With the implementation of the care system for pupils with special educational needs, Luxembourg is investing considerably in school inclusion. The objective is to allow pupils to continue their education in their regular school class, provided this inclusion is possible and desired by the student and the parents.
Substantial investments in personnel and structures have made it possible to increase the outpatient care of pupils with special educational needs within their regular education environment. Less than 1% of pupils in Luxembourg are educated in a specialised educational institution, indicating a high inclusion rate.
Students with special educational needs
Pupils with special educational needs 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.
The specific educational needs of a pupil may relate in particular to the motor, visual, linguistic, auditory, intellectual, socio-emotional, attention, learning or autism spectrum domains. 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.
The support system for pupils with special educational needs
Specialised teachers for pupils with special educational needs (I-EBS) are active on site in primary schools.
Assistants for pupils with special educational needs (A-EBS) will soon assist the I-EBS in their missions within basic schools.
Support teams for pupils with special educational needs (ESEB) work with students within the primary and secondary schools.
Inclusion commissions in each secondary school and regional directorate for primary education inform pupils and parents about the various available support measures and define the appropriate measures to be offered to the pupil.
Eight competence centres for specialised psychopedagogy and a transition agency offer services in addition to the measures available at primary and secondary schools.
The National Inclusion Commission (commission nationale d'inclusion, CNI) can be contacted for any request for specialised diagnosis or care.
The Reasonable Adjustments Commission (commission des aménagements raisonnables, CAR) defines the reasonable accommodations that are granted within secondary education.
Continuous improvement of the support system
Luxembourg makes school inclusion a priority. The support system for pupils with special needs was the subject of an evaluation in 2022 in order to continue to develop inclusive education in Luxembourg.
The evaluation report identified six areas for improvement that require particular attention in the context of continuous improvement of the system and its components.
In order to promote inclusive education and develop the quality of the support system for pupils with special educational needs, a new administration called the Service national de l’éducation inclusive (SNEI, National Service for Inclusive Education) was set up on 16 July 2023. The SNEI replaces the former Service de la scolarisation des élèves à besoins spécifiques (S-EBS, Department for the Education of Pupils with Special Needs).
