Pool Model in School Support: Efficient Inclusion Through Flexible Resource Management

Sarah has been working as a school support assistant for three years, supporting individual children with special educational needs. Every day she experiences the same challenge: the child assigned to her is particularly independent today and barely needs support, while just two tables away another child with similar needs is desperately seeking help. The rigid one-to-one assignment allows no flexibility. This situation describes a fundamental problem of traditional school support that can be solved by the pool model in school support.

The pool model changes the way inclusive education is organized. Instead of a fixed assignment of one support person to one child, multiple professionals work together for a group of children and young people with support needs. This approach makes it possible to respond flexibly to changing needs and deploy resources where they are most urgently needed. In this article, you will learn how the pool model works, what prerequisites must be met, and how practical implementation can succeed. For those who want to deepen their knowledge in this area, Diingu offers a specialized course: The Pool Model in School Support.

What Is the Pool Model and Why Is It Gaining Importance?

The pool model in school support refers to an organizational concept in which integration assistants are no longer permanently assigned to a single child but work flexibly for multiple students with special needs. Unlike the traditional one-to-one support model, where a fixed relationship exists, the pool model involves multiple school support assistants working as a team and sharing responsibility for a group of children.

This form of organization has become increasingly established in recent years. The reason lies in the growing number of children entitled to school support. Since the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities came into force and the associated legal right to inclusive schooling, demand has been rising continuously. In Germany alone, an estimated 100,000 school support assistants are currently employed. This development poses significant organizational and financial challenges for schools, service providers, and local authorities.

The pool model offers a pragmatic solution. It enables more efficient use of available staff resources without compromising the quality of support. In fact, through flexible deployment planning, more needs-based support can often be achieved. Children benefit from having multiple reference persons available and from the fact that the entire school day is not jeopardized when a single support person is absent.

The legal foundations for the pool model can be found in the Social Code, particularly in SGB IX, which has regulated integration assistance since 2020 [1]. While there is fundamentally an individual right to school support, this does not necessarily have to be organized as one-to-one assistance if alternative models can guarantee equivalent or even better support. Various court rulings have confirmed that the pool model is legally compliant as long as individual support for each child remains ensured.

Why the Pool Model Is Essential Today

Increasing Flexibility in Daily School Life

The support needs of children with special educational needs vary considerably, not only from child to child but also from day to day and from situation to situation. One child may need intensive support in the first lesson of the morning but be able to work independently after break time. Another child manages structured lessons well but needs special accompaniment during transitions or on the playground. The pool model enables flexible responses to these changing needs.

With one-to-one support, this variability often leads to under- or over-provision on both sides. Support assistants sometimes sit idle for hours next to a child who currently needs no help, while other children urgently need support. The pool model dissolves this rigidity. Support staff can direct their attention where it is most needed at any given moment. This leads to higher job satisfaction among professionals and more needs-based provision for children.

Ensuring Continuity of Care

The average absence rate among school support assistants is approximately 15 percent. With one-to-one support, the absence of a support person often means that the affected child must stay home or cannot be adequately supervised during lessons. This leads to educational disadvantage and places significant strain on families. With the pool model, however, the remaining professionals can fill the gap, albeit possibly with reduced individual support time.

This fail-safe capacity is a decisive advantage for all involved. Parents can trust that their child can attend school even when the regular support person is ill or on vacation. Teachers experience fewer lesson disruptions due to improvised emergency solutions. The children themselves benefit from continuity in their school attendance, which is crucial for their social integration and learning success.

Using Resources More Efficiently

Financing school support poses a growing challenge for municipalities and social service providers. Costs for integration assistance have risen sharply in recent years [2]. At the same time, there is a shortage of qualified staff in many places, making recruitment difficult. The pool model makes it possible to support more children with available resources without reducing the quality of support.

Flexible deployment planning eliminates idle time. Support assistants actually work with children the entire time instead of bridging waiting periods. This makes the work more attractive for many professionals because they can better utilize their skills. Service providers can offer more reliable employment relationships with higher hours, which facilitates recruitment and staff retention. In the long term, this contributes to the professionalization of the entire field.

Promoting Social Integration

An often underestimated advantage of the pool model lies in its effect on the social integration of supported children. The permanent presence of a single support person can paradoxically lead to isolation. Classmates perceive the supported child primarily as someone who constantly has an adult at their side. This complicates equal relationships among children.

In the pool model, support becomes more discreet and situational. The support assistant is not constantly present but comes when needed. This allows the child more independent interaction with peers. At the same time, all children in the class learn that support is something that can be accessed when needed, not a permanent characteristic of individual persons. This subtle shift can positively influence the inclusion culture of an entire school.

Strengthening Professionalism and Knowledge Exchange

Working as one-to-one support can be isolating. Support assistants spend the day with their assigned child but have little exchange with colleagues. In the pool model, however, professionals work together as a team. They regularly exchange strategies, reflect together on their work, and learn from each other.

This collegial exchange significantly promotes professional development. Experienced support assistants can pass their knowledge on to newer colleagues. Different perspectives and approaches enrich pedagogical work. Shared responsibility for multiple children also makes it possible to build specialized knowledge, such as in dealing with specific disabilities or behaviors. All of this contributes to the professionalization of school support, an area long regarded as unskilled work.

Individualization Despite Shared Responsibility

A common misconception is that the pool model is less individualized than one-to-one support. In fact, the opposite can be true. When multiple professionals work with a child, a more comprehensive picture of their strengths and needs emerges. Different support persons have different relationships with the child and can be effective in different situations.

Documentation and regular team exchange ensure that important information is not lost. Progress and challenges are captured more systematically than with isolated one-to-one assistants. Support planning can be based on a broader data foundation. Additionally, the strengths of individual support assistants can be strategically deployed, such as when one person communicates particularly well with nonverbal children or another has specific nursing skills.

Common Challenges and Pitfalls

Despite all its advantages, the pool model also brings considerable challenges that should not be underestimated. Successful implementation requires careful planning, clear structures, and a high degree of willingness to cooperate among all involved.

A central difficulty lies in coordination. While responsibilities are clear with one-to-one support, the pool model requires continuous consultation. Who supports which child in which lesson? How is it ensured that all important information is passed on? What happens when multiple children simultaneously need intensive support? These questions must be answered anew each day. Without a mature coordination system, chaos threatens, ultimately harming the children.

Relationship building presents another challenge. Children with special needs often require reliable relationships and clear structures. Changing between different support persons can be unsettling, especially for children with autism spectrum disorders or attachment disorders. It takes time and pedagogical skill for the child to accept all pool members as trustworthy reference persons. During the transition phase, behavioral problems or setbacks may occur.

Parents are also sometimes skeptical about the pool model. They may have become accustomed to a particular support assistant over months or years and fear that their child will not receive the same attention with changing support persons. These concerns are understandable and must be taken seriously. Transparent communication and active involvement of parents in shaping the pool model are essential for building trust.

The legal situation can also be complex. Although the pool model is fundamentally permissible, individual support for each child must be demonstrably guaranteed. This means that the approved support hours for each child must still be monitored. A blanket redistribution on the principle of "everyone gets the same" is not permissible if a child's individual decision specifies more hours. Documentation must be seamless to prove to funding bodies that each child receives the support they are entitled to.

The additional burden on teachers should not be underestimated. The pool model requires closer coordination between teachers and support assistants. It must be clear which children need what support in which situations. This information must be regularly updated and communicated. Teachers who are already heavily burdened sometimes experience this as an additional workload. However, if collaboration succeeds, the pool model can also bring long-term relief because support assistants can provide more flexible support.

Finally, there are also structural barriers. Many schools do not have suitable rooms for team meetings of support assistants. The time structure of the school day leaves little room for the necessary exchange. Service providers must be willing to finance coordination time that is not spent directly working with children. These organizational and financial prerequisites are not available everywhere and often must first be created.

Practical Application

The practical implementation of the pool model can look very different depending on school size, number of supported children, and regional conditions. A look at concrete examples shows how diverse the design possibilities are.

At a primary school in a medium-sized city, a pool model was introduced two years ago for initially six children with special needs. Three support assistants share responsibility for these children, who are distributed across two grade levels. Every morning there is a brief consultation of 15 minutes in which special incidents are discussed and deployment planning for the day is determined. Each support assistant has a focus area, such as break supervision or support with motor tasks, but all are fundamentally responsible for all children.

A traffic light system has proven particularly effective at this school. Each child has a card with three colors that signals how much support they currently need. Green means largely independent, yellow signals increased observation needs, red means immediate support needs. Children learn to turn their card themselves when they need help. Teachers can also turn the cards. This creates a transparent system in which support assistants can focus their attention where it is most needed.

Another model is practiced at a comprehensive school in an urban area. Here, 15 young people with special needs are supported by a pool of seven support assistants. The young people are distributed across all grade levels. What is special about this model is the specialization of support persons. Two have training in nursing and primarily take on physical care support. Three others have experience with challenging behavior and are preferably deployed in conflict-prone situations. The remaining two focus on learning support and organizational assistance.

This specialization makes it possible to optimally utilize the skills of professionals. At the same time, each child has a primary reference person who is particularly well informed about their situation and acts as the first point of contact. This combination of flexibility and reliability has proven sustainable. The young people appreciate having different contact persons depending on the situation, with varying levels of familiarity.

At a special education school that is increasingly working inclusively and admitting children without special needs, an extended pool model has been developed. Here, support assistants, special education teachers, and social education professionals work closely together. The pool includes not only traditional support assistants but all supporting professions. In weekly team meetings, the needs of all children are discussed and resources are distributed accordingly. This model deliberately blurs the boundaries between different support systems and creates a comprehensive network.

An important success factor in all examples is documentation. Support assistants maintain digital log books in which they make brief entries after each support session. These are accessible to all pool members and make it possible to capture the current status at any time. This seamless documentation is also indispensable for accountability to funding bodies. It transparently shows which child was supported by whom and for how long.

How to Get Started Successfully

Anyone wanting to establish a pool model should proceed step by step and involve all stakeholders early. Building a functioning pool model is a process that can take months and should not be implemented overnight.

The starting point is a thorough needs analysis. How many children with what support needs are there at the school? How are approved hours distributed? What qualifications do existing support assistants have? This information forms the basis for deciding whether and in what form a pool model makes sense. The pool model is not the best solution for every constellation. Children with very specific support needs, such as medical care needs, may still require a fixed reference person.

Involving all stakeholders is crucial. Parents must be informed early and their concerns taken seriously. Information events explaining the concept and answering questions build trust. The support assistants themselves must also support the model. Some prefer working with a fixed child and perceive the change as a burden. This requires persuasion and possibly also qualification offerings that prepare for the new requirements. The Diingu course The Pool Model in School Support provides comprehensive theoretical and practical knowledge for this purpose.

Clear structures are the foundation of a functioning pool model. Regulations are needed on how daily deployment planning is done, how information is passed on, and how decisions are made in conflict situations. A coordinating person who maintains an overview and serves as a contact person for everyone has proven effective in many models. This role can be taken on by an experienced support assistant, a social education professional, or even a teacher with appropriate resources.

Gradual introduction reduces risks. Instead of immediately converting all school support, you can start with a pilot group. Two or three support assistants for four to six children is a manageable framework in which experience can be gathered and structures tested. After an evaluation phase of about six months, a decision can be made on whether and how the model should be expanded.

Regular reflection and adjustment are indispensable. Monthly evaluation meetings attended by support assistants, teachers, and ideally also representatives of the service provider help identify problems early and develop solutions. The pool model is not a rigid concept but must be continuously adapted to changing needs. This learning organization is demanding but necessary for sustainable success.

Clarifying legal and financial framework conditions is also important. The school support service provider must support the pool model and provide necessary resources for coordination and qualification. The funding bodies, usually youth or social welfare offices, must be informed about the model and signal their approval. Although no explicit authorization is legally required as long as approved services are provided, transparent communication prevents later conflicts.

Related Training at Diingu

Implementing and operating the pool model requires specific knowledge that goes beyond the basic qualifications of support assistants. Anyone who wants to engage thoroughly with the theoretical foundations, various implementation variants, and practical challenges will find the right course at Diingu. The course The Pool Model in School Support systematically covers all relevant aspects and prepares participants for successful practice. It is aimed at support assistants who work or will work in a pool model, as well as coordinators, service providers, and school leaders who want to introduce such a model.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Pool Model in School Support?

The pool model is an organizational form of school support in which multiple professionals are jointly responsible for a group of children with special needs, rather than each child having a fixed individual assistant. The support assistants work together as a team and can be flexibly deployed where support needs are currently highest. This enables more efficient resource use and higher continuity of care without neglecting individual support for children.

What Are the Benefits of the Pool Model?

The pool model offers several key advantages. It increases flexibility in daily school life because support assistants can go where they are most needed at any moment. It ensures better continuity of care when individual support persons are ill or on vacation. Resources are used more efficiently because idle time is avoided. The social integration of supported children can be improved because support is less stigmatizing. Additionally, teamwork promotes professional exchange and the professionalization of support assistants.

Who Is the Pool Model Suitable For?

The pool model is particularly suitable for schools with multiple children who need support and whose support needs are not exclusively highly specialized. Children whose needs vary greatly throughout the day particularly benefit from the flexibility. It can also be advantageous for children working on independence, as support occurs more situationally. It may be less suitable for children with very specific medical care needs or those who require a constant reference person for therapeutic reasons. Suitability must always be assessed individually.

How Does the Pool Model Differ from One-to-One Support?

With one-to-one support, a support assistant is permanently assigned to a specific child and is exclusively responsible for that child. The relationship is typically very close and constant. In the pool model, however, multiple support assistants are jointly responsible for a group of children. Children have multiple reference persons, and specific deployment changes depending on situation and need. While one-to-one support offers maximum relationship continuity, the pool model excels in flexibility, continuity of care, and efficient resource use.

What Challenges Exist with the Pool Model?

The greatest challenges lie in coordination and communication. Clear structures and regular consultations are needed so that all involved know who is responsible for which child and when. Relationship building can be more difficult because children must adjust to multiple persons. Parents sometimes have reservations about changing support persons. Documentation must be seamless to prove that each child receives their approved hours. Structural prerequisites such as rooms for team meetings and time for coordination must also be created.

Conclusion

The pool model in school support is far more than an organizational alternative to one-to-one assistance. It represents a paradigm shift in inclusive education that combines the strengths of collective responsibility with individual support. In times of scarce resources and increasing demand for school support, it offers a pragmatic way to provide better support to more children.

However, successful implementation requires careful planning, clear structures, and willingness among all stakeholders to break new ground. Support assistants must be willing to work in teams and share responsibility. Teachers must support closer collaboration. Parents need trust in the new model. Service providers and funding bodies must create the necessary framework conditions. When these prerequisites are met, the pool model can fully unfold its strengths and make an important contribution to successful inclusion.

The trend toward more flexible, team-based forms of school support will likely continue in the coming years. Schools that gain experience with the pool model early will be better equipped for the challenges of inclusive education. Ultimately, it is about giving every child the support they need to successfully participate in lessons and develop their potential. The pool model is a promising path toward that goal.

Sources and Further Reading

[1] Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs - Federal Participation Act and Integration Assistance - https://www.bmas.de/EN/Social-Affairs/Participation/federal-participation-act.html

[2] Federal Statistical Office - Integration assistance for people with disabilities - https://www.destatis.de/EN/Themes/Society-Environment/Social-Statistics/_node.html

[3] Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs - Special Educational Support in Schools - https://www.kmk.org/themen/allgemeinbildende-schulen/inklusion.html