are becoming increasingly important. Unlike occasional observations of the pupil's behaviour, the systematic use of a learning portfolio or a competence grid for certain learning pathways provides a valuable basis for an age-appropriate planning of concrete support measures. All of the results have to be documented in a continuous development and support plan if the diagnostic method is to be effective for the school and personal development of the pupil; this plan includes a regular comparison with the pupil's self-assessment as well as the perceptions of the parents and legal guardians. This kind of documentation is becoming increasingly important as a career advice and support instrument, above all at the interfaces of the school career. In some Länder, special educational institutions exist to support gifted or highly gifted pupils.

Apart from the primary encouragement of general intellectual abilities, support for the musical, sports and emotional abilities are also important.

In November 2016, the Federation and Länder resolved a Joint Initiative to Encourage High-Achieving and Potentially High-Achieving Pupils (Gemeinsame Initiative von Bund und Ländern zur Förderung leistungsstarker und potenziell besonders leistungsfähiger Schülerinnen und Schüler – ‘Leistung macht Schule’). The ‘Leistung macht Schule’ initiative was launched in January 2018. Against the background of an education policy aimed at equal opportunities and educational justice, it contributes to the development of sustainable structures for the promotion of high-performing and potentially particularly high-performing pupils within the framework of the regular school system. To this end, the 300 participating schools will be supported in a first five-year phase (2018–2023) by an interdisciplinary research network in the development of practical strategies and concepts for school and classroom development.

The core of the second phase (2023–2027) is the transfer of the results to as many schools as possible: The schools participating in the first phase will be multipliers for other schools. The strategies, concepts and measures developed and tested jointly by science and schools in the first phase will contribute to sustainable school and teaching development in as many schools as possible.

The initiative will run for ten years. The Federal Government and the Länder are providing a total of Euro 125 million in equal shares for the initiative.

The initiative was launched in January 2018. Within its framework, the opportunities for development of high-performing and potentially particularly high-performing pupils are optimised, irrespective of origin gender and social status. More detailed information is available in the article on national reforms in school education.

Support programmes for children and young people with migrant backgrounds

The language abilities of all children and young people with migrant backgrounds who have deficits in the German language are to be promoted, enabling them to take part in instruction and education on an equal footing with others. This is considered a task for all teachers and all subjects. Measures for the promotion of language skills are to be provided at all types of school and at all levels if demand exists. Additional funds are to be provided for facilities that are mainly or largely attended by children from a migrant background, e.g. to increase the number of teachers from a migrant background or to support teachers with socio-educational staff from child and youth welfare, so as to enable an effective, compensatory promotion of language skills, taking into account the legal framework. In the area of early childhood education and care increasing numbers of Erzieherinnen and Erzieher (state-recognised youth or child-care workers) with a migrant background are to be trained and employed.

To integrate children and young people with migrant backgrounds, various support programmes are run by the schools to help the children and young people learn German and obtain German school qualifications. Measures to promote the educational success of children and young people with migrant backgrounds include, for example, specially assigned teachers for German as a second language and the recruitment of teachers from migrant families. Programmes to integrate children and young people with migrant backgrounds into German schools are variously organised in each Land:

• preparatory classes for children and young people with migrant backgrounds without a knowledge of German, partly with acquisition of the German Language Diploma of the Standing Conference - First Level (DSD I) and First Level for Vocational Schools (DSD I PRO) (Vorbereitungskurse, Vorkurse Deutsch or Deutschförderkurse)
• special classes which combine instruction in the core subjects with intensive study of the German language (Sprachlernklassen, Deutschförderklassen or Übergangsklassen)
• bilingual classes (held in the native language and German)
• intensive courses in German as a foreign language
• special support lessons outside school hours for children and young people with migrant backgrounds who are already taught in integrated classes with German children and need to improve their German skills
• greater cooperation between home and school

In addition, adapted potential analysis methods are used to estimate the children’s talent and to support them according to their abilities.

To preserve their cultural identity and to promote bilingual competences, in many Länder, children and young people with migrant backgrounds receive supplementary instruction in their native language for up to five periods a week, which covers the geography, history and culture of their native country.

Measures shall also be offered at vocational schools to promote the language skills of young people with migrant backgrounds. This is supplemented by vocational orientation measures with analyses of potential and practical investigations of professional fields. Additional funds are to be made available for vocational schools with a high proportion of young people with a migration background, e.g. to increase the proportion of teachers with a migration background or to support teachers with socio-educational experts from child and youth welfare.

The significant rise in the number of refugees of compulsory school age poses a big problem for the Federation and Länder, a problem that can only be overcome by using a considerable number of resources. This relates to additional funds to create spatial capacities and the employment of teachers, social workers and integration helpers. The integration of young refugees in schools also calls for special support measures, socio-educational and psychological care as well a complex cooperation between all persons and institutions involved in caring for and supporting refugees. Furthermore, the Länder are greatly expanding their schemes for teacher training as well as continued education and training for teachers in the field of inter-cultural education and German as a second language or German as a foreign language. The Federation and the Länder hold regular talks to coordinate the responsibilities, the organisation and the financing of these schemes.

In October 2016, the Standing Conference passed a "Declaration on the integration of young refugees through education” (‘Erklärung der Kultusministerkonferenz zur Integration von jungen Geflüchteten durch Bildung‘). The goals and challenges named by the Standing Conference in its declaration include learning the language quickly and teaching basic democratic values as well as the commencement and successful completion of vocational education and training or a course of studies.

Measures of support for transition from school to vocational training

In recent years the number of young people who have been unable to find a training place after attending a general education school has decreased. According to the joint report by the Federation and Länder Education in Germany 2020 (Bildung in Deutschland 2020), in 2019 26.3 per cent of all new entrants to the vocational education and training system first completed pre-vocational measures in the transition system (Übergangsbereich). A common factor of the many different courses on offer in the transition system is that they do not provide a vocational qualification, but endeavour to improve the trainability of individuals and sometimes enable participants to obtain a general education qualification. In individual cases, part of pre-vocational training programmes and access qualification may be able to be credited to the subsequent vocational training. The main transition system general education course providers are Berufsfachschulen which do not award a vocational qualification, Berufsschulen offering courses for pupils with no training contract, the Berufsvorbereitungsjahr at school (a year of pre-vocational training) and the Berufsgrundbildungsjahr at school (i.e. basic vocational training year). At the end of compulsory full-time schooling, the Employment Agency offers pre-vocational schemes of the Federal Employment Agency and, like the Jobcenter, supports the vocational access qualification (betriebliche Einstiegsqualifizierung – EQ), a long-term work placement scheme lasting six to twelve months in preparation for the actual training. Successful attendance of Berufsfachschulen which do not award full vocational qualification can under certain conditions be counted towards the period of formal training required for a recognised occupation and lead to the award of a general education qualification. The Berufsvorbereitungsjahr at school and the Berufsgrundbildungsjahr at school enable young people as a rule to obtain a Hauptschulabschluss. The Berufsgrundbildungsjahr at school can, moreover, also be counted towards the period of formal training required for a recognised occupation.

In October 2013 the Standing Conference adopted a "Recommendation on optimising and standardising school provision in the transition system" ('Empfehlung zur Optimierung und Vereinheitlichung der schulischen Angebote im Übergangssystem'). The transition from school to working life is to be guided inter alia by the following principles:

• creating a flexible set of instruments that leads to a qualification in a recognised occupation requiring formal training, through differentiated transition offers
• offering all young people who are ready and willing to train an apprenticeship in a recognised occupation requiring formal training, preferably in the system of dual vocational education and training
• efficient, targeted and standardised use of resources with close coordination between the Federation, the Länder and the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit – BA) to develop a sustainable support system
• strategic and operative management of the transition system at Land level between all stakeholders under reliable framework conditions
• coordinating measures and educational offers between all stakeholders and monitoring in a regional transition management.   

A mandatory Vocational Orientation(Berufliche Orientierung) at all general education schools should open the opportunity for young people to develop their  potential and make an informed career choice. Consistently orienting the transitional system to the above principles should, moreover, facilitate individual, tailored support for young people with difficulties getting off the ground. In the long term the transition system should, therefore, become such an efficient instrument that it only has to be available for young people with particular support needs.

To achieve these goals, the Federation, the Federal Employment Agency and the Länder have extended the initiative Qualification and Connection - Education Chains through to the Completion of training (Abschluss und Anschluss – Bildungsketten bis zum Ausbildungsabschluss). In June 2014, a process was initiated to create an efficient system for the transition from school to training and vocational training or the choice of studies in specific agreements with the Länder. The partners’ support offers are geared to each other on the basis of concepts of the individual Länder. A potential assessment, usually in grade 7 of general education schools, is followed by a practical, multi-stage vocational orientation with extracurricular partners. Pupils with corresponding special needs receive individual support through to the training phase. This is complemented by the various measures of the Federal Employment Agency, which are closely interlinked with the vocational training structures of the Länder.

Young people with social disadvantages, learning difficulties or handicaps and young people with migrant backgrounds with an inadequate command of German need special assistance in order to begin and successfully complete a course of training. Various possibilities exist to achieve this. Disadvantaged young people can, for instance, attend a Berufsvorbereitungsjahr at school (a year of pre-vocational training) aimed at preparing them for the requirements of in-company vocational training. In this context, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs has passed recommendations on measures in vocational schools for young people requiring particular support in the acquisition of professional qualifications owing to learning difficulties. Or the disadvantaged young people can be supported by the Employment Agency or the Jobcenter. These programmes are designed to provide preparation for vocational training to young people who have been unable to secure a training place, to provide parallel training assistance to young people who are currently undergoing in-company training or to provide disadvantaged young people in institutions outside the school sector with a vocational training.

Companies can convey training-relevant basic knowledge as well as initial vocational in-company experience to disadvantaged or less competitive young people by means of individual preparatory training courses and hence introduce them to in-company vocational training.