Glossary

Assistants for pupils with special educational needs (assistants pour élèves à besoins éducatifs spécifiques, A-EBS) assist the specialist teachers for pupils with special educational needs (instituteurs spécialisés dans la scolarisation des élèves à besoins éducatifs spécifiques, I-EBS) with their tasks. They may also help the pupils concerned with activities of daily living to enable them to take part in all planned activities in every area of school life.

The Commission des aménagements raisonnables (CAR, Reasonable Accommodations Commission) defines the reasonable accommodations granted to the pupil in order to adapt the learning environment to their needs.

A reasoned request may be submitted by the secondary school’s inclusion commission (commission d’inclusion, CI) substantiated by a case file and on the condition 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.

The Commission nationale d’inclusion (CNI, National Inclusion Commission) intervenes at the national level. Its task is to process requests for specialised care for a pupil with special educational needs. The CNI generally operates on the basis of a request from either the parents, or an adult pupil, or an approved psychosocial service, or by the pupil’s family doctor, or on the basis of a file forwarded by an inclusion commission (commission d’inclusion, CI), always with the agreement of the parents or the adult pupil.

In many cases the CNI instructs one or more of the competence centres to draw up a specialised diagnosis.

The competence centres for specialised psychopedagogy (centres de compétences en psychopédagogie spécialisée) offer pupils with special educational needs specialised services in addition to the services provided by primary or secondary education. The competence centres offer, for example:

• a specialised diagnosis;
• advice for professionals dealing with the pupil or people in their environment (family, class, etc.);
• specialised ambulatory interventions in regular classes;
• special schooling in a class at a competence centre.

There are eight competence centres and one agency in the Grand Duchy:

• Centre de logopédie (CL, Competence Centre for Language and Hearing Therapy);
• Centre pour le développement des compétences relatives à la vue (CDV, Competence Centre for the Development of Vision-Related Skills);
  
• Centre pour le développement socio-émotionnel (CDSE, Competence Centre for Socio-Emotional Development);
  
• Centre pour le développement des apprentissages « Grande-Duchesse Maria Teresa » (CDA, Competence Centre for Learning Development Grand Duchess Maria Teresa);
  
• Centre pour le développement moteur (CDM, Competence Centre for Motor Development);
  
• Centre pour le développement intellectuel (CDI, Competence Centre for Intellectual Development);
  
• Centre pour enfants et jeunes présentant un trouble du spectre de l’autisme (CTSA, Competence Centre for Children and Young People with Autism Spectrum Disorder);
  
• Centre pour enfants et jeunes à haut potentiel (CEJHP, Competence Centre for Children and Young People with High Potential);
  
• Agence pour la transition vers une vie autonome (ATVA, Agency for the Transition to Independent Living).

Competence centres: directory

The inclusion of children and young people with special educational needs is a priority for the Luxembourgish Government. It covers a wide range of fields, including:

• education and training (primary and secondary school, vocational training, higher education, music lessons, adult learning);
• education and childcare services (crèches and maisons relais);
• activities for young people (e.g. at maison des jeunes youth centres, holiday and leisure activities).

The various types of assistance offered to pupils with special educational needs are primarily intended to allow the children to continue their schooling in regular education, in a class of their peers at primary or secondary school. Pupils with special educational needs who attend a class at a competence centre or a school outside the Grand Duchy always stay enrolled in their initial class.

The role of the inclusion commissions (commissions d’inclusion, CI) of each regional directorate of primary education is to inform parents on the different support measures available, and where applicable, to pinpoint the appropriate measures to be offered to the pupil. These measures are then included in the pupil’s individualised support plan (plan de prise en charge individualisé, PPCI) which is adopted by mutual agreement between the CI and the parents. The CI supervises the implementation of the PPCI and evaluates the latter on an annual basis to integrate any adjustments deemed necessary to ensure the pupil’s educational progress. The CI appoints a reference person for each pupil. This person is the contact person for the pupil and their parents.

The CI may also contact the Commission nationale d’inclusion (CNI, National Inclusion Commission), subject to the parents’ approval. The parents can also get in touch directly with the CNI.

The role of the secondary school’s inclusion commission (commission d’inclusion, CI) is to inform the pupils and parents on the different support measures available, and where applicable, to pinpoint the appropriate measures to be offered to the pupil.

These measures are then included in the pupil’s individualised training plan (plan de formation individualisé, PFI) which is adopted by mutual agreement between the CI, the pupil and the parents.

The CI ensures the PFI is implemented and evaluates the latter on an annual basis to integrate any adjustments deemed necessary to ensure the pupil’s educational progress.

If the CI believes that reasonable accommodations are required for the pupil, it can submit an application to the Commission des aménagements raisonnables (CAR, Reasonable Accommodations Commission), provided the parents or adult pupil have given their consent.

The CI may also contact the Commission nationale d’inclusion (CNI, National Inclusion Commission), subject to the parents’ approval. The adult pupil or the parents can also get in touch directly with the CNI.

Staff at the competence centres draw up an individualised education plan (plan éducatif individualisé, PEI) for each of the pupils with special educational needs in their care. These plans are based on the regular syllabuses and curricula of primary and secondary education. They are adapted to the special educational needs of each pupil in their care.

The inclusion commissions (commissions d’inclusion, CI) set up within the regional directorates for primary education may draw up an individualised support plan (plan de prise en charge individualisé, PCI) for each pupil with special educational needs. These plans may include a variety of measures such as adapting the teaching in the classroom, assistance being provided in the classroom by specialised outsiders, or having the pupil temporarily attend a different class than their regular class. The plan is submitted to the parents for their agreement.

A secondary school’s inclusion commission (commission d’inclusion, CI) may propose an individualised training plan (plan de formation individualisé, PFI). The CI identifies the subjects and skills corresponding to the pupil’s abilities and adapts the pace of learning to suit the pupil. The PFI must be accepted by the parents or adult pupil.

Pupils with special educational needs (élèves à besoins éducatifs spécifiques, EBS) are children or young people who, according to international classifications, present deficiencies or difficulties or who have significantly more learning difficulties than the majority of children or young people of the same age. A pupil with high potential is also regarded as having special educational needs and requiring specialised care to deploy his faculties or his potential to the maximum.

A pupil with special educational needs cannot be cared for using the resources normally available to their teachers. They may have the benefit of specialised assistance and support measures, proposed according to their individual needs. A pupil’s specific needs may concern motricity, eyesight, language and hearing, cognitive development, or behaviour.

Reasonable accommodations (aménagements raisonnables) are special measures granted to a pupil. Their aim is to adapt teaching and assessment methods to the pupil's needs.  They make it easier for the pupil to assimilate the subjects taught and do better in assessment tests. They may include, for example, rearranging the classroom, presenting questionnaires differently, allowing more time in tests, or the use of technological aids to compensate for the pupil's deficiencies.

The mission of the Service national de l’éducation inclusive (SNEI, National Service for Inclusive Education) is to promote inclusive education and to develop the quality of the support system for pupils with special educational needs. It replaces the former Service de la scolarisation des élèves à besoins spécifiques (S-EBS, Service for the Education of Pupils with Special Needs).

Specialised ambulatory interventions (interventions spécialisées ambulatoires, ISA) involve specialised services provided by the competence centres for pupils with special educational needs. They take place in the classroom at an primary or secondary school, in addition to the measures set up in the primary or secondary school. Specialists from the competence centres work in close collaboration with the primary or secondary school's staff.

Specialised care may be organised:

• exclusively in an primary or secondary school or at a competence centre, or
• simultaneously and complementarily in an primary or secondary school and at a competence centre.

It may take the form of:

• special schooling,
  
• a specialised ambulatory intervention (intervention spécialisée ambulatoire, ISA),
• a rehabilitation and therapy session,
• a specific learning workshop.

A specialised diagnosis makes it possible to identify exactly the pupil's specific needs and decide which assistance and support measures match these needs. Specialised diagnoses are carried out under the responsibility of the competence centres for specialised psychopedagogy.

Specialist teachers for pupils with special educational needs (instituteurs spécialisés dans la scolarisation des élèves à besoins éducatifs spécifiques, I-EBS) are allocated directly to elementary schools. This means they are one of the primary contacts for the pupils with special educational needs, their parents, the class teachers and the educational teams. They may assist the pupils in the classroom, and work closely with the members of the support team for pupils with special educational needs (équipes de soutien des élèves à besoins éducatifs spécifiques, ESEB) and the inclusion commissions (commissions d’inclusion, CI).

Special schooling refers to the specialised care of a pupil with special educational needs in a class at a competence centre, or simultaneously and complementarily in a class at a primary or secondary school and in a class at a competence centre.

The specific learning workshops (ateliers d'apprentissage spécifiques) complement the teaching provided as part of the regular school offer. They are organised by a competence centre either at one of its decentralised annexes, or at a primary or secondary school, or at any other appropriate venue, either during or outside normal class hours. By offering these specific learning workshops, the competence centres bring together pupils with similar needs. They propose targeted activities enabling pupils to reinforce specific skills, e. g. in terms of eyesight, language, hearing, or high potential.

The support teams for pupils with special educational needs (équipes de soutien des élèves à besoins éducatifs spécifiques, ESEB) operate either within the regional directorates for primary education, or at secondary schools. They advise the teachers on dealing with pupils with special educational needs, and may themselves provide ambulatory support at the school in the form of assistance in the classroom. They may draw up an initial diagnosis, in collaboration with the teachers concerned, and make sure pupils receive the assistance decided on by the relevant inclusion commission (commission d’inclusion, CI).