Care and support for pupils with special educational needs in secondary education
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Summary:
At secondary school, pupils with special educational needs can benefit from various support measures. This support:
- is adapted to the individual needs and learning difficulties;
- enables pupils to participate in mainstream education insofar as is possible.
Various forms of support are offered to meet pupils' special needs:
- academic support, for more in-depth studying of certain subjects either individually or in small groups;
- classroom teaching, provided by the class teacher and the other teachers, adapted to the pupils' specific needs in collaboration with the members of the support team for pupils with specific needs (équipe de soutien des élèves à besoins éducatifs spécifiques - ESEB);
- the teaching content is adapted to enable pupils to keep up with the pace of their chosen educational path;
- pupils are supported by one or more members of the support team for pupils with specific needs (ESEB);
- partial or total redirection towards other educational paths or specialised classes in order to adapt the pace, content and teaching methods to the pupil's abilities and needs;
- reasonable accommodations so that the learning and assessment methods are adapted to the pupil's needs, thus:
- making it easier for the pupil to assimilate the subjects taught;
- enabling the pupil to perform better in assessments.
In addition to these measures, which are implemented in secondary schools, measures also exist at a national level. These include, in particular:
- enrolment in a specific learning workshop; or
- special schooling, in a class at a competence centre for specialised psycho-pedagogy; or
- schooling in a special education institution abroad.
Who is concerned
Any pupil with special educational needs who attends secondary school.
Pupils with special educational needs are children or young people who, according to the international classifications, have a disability or difficulty or who have significantly greater learning difficulties than the majority of children or young people of the same age. Pupils with high potential are also considered to be pupils with special educational needs if they require specialised care to allow them to make maximum use of their abilities or to reach their full potential.
A pupil's special educational needs may fall within the following domains: motor skills, vision, language, hearing, intellectual abilities, social and emotional development, attention, learning, or autistic spectrum disorder.
How to proceed
First points of contact
The first points of contact for the pupils and their parents are the subject teachers and the class teacher. Other people are also available with a view to putting in place adequate monitoring of the pupil concerned, with the agreement of the pupil and the pupil's parents.
Support teams for pupils with special educational needs (ESEB)
The members of the ESEB support pupils to improve their well-being, their autonomy, their personal development and their participation in school life. They advise parents and teachers and can also provide ambulatory support to pupils with special educational needs.
At the request of the inclusion commission (commission d’inclusion - CI) they can make a diagnosis, within 4 weeks during school periods, that:
- provides information on the needs of the pupils concerned and the measures to implement; and
- takes the parents' and teachers' input into account.
Inclusion commissions (CI)
The objective of the inclusion commissions (CI) for each secondary school is:
- to inform pupils and parents about the different support measures that may be offered; and
- to define the appropriate measures to offer the pupil.
These measures are then included in the pupil's individualised training plan which is adopted by mutual agreement between the CI, the pupil and the parents. The CI ensures that the individualised training plan is implemented and reviews the plan on an annual basis with a view to integrating any adjustments deemed necessary to ensure the pupil's academic progress.
The CI may apply to the Reasonable Accommodations Commission (Commission des aménagements raisonnables - CAR) provided that the parents or adult pupil have given their consent, if it deems that reasonable accommodations are required for the pupil.
The CI can equally contact the National inclusion commission (Commission nationale d’inclusion - CNI) with the parents' consent.
The adult pupil or the parents may also choose to contact the CNI directly.
Reasonable Accommodations Commission (CAR)
The CAR decides on reasonable accommodations to be granted to the pupil so as to adapt the learning environment to the latter's needs.
A reasoned request may be submitted by the secondary school’s CI, substantiated by a case file and provided that the parents or the adult pupil have given their written consent. A reasoned request may equally be submitted by the parents or the adult pupil.
National inclusion commission (CNI)
In addition to the measures implemented within secondary schools, the CNI can also be consulted regarding:
- any request for a specialised diagnosis;
- the implementation of a specialised ambulatory intervention, special schooling, rehabilitation, therapy and specific learning workshops in a Competence Centre for Specialised Psycho-pedagogy.
In the event that the pupil's special educational needs require specialised care that cannot be provided by one of the centres, the CNI may suggest enrolment in an education institution in Luxembourg or abroad.
The inclusion commissions (CI), the approved bodies that operate in the social, family and therapeutic field and the pupil's attending physician may contact the CNI provided that the parents have given their written consent. Parents and pupils who have reached the age of majority may submit their application directly to the CNI.
Competence Centres for Specialised Psycho-pedagogy
The Competence Centres for Specialised Psycho-pedagogy are intended for pupils with special educational needs and their parents who would like to benefit from specialised services that supplement the services offered by secondary education.
There are 8 competence centres and one agency to meet the range of special educational needs that pupils may have. Their areas of intervention are clearly defined. These centres are:
- the centre for the development of speech, hearing and communication-related skills – Competence centre for language and hearing therapy (Centre pour le développement des compétences langagières, auditives et communicatives (Centre de logopédie - CL);
- the Competence centre for the development of vision-related skills (Centre pour le développement des compétences relatives à la vue - CDV);
- the Competence centre for socio-emotional development (Centre pour le développement socio-émotionnel - CDSE);
- the Grand Duchess Maria Teresa Competence centre for learning development (Centre pour le développement des apprentissages Grande-Duchesse Maria Teresa - CDA);
- the Competence centre for motor development (Centre pour le développement moteur - CDM);
- the Competence centre for intellectual development (Centre pour le développement intellectuel - CDI);
- the Competence centre for children and young people with autism spectrum disorder (Centre pour enfants et jeunes présentant un trouble du spectre de l’autisme - CTSA);
- the Competence centre for children and young people with high potential (Centre pour enfants et jeunes à haut potentiel - CEJHP);
- the Agency for the transition to independent living (Agence pour la transition vers une vie autonome - ATVA).
They offer a range of support measures to meet the pupil's needs.
Specialised diagnosis
The competence centres conduct specialised diagnoses that:
- enable a precise identification of the pupils' special needs;
- help put adapted measures in place.
Advice
The staff in the competence centres are trained to provide advice and guidance to pupils and their parents, to staff in primary and secondary schools as well as to the approved services and institutions.
Specific learning workshops
The competence centres can offer learning workshops to respond to pupils' specific needs. The learning workshops supplement the mainstream education offer and are held either in one of the decentralised annexes of a competence centre, in a primary or secondary school, or in another suitable location.
Rehabilitation and therapy
Competence centres offer rehabilitation and therapy sessions according to pupils' needs.
Specialised ambulatory intervention (ISA)
In addition to the measures implemented in primary and secondary schools, the professionals in the competence centres provide support in the classroom to pupils with special educational needs, in close collaboration with the primary or secondary school staff.
Special schooling
Pupils with special needs may attend a class at a competence centre, either full time or alternately while attending a primary or secondary school. The classes may be organised either in one of the decentralised annexes of a competence centre, or in a primary or secondary school in the form of 'cohabitation classes'.
Good to know
For more specific information on the support measures available, you can contact the following people or services:
- the class teacher and other teachers at the secondary school;
- the support team for pupils with specific needs (ESEB) at the secondary school;
- the secondary school's inclusion commission (CI);
- the secondary school's management.
The School Mediation Service aims to help parents and pupils, in particular whenever there is an issue when it comes to integrating pupils with special needs. Parents or pupils of legal age can contact the service when it has not been possible to find a solution on site with the above-mentioned bodies or persons.
Who to contact
-
National Service for Inclusive Education (SNEI)
- Address:
- 33, rives de Clausen L-2165 Luxembourg Luxembourg
- Phone:
- (+352) 247 85 180
- Email address:
- snei@men.lu
-
Ministry of Education, Children and Youth National Inclusion Commission
- Address:
- 33, Rives de Clausen L-2165 Luxembourg Luxembourg
- Phone:
- (+352) 247 65125
- Email address:
- odj@cni.men.lu
-
Ministry of Education, Children and Youth Reasonable Accommodations Commission
- Address:
- L-2926 Luxembourg Luxembourg
- Phone:
- (+352) 247 951 91
- Email address:
- car@men.lu
-
Ministry of Education, Children and Youth School Mediation Service
- Address:
- 10, rue Bender L-1229 Luxembourg Luxembourg
- Phone:
- (+352) 247 65280
- Email address:
- contact@mediationscolaire.lu
- Website:
- https://www.mediationscolaire.lu/en/
Closed ⋅ Opens Monday at 8.30
- Sunday:
- Closed
- Monday:
- 8.30 to 17.30
- Tuesday:
- 8.30 to 17.30
- Wednesday:
- 8.30 to 17.30
- Thursday:
- 8.30 to 17.30
- Friday:
- 8.30 to 17.30
- Saturday:
- Closed
Related procedures and links
Procedures
Links
Further information
-
Children and young people with special needs
on the website of the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth (MENEJ)
- Les Services SePAS
Legal references
-
Loi modifiée du 25 juin 2004
portant organisation des lycées et lycées techniques
-
Loi modifiée du 20 juillet 2018
portant création de Centres de compétences en psycho-pédagogie spécialisée en faveur de l’inclusion scolaire
