Special needs education within the education system - Denmark

The general objectives of special education states that children with special needs are taught in mainstream school environments as far as this is possible, and that all children are entitled to teaching adapted to their pre-requisites, possibilities and needs. Following this, teaching objectives are similar to those applying to the different levels of the education system.

The free choice of school

Parents, including parents of children with special needs, have the right to enroll their child in a Folkeskole of their choice within the municipality of their residence or within other municipalities. This include schools specialising in special needs education within the municipality of residence or within other municipalities. The free choice of school is, however, limited in the sense that the chosen school should be able to offer relevant support for the child with special needs and must be capable to accommodate the pupil.

On 1 October 2008 rules were for children under the age of 18 with severe and permanent disabilities and a special need for support. Changes apply to assessment of the child, co-operation with the parents and involvement of the child in the planning.  Under certain cir-cumstances parents are given the right to train their child partly or completely at home and to receive support in doing so. The support includes special needs education in the form of language support to both children under and within the schooling age, who are being taught at home. Furthermore, parents who choose home tuition of their child with special needs can receive educational guidance to fulfill the educational needs of the child.

Special education can be organised in different ways. In most cases, the pupil remains in a mainstream school class and receives special education in one or more subjects as a supplement to the general teaching. A pupil may receive special education that substitutes participation in the normal education in one or more subjects. Alternatively, he or she may be taught in a special class, either in mainstream or special school settings. Finally, the pupil may attend either a mainstream school class or a special class and be taught in both types of classes. Special classes exist for pupils with for example intellectual disabilities, dyslexia, visual impairment, hearing problems and for pupils with a physical impairment.

Pre-school education

Special educational assistance for infants is regulated by a ministerial order from 2006.
Contrary to children at school age, the obligation to offer special educational assistance to infants comprises only infants with speech and/or language difficulties that require special support provisions. Special assistance is offered to these children in order to prevent development that would be harmful for the child and to limit the consequences of their impairment, as well as to support and develop the child's linguistic and communicative skills. A speech/hearing therapist is normally engaged to work with the child.

The structural reform (cf. p. 2) extends the responsibility of providing special assistance. Local authorities are now obliged to provide special educational assistance to all children in need for this.
These extra responsibilities are related to the statutory objective of the reform. The objec-tive of special educational assistance is to provide early intervention to children with special needs to give them equal status with other children at the start of school.

The parents can contact the educational-psychological advisory service (PPR) in their municipality and ask for special educational assistance for their child.  However, a request for assistance is normally initiated by other parties who are in daily contact with the child, such as health visitors, day care nurses, doctors or staff in nurseries or kindergartens.

PPR is obliged to assess the child's needs for special educational assistance upon such a request.

The Ministry of Education's guidelines on special educational assistance for infants were developed in 1980. According to these, special educational assistance for infants will take place in an active learning environment and must form a well-integrated part of the overall framework of provisions put together for the child; thus it must be well co-ordinated with other activities.

This being said, special educational assistance given in the Folkeskole should seek to prevent removing the infant for teaching and/or training in privacy. Focus is on guiding parents and educationalists in day-care centres etc. on how best to support the child's development. Furthermore, co-operation should be established with other institutions and professionals working with the same children.

The role of the municipality and the educational-psychological advisory service

The municipalities and the regions are obliged to follow up on the development of children referred to special educational assistance. They meet at least once a year to discuss necessary adjustments, i.e. continuation, alterations or discontinuation of the assistance.

Based on advice from PPR, the head teacher will decide to continue, alter or discontinue the special educational assistance provided for the child. Decisions on special education and other special educational assistance provided by the regions are taken by the municipality. Decisions on the contents of extensive special educational assistance are taken by the regional council, upon consultation with the municipality. All decisions must be taken in consultation with the parents.

As for infants, the PPR is obliged to re-assess each case within the course of no more than six months.

Compulsory Schooling

The Act on the Danish Folkeskole outlines the necessity of close cooperation between the school and the local PPR regarding the provision of special education offered to pupils in mainstream school. Special education is always initiated upon advice from the PPR - deviations from this rule are made only if support is offered as a provisional arrangement, i.e. for no more than 15 school days.

Special education counselling is partly under the responsibility of PPR, who are therefore important contributors to the on-going work of providing special educational resources to the mainstream education system.

Special educational assistance comprises all sorts of provision required for the instruction of pupils:

• Teaching within all subjects of the Folkeskole
• Training functions and work methods
• Counselling and special educational assistance to parents, teachers etc.
• Special educational materials and technical aids
• Personal assistance
• Special arrangements and activities

Teaching materials and technical aids

The PPR is responsible for estimating whether specific teaching materials or aids could enhance a pupil's learning opportunities or compensate for difficulties such as a handicap. For instance, the PPR estimates the necessity of providing a computer in school or at home for a pupil. The PPR does not always possess the internal expertise needed in a given situation, and therefore planning - including budgetary planning - must include expenses of buying external expertise in order to meet with the professional requirements that are expected from the service at the basis of a proposal developed by its staff.

Extensive special educational assistance

The municipality refers children and young people to the provision of special education and other special educational assistance under the responsibility of the region. The municipality will refer pupils whose development requires special consideration or support that is best provided by the region.

The PPR will advise on the structure and nature of the special educational assistance proposed for the child, and whether this should be provided by the region or the municipality. If the region is recommended, PPR must outline the reason for this. The statement must include an estimation of the municipality's possibilites to meet the needs of the child, in terms of availability of facilities and/or needed expertise.

The region is responsible for organising and providing special education within the main-stream education system for pupils and students below the age of 18, who reside in the region and who have been referred to special education by the municipal council. The region also decides on the content of the educational programme, based on consultations with the municipality and upon specific request from the municipality.

Some Danish regions offer educational-psychological counselling also to parents, whose child has been referred to extensive special educational assistance, provided by the region.

Development of mainstream educational services

Official guidelines for special needs education in the Folkeskole outlines the importance of inclusiveness and differentiated teaching. High priority is given to enhance educational inclusiveness in the Folkeskole in order to limit the segregation of pupils with special needs.

Current legislation on special education in the Folkeskole was introduced in 2000. The eductional-psychological advisory services play an important role in promoting inclusive-ness in mainstream schools.

A child is put forward for an educational-psychological assessment procedure if it is assumed that he or she has special needs that cannot be met with in a mainstream school class, or if the general well-being or social situation of the child is of concern. Special education will be initiated only if it is not possible for the child to follow an educational programme in the mainstream class.

Differentiated teaching

Teaching in the Folkeskole is organised so that it corresponds to the needs and prerequisites of the individual pupil. The use of differentiated teaching methods is promoted, not only by the individual teacher in his or her classroom, but as an overall principle of the school.

It is very important to try out all possibilities to meet with the pupil's needs in the mainstream classroom - including differentiated teaching - before he or she is referred to spe-cial education. Differentiated teaching methods should be practised in relation to contents, time, teaching methods and materials as well as all pedagogical and special educational provisions offered at the school.

According to law, special educational support should always be initiated within the framework of a mainstream educational programme. The responsible parties must seek to or-ganise the support so that it does not bring along unnecessary changes and interventions into the pupil's school life.

Assessment

If a pupil's needs are considered to require resources and support provisions that are not available within the mainstream school, the school will put the pupil forward for an educational-psychological assessment procedure, upon consultation with the parents and the pupil. If the parents do not want an assessment for their child, the head teacher must state very strong reasons for doing so without their acceptance.

In January 2009 some procedural changes were proposed to the Folketing regarding referral to special education. It is being suggested that the educational-psychological advisory services may be omitted if special education is given in individual subjects. This decision should be taken by the school leader.

The parents and the pupil can also apply directly to the local PPR for educational-psychological counselling. Special educational assistance is provided for the child on the basis of:

• the assessment procedure
• proposals from PPR
• if needed, a written report

If the PPR advisory services find that the pupil needs special educational assistance, they will prepare a more detailed proposal to the head teacher of the school. If it is found that assistance is not needed, PPR will inform the head teacher and offer to discuss further the situation and needs of the child with the teachers who have notified him or her for assess-ment.

The proposal of the PPR is followed up by a written report if necessary. Parents are always entitled to request such a report.

The PPR is obliged to consult relevant external experts during the assessment procedure, i.e. professionals from the social and health service sector, regional advisors and knowledge centres. The PPR will then draft the proposal for assistance in consultation with the parents. In case of disagreement between the parents and the PPR, the advisory services must inform the head teacher and state whether they find it "imperative" to initiate special educational assistance for the child. On the basis of this, the head teacher decides if the child should be referred to special educational assistance or not. Consent from the parents is needed, unless it is stated "imperative" to refer the child to special educational assis-tance.

Compulsory final examinations for all

Act No. 313 of 19 April 2006 introduced compulsory final examinations at the end of 9th grade in the Folkeskole. The change was made to ensure that all young people have a good academic foundation when they leave the Folkeskole. Thereby, they will also have the best basis for completing secondary or youth education.

The introduction of compulsory final examinations means that all pupils in the Folkeskole must take seven examinations at the end of the 9th grade.

A school cannot obtain general exemption from the participation in the final examinations for all pupils. However, in special situations the principal can decide to exempt a pupil from taking one or more of the examinations. This concerns pupils for whom taking the examination is found inappropriate due to severe disabilities or insufficient knowledge of the Danish language. The decision presupposes that it has been considered whether the pu-pil can take the examination under special conditions. The decision is further made on the basis of an educational and psychological evaluation of the pupil and in consultation with the parents.

Complaints

Parents can file a complaint with the municipality against the decision of the head teacher. The final decision lies with the municipality. Parents can bring forward the municipal decisions concerning special educational assistance, rejections or revocations to a complaint's board dealing with extensive special educational assistance. The same goes for the re-gion's decisions on the content of the educational programme.

If the child is proposed to receive special educational assistance in a special school, the parents are entitled to receive an alternative proposal for teaching in the mainstream school - to be given either in the mainstream classroom or in a special class.
The decision, concerning children with severe physical and/or intellectual special needs, can be complained against to an impartial complaints board, appointed by the Ministry of Education. This access to a complaints procedure has been extended as part of the local government reform. Recent estimations from Autumn 2007 shows that 313 complaints had been received at the complaints board - all concerning public schools. It should be noted that the complaints board suggests that most of the incoming complaints are solved by settlement between parents and the municipality.

The agreement in 2008 between the organisation for local governments in Denmark and the Government initiates an analysis of the special needs area. The analysis must include the content, scope and resources within the area. The intention is to reduce the increase in special needs education. The analysis is initiated but not yet finalised.

Pupils with special needs in free private independent schools

Free private independent schools are obliged to offer special education and special educational services to the pupils corresponding to the services offered in the Folkeskole. The Government offers grants towards the free private independent schools. The annual budget includes special grants connected to education of pupils with a disability as well as bilingual pupils.

The Danish Educational Support Agency administrates the aid scheme on special conditions for applications, deadlines, documentation etc. The schools apply for support, and the decision of the Agency is communicated to the school, which then informs the pupil and the parents.

The support is used to compensate for the specific educational consequences of a disability (or bilingual background). This takes place in the form of special education, support education in Danish of bilingual pupils and coverage of extra expenses for special education, practical support, aids and transportation of pupils with severe disabilities.

Complaints procedure of special education in free private independent schools

The Agency administers the special educational assistance agreements for pupils with disabilities at free private independent schools, vocational training, general and vocational upper secondary education and further and higher education. The Agency's decisions can be complained against to an impartial complaints board – (Ankenævnet for Uddannelsesstøtten). In such cases an expert appointed by the Disabled Peoples’ Organisations, Denmark (DPOD) will attend. The complaints board can change the decision of the Ag-ency completely or partly. The chair of the complaints board must be a judge and a legal judgment of the claim from the pupil will be made.

Transition Period

45 municipal Youth Guidance Centres provide guidance to young people up to the age of 25 years. The 45 centres cover the 98 municipalities in Denmark, each centre covering a “sustainable” area in terms of the number and variety of youth education institutions as well as geographical distance.

As early as during the last year of primary education (6th grade), individual pupil plans are developed in the form of ideas about what should happen after compulsory education or the voluntary 10th grade following compulsory education.

In Denmark this transition plan is drafted partly on the basis of the so-called "Uddannelsesbogen" (the Educational Record) and the "Uddannelsesplanen" (the Educational Plan). This latter presents a kind of portfolio, which is created in the 6th grade and con-tains summaries of individual dialogues between the counsellor and the pupil on topics such as when and where the educational programme will be completed, aims of the pro-gramme and how to best achieve progress.

The Educational Record contains necessary documentation about the counselling process and the pupil's choices during this process. The course of choosing a youth educational programme or employment after schooling is also reflected in the Educational Record.

The Educational Record deals with issues such as the pupil's strenghts, interests, expectations to the future and requirements for development. The pupil's efforts during a certain time span may also be stated as intermediate aims in the Educational Record.

The pupil's wishes and expectations, as stated in the Educational Record, are not binding for his or her future choices. They are meant to serve as guidelines for defining important issues in relation to the transition from school to further education or employment.

On the basis of the Educational Record the pupil will prepare an Educational Plan in the 9th grade. This may be repeated in the 10th grade. The Plan will show the pupil's aims and objectives in relation to further education or employment. The reason why it could be drafted again during the 10th grade is that compulsory education finishes after the 9th grade.

To strengthen pupils’ abilities to choose a programme for further education or employment, educational, vocational and labour market relations are taught as a subject during the last years of schooling. Furthermore, all pupils are offered vocational training. Young people with special educational needs are offered a more comprehensive vocational training programme than others, and they might also be offered a work-training programme of longer duration during their last years of schooling. This will be arranged either for two whole days per week, in which case the pupil will attend school for the remaining three days, or it can be for five afternoons per week, so that the pupil attends school each day from 8 a.m. to 12 approximately. The pupil will receive non-tariff based remuneration, i.e. a so-called financial reward for participating in the work-training programme. This kind of work training is known in several European countries as "the Dual System".

Furthermore, each municipality can offer all pupils the possibility to participate in a bridge-building programme in the course of the 9th and 10th grade. These are programmes com-bining guidance and teaching. They aim at providing the young person with better possibilities and motivation in order for him or her to choose and accomplish a youth education programme and to develop professional and personal qualifications. In Denmark youth education programmes cover:

• General upper secondary education
• Vocational upper secondary education (e.g. vocational education and training, agricultural education, social and health education)

The duration of these bridge-building programmes varies from 1 to 4 weeks. They comprise elements from various types of schooling as mentioned above, or they can be organised so that pupils attend courses at production schools or labour market introductory courses.

New Upper Secondary Education for Young People with Special Needs

Major reforms and innovations have been introduced in the education system, in particular concerning the organisation, structure and management of the education system.

In June 2007 the Act on Education for Young People with Special Needs was passed. It addresses mainly young people who are mentally handicapped or people with special needs, who are not able to complete a mainstream education programme. The main purpose for the young person is to attain personal, social and - to the best extent possible -vocational competencies in order to be an active and independent citizen in adulthood.

This education is a legal right and is offered after compulsory primary and lower secondary education (the Folkeskole). It comprises 3 years of training and can be attended until 25 years of age. The programme should be finalised after five years. Details of the programme are planned in co-operation with the young person, their parents and the Youth Guidance Centres (Ungdommens Uddannelsesvejledning).

Since this youth education programme is fairly new, the full extent is not yet known. It is expected to take in approximately 2.3 percent of a youth year group or almost 4,100 young people. The authority, responsibilities and financing of youth education for young people with special needs are assigned to the municipalities. The municipalities are also responsible for social welfare services and job creation programmes; thus they will be able to co-ordinate effors to improve participation in public life for young people with special needs. As of 31 May 2008, 790 students had initiated a programme of education for young people with special needs.

Aims and purposes of each education programme at each level

The objective of educational programmes for young people with special needs is to ensure that young people who are mentally handicapped or people with special needs who are not able to complete a mainstream education programme attain personal, social and vocational competencies in order to be an active and independent citizen in adulthood and, if possible, complete further education and enter the labour market.  Participants receive a paper of competencies upon finalisation of the programme, outlining the competencies acquired during the course.

Curricular policies, educational content and teaching and learning strategies

Planning of education courses for young people with special needs should – to the full extent possible – consider the individual's qualifications, maturity and interests and should consist of one planned and co-ordinated course.

Legal framework of education (in particular, new legal provisions). Act no. 564 of 6 June 2008 on Education for Young People with Special Needs.

Objectives and principal characteristics of current and forthcoming reforms

The Act on Education for Young People with Special Needs was implemented on 1 August 2007. Adjustments might be needed, thus it has been decided to evaluate the Act no later than in the school year 2011/2012. Until then, education programmes will be monitored and evaluated frequently.

Special needs education for adults

Special needs education for adults is offered to people with physical or mental disabilities. Special needs education for adults consists of planned, targeted and progressive efforts with the aim to compensate – through education – for the consequenses of a disability. Participants learn strategies and methods that enable them to a larger extent to take part in society on equal terms as people without disabilities.

Education is primarily offered at special schools for adults and at institutes for people with speaking, hearing or vision impairments. The institutions are either owned by the local authorities or run by regional authorities in agreement with the local authorities. Furthermore, private institutions may have an agreement with the local authorities and thereby offer special needs education to adults. Teaching may also take place at the participants own home, at work, etc.

Teaching adults with dyslexia

Teaching of dyslexic adults is adapted to people with basic difficulties in acquiring written language skills. The aim is, through specially organised teaching, to help participants overcome the difficulties and improve their options to solve tasks requiring written language skills.

Teaching of adults with dyslexia is planned, targeted and progressive. It is a means of supporting participants’ possibilities to take advantage of compensation strategies and methods to participate successfully in jobs, education and society. 

Teaching for adults with dyslexia includes a state-financed teaching programme offered by an adult education centre (VUC). In accordance with an operational agreement with VUC, teaching for dyslectic adults is also provided by:

• Institutions that provide labour market education programmes (AMU)
• Institutions for vocationally oriented education
• Adult education associations and day folk high schools
• Folk high schools, home economics schools and trade schools
• Production schools
• Language centres
• Social and healthcare training schools (SOSU)
• The Forestry College
• Educational institutions with basic maritime education programmes
• Educational institutions with teaching programmes for adults with special needs

Teaching for dyslectic adults can be provided locally in public and private companies, in associations and in academic organisations.