The purpose of psychosocial, educational and/or scholastic support in secondary education is to help pupils who have widely varying life circumstances and needs.

This support takes various forms and involves actions ranging from supervised study to therapeutic care for adolescent pupils.

Both classic secondary education (enseignement secondaire classique – ESC) and general secondary education (enseignement secondaire général – ESG) schools may organise scholastic assistance initiatives of several types:

• help with homework;
• structured learning activities and special classes for students performing poorly at school, with the aim of preventing school exclusion;
• remedial classes following a failed exam;
• therapeutic care for students with emotional or mental health difficulties.

Who is concerned

Tutoring sessions (help with homework) are designed for all students who:

• need support in one or more core subjects; and/or
• would like to get help with their homework.

Structured activities and special classes are designed for secondary school students at risk of expulsion due to:

• learning difficulties; and/or
• behavioural problems.

Remedial classes are geared towards classic and general secondary education students who:

• had to resit one or several exams, or who received summer assignments, or revision assignments; or
• simply wish to revise a subject from the previous year or fill in any gaps.

Reintegration classes are intended for young people:

• under the age of 18 who are in the general secondary education stream (ESG); and
• who are performing poorly at school or are changing education pathways.

The Psychosocial and Scholastic Assistance Service (Service psycho-social et d'accompagnement scolaires – SePAS) within each secondary school works with students who are having difficulty developing resilience and managing emotions.

The Psychosocial and Scholastic Assistance Centre (Centre psycho-social et d'accompagnement scolaires – CePAS) operates nationally, helping young people aged 12 to 30.

The Early Detection and Intervention Service (Service de détection et d'intervention précoce - SDIP) works with school-going adolescents and young adults who are suffering from psychological vulnerabilities (anxiety, depression, various dependencies, etc.).

How to proceed

Psychosocial and Scholastic Assistance Service and Centre

To ensure that students are able to receive psychological, social and educational support, every secondary school has a Psychosocial and Scholastic Assistance Service (SePAS). In addition, the Ministry of National Education (Ministère de l'Education nationale) has a specialised department known as the Psychosocial and Scholastic Assistance Centre (CePAS).

SePAS and CePAS provide support for:

• young people, parents and guardians, by offering assistance and counselling to help them achieve or regain a sense of well-being:
  • on an individual level (angst, loneliness, anxiety, depression, lack of motivation);
  • with regard to family and relationships (challenging family situations, conflicts, communication breakdowns);
  • with regard to parents (problems with authority, role confusion in the parent-child relationship - parentification);
  • academically (fear of or lack of desire to attend school, which may lead to dropping out; concentration problems; learning difficulties; difficulties with study and organisational skills);
  • socially (financial aid, need for assistance with administrative procedures);
  • educationally (behavioural change, respect for rules and authority, promoting autonomy, taking initiative and making decisions);
• teachers and school staff, by offering them professional and psychological counselling;
• groups of young people, by organising group activities that encourage interaction and help develop a range of social skills.

Secondary education School Inclusion Commission

Every secondary school has a School Inclusion Commission (Commission d'inclusion scolaire), which identifies and helps support students in the school with special educational needs.

This commission:

• advises on reasonable accommodations (extra time during exams, use of human or technological assistance, etc.);
• proposes an individualised education programme if the pupil is unable to keep up with the class.

The commission is made up of:

• a member of the school's administrative staff;
• a psychologist from the school's SePAS;
• a social worker from the school's SePAS;
• the school physician;
• 2 teachers;
• a representative from the network of Competence Centres for Specialised Psycho-pedagogy (Centres de compétences en psychopédagogie spécialisée).

If the assistance provided by the school to a student with special needs proves to be insufficient, the parties involved may seek help from the Competence Centres for Specialised Psycho-pedagogy, which operate nationally, with each in a specific area of specialism.

Tutoring sessions (help with homework)

Tutoring sessions offer students the opportunity to ask questions about aspects of the curriculum they have difficulty understanding. Tutors are either teachers or interns specialising in the subject at hand.

These tutoring sessions:

• may be scheduled on a flexible basis over the course of the school year; and
• may take place during or outside school hours.

To find out how to register for tutoring sessions, students should check with their school.

Structured activities and special classes

A secondary school can organise specific activities as well as special classes with the aim of preventing exclusion from school. The activities and special classes differ from school to school, depending on the needs of their students.

The activities offered may involve:

• supervising and supporting students during class hours, either in their usual class or by way of specific instruction or forms of assistance;
• structured activities outside class hours, including during school holidays (e.g. help with homework, studying and preparing for tests);
• monitoring student learning and progress through personalised actions.

Special classes with hours, content and pedagogical approaches tailored to students' needs may also be organised so as to group students:

• in the same school year who are all performing poorly at school;
• who are temporarily excluded from their usual classes to address their behavioural or integration problems.

In addition, each school may adopt a collective approach – with the school community, SePAS and CePAS – so as to:

• have access to a comprehensive range of services aimed at keeping young people in school;
• implement projects, such as:
  • series of psycho-pedagogical workshops on a range of topics (e.g. self-confidence, social and emotional skills, learning how to learn, motivation, stress management);
  • individual monitoring;
  • screening methods (assessment of different questionnaires);
  • a universal concept for keeping students in secondary school by bringing about long-term changes (collaboration with all school stakeholders, partners from the Educational and Vocational Guidance Centre (Maison de l'orientation), psycho-social medical networks and businesses).

Tailored classes: example of the 'young adult classes'

The School of Business and Management (ECG) offers 'young adult classes'. They are designed for students who:

• come from Luxembourg's classic (ESC) or general (ESG) secondary schools, or a foreign school; and
• are performing poorly or changing education pathways (in classes in 4^e, 3^e, 2^e and 1^re).

When these students enrol in a 3^e general class – administrative and commercial section (3^e GCM) or 2^e general class – management section (2^e GCG), they can earn a secondary school leaving diploma within a reasonable period of time and thus avoid exclusion from school.

To be able to change education pathways, students must take remedial classes for one year in some subjects. For the most part, these classes take place during regular school hours.

Mental/psychiatric disorders

If a student has any mental disorders or psychiatric issues, the school will refer them to the Early Detection and Intervention Service (Service de détection et d'intervention précoces – SDIP), subject to the consent of the student's parents, or of the student themself, if they are no longer a minor.

The parents or the student may also contact the SDIP directly to request an appointment.

SDIP support is designed to enable students to continue their school, work and social activities, and is provided in the form of:

• psychological support; and
• individualised therapeutic activities.

Over the course of the process of assessment and therapeutic care, the SDIP works closely with the Psychosocial and Scholastic Assistance Service (Service psycho-social et d'accompagnement scolaires – SePAS) of the secondary school attended by the student. The particulars of the support provided and, where applicable, the student’s reintegration in school, are determined in collaboration with the school’s administrative staff.

Who to contact