School entry examination

Health is an important prerequisite for a successful school attendance. Therefore, the legislator in NRW stipulates in the School Law and the Public Health Service Law that the school entry examination is mandatory for all children who will be of compulsory school age in the upcoming school year (§§ 54 SchoolG NRW and §12 ÖGDG NRW). The regulation on the primary school curriculum specifies that the school entry examination is intended to assess the health and development status of the children (§1 Para. 2 AO-GS). It is conducted according to a uniform standard for NRW.

Children of compulsory school age are all those who turn 6 years old by 30.09. of the following year (§35 SchoolG). They are registered by their parents at the primary school in their school district. The respective school principal announces the registration period in due time.
Children with health impairments should also be registered at the regular school.
If health issues are present or suspected by parents, the daycare center, or the school principal, these should be mentioned during school registration.

We will then schedule your school entry examination appointment early so that we have enough time for the pending questions for you and your child, if necessary, determine the support needs, and formulate the resulting recommendations for the school.
The invitation to the school entry examination is issued by the public health office. 
Sometimes previously unknown findings or observations emerge during the examinations.
Therefore, it serves as a support recommendation for the individual child concerning the school environment.

The school entry examination is divided into 2 parts.
The first part is conducted by a medical assistant. They perform vision and hearing tests with your child and conduct initial tests.
Simultaneously, vaccination data of your child and results from pediatric preventive examinations (yellow U-booklet) are collected.

The second part is conducted by the school doctor. Using a specially developed examination procedure for school entry examinations, the health and development status of your child is assessed.
The medical examination focuses on gross and fine motor development, language, perception, and cognitive abilities.

The following developmental abnormalities can indicate future academic performance and should be further examined and potentially treated:

• Speech development delays/disorders

• Learning development delays

• Delays in fine and gross motor development

• Behavioral issues (motivation/restlessness/anxiety/concentration)

As parents and the school, you will receive a report with the results of the school entry examination. In case of noticeable findings requiring further medical clarification, we offer advice on possible measures.
The data from school entry examinations are evaluated by health reporting and are an important tool for identifying health changes and trends in the population.