Special needs education within the education system - Sweden

Information is available at the website of the Swedish National Agency for Education

The Swedish Education Act may be found at: http://www.sweden.gov.se/content/1/c6/02/15/38/1532b277.pdf

For detailed information regarding the organisation of education services in Sweden, please visit the Eurydice information service .

The National Curriculum states the leading values, the responsibility of different aspects of school activities and the educational goals. Within those limits each municipality sets up a plan for its educational system. Each school is accordingly bound by the national goals and leading values, but is free to organise its means to reach those goals as it chooses and there are very different ways of doing this.

If teachers consider that they themselves have problems meeting the needs of a specific pupil a conference has to be held with the staff involved to find a solution to the difficulties. The schools have a pupil-welfare team made up of a representative of the local school-board, the pupil welfare staff, i.e. a nurse, psychologist, counsellor and SEN teachers.
Development plans are set up for each pupil in need of special support in co-operation with teachers, parents and the pupil concerned. Those plans indicate the responsibility of each partner in the development of the pupil's abilities and knowledge.

There are regular health-checks in childcare and schools. Health service and psychologists are available for staff, pupils and parents to consult.

Co-operation with services other than the educational system, such as healthcare and training has to be approved of by and involve the parents of the child concerned.
Municipal childcare, pre-primary activities, compulsory schooling, after-school centres and youth centres are often part of the same organisation with a common school-board. Several of these activities are often integrated with the staff organising joint work together. This facilitates a complete view of each pupil. It is common practice to provide for the pupils' needs in close co-operation with their parents. The National Curriculum states the importance of the parents' participation in the planning of pupils' education. See http://www.skolverket.se/sb/d/493

Preschool

All pedagogical activities should be related to the needs of all children, and children in need of special support should as far as possible receive that care in its original child care group.
Most child care centres are organised in groups of 15-20 children with three employees to work with them. Where children in need of special support attend a group, extra staff can be allocated.
Health care, social care, fostering and teaching are the major tasks stated in the pre-primary curriculum. The social development of children takes place in groups. Consequently, the group has an important educational function in child care, and both the individual child and the group are focal points in pedagogical programmes. Diversity is considered as a general standard in this social development and all children should as far as possible, irrespective of their needs, be a part of such a group.
All pupils in needs of special support have written plans of development set up in co-operation with the pupils themselves, parents and professionals involved. For more information, please access the following link: http://www.skolverket.se/sb/d/374/a/1267 .

Due to the large degree of independence of the municipalities, Special Needs Education can be organised in different ways. Support could include variations of the following options:

• the teachers of the pupil are supported by a resource centre at the local level;
• a specialist teacher works with the pupil concerned within the frames of the activities of the larger group; this could be a permanent work or organised for longer or shorter periods;
• the pupil leaves the larger group for limited periods to work with a specialist teacher;
• resource centres at the local level may be supported by an advisor at the National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools.

Compulsory education

The majority of pupils in need of special educational support are educated in general basic compulsory classes. If this is not possible, then the school must indicate very clearly why other educational options for pupils should be considered. This is an important philosophical standpoint for child care organisation and operation. Earlier debates focused upon prerequisites for mainstreaming. Now the focus has shifted to the need for justification for segregated options to be considered for pupils. The concept of mainstream education is not used. For more information, please access teh following link: http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/2063/a/21953 .

The National Curriculum states the leading values, the responsibility of different aspects of school activities and the educational goals. Within those limits each municipality sets up a plan for its educational system. Each school is accordingly bound by national goals and leading values, but is free to organise its means to reach those goals as it chooses.

This leaves a free choice concerning use of staff, groups of pupils according to age and levels and to a large extent the content of subjects. This is presented in a school-plan which every school is bound to set up and evaluate.

According to the National Curriculum all compulsory education will be organised in such a way that individual solutions are possible for all pupils. This is a way of strengthening the pupils' influence and personal responsibility, but also a way of taking into account all pupils' needs and individuality. The National Curriculum can be found at http://www.skolverket.se/sb/d/493.

Within this development the organisation of school activities and educational environments is important. Local projects are now run to investigate the possibilities of abandoning national timetables and make compulsory education even more goal-oriented. The goals of a certain subject shall be achieved by each pupil, but the ways to reach them and the time spent can vary.
A pupil who, for one reason or another, encounters difficulties can receive various forms of support within this organisation. Due to the large degree of independence of the municipalities, Special Needs Education can be organised in different ways.

Support could include variations of the following options:

• all pupils in needs of special support have written plans of development set up in co-operation with the pupils themselves, parents and professionals involved;
• the teachers of the pupil are consulted by a specialist teacher;
• a specialist teacher or assistant helps the teacher or works with the pupil concerned for longer or shorter periods within the frames of the activities of the larger group;
• the pupil receives teaching materials adapted for his or her needs;
• the pupil leaves the larger group for limited periods to work with a specialist teacher;
• a classroom assistant works with the pupil in need of special support or in the class of the pupil concerned;
• the pupil in need of special support works in a group for pupils with similar needs for longer or shorter periods within the same organisation;
• teachers are supported by a resource centre at the local level;
• resource centres at the local level may be supported by an advisor at the National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools.

Pupils with severe learning disabilities

In the Swedish compulsory school there are special programmes for pupils with severe learning disabilities, 'särskola'. Since 1996 the municipalities have taken over the control and operation of these programmes from the counties and special programmes for pupils with severe learning disabilities are now more closely linked to, or included in, general compulsory schools. For more information please access the following link: http://www.skolverket.se/sb/d/673 .

Transition period

Upper secondary schools - gymnasia - are not compulsory, but attended by almost all pupils. Schools are free of charge and there are no fees for educational materials, food or health care.

Pupils of upper secondary schools have the same right to special support as pupils of compulsory school.
For pupils in need of special support technical aid is available from the regional counties and adaptations of teaching materials are provided from the state. Schools and teachers are consulted by local resource centres which in their turn are consulted by the Swedish Institute for Special Needs Education.

Pupils of upper secondary education can choose from 17 national programmes according to their interest. Most pupils with disabilities attend these national programmes. Pupils who are deaf or have hearing disabilities attend special upper secondary schools. Pupils with physical disabilities also have this opportunity.

For those pupils who have not been able to reach the goals of the compulsory school and are not eligible to apply to a national programme there are possibilities of attending an individual programme. In this programme all pupils have their own study plan and it is possible to combine school with employment.

Municipalities have the duty to offer upper secondary education for all pupils, including pupils with severe learning disabilities. This is mostly done in a programme offering both theoretical studies and practical training.
National programmes for pupils with severe learning disabilities are among others programmes for tourism, trade, industry and arts. As for all pupils of upper secondary education individual solutions are possible.

State and regional support

The technical aid that is needed is provided from the regional counties.

In order that pupils in need of special support are given an equal quality of educational experiences as their peers, the State through the National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools offers a special pedagogical support service to authorities, services and schools.

This acts as a complement to support services and provision by local authorities, but the aim is to develop the local resource centres in order to be able to provide more support at a local level.

The National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools also includes a number of teaching material production units which develop, produce and distribute specialist teaching aids and certain technical aids. See: http://www.spsm.se

State-run special schools and resource centres

Specialist provision for learners with physical disabilities, hearing and visual impairments exists mostly in general classes, but in some cases within separate settings. All education corresponds as far as possible to the learner's non-disabled peers and the National Curriculum, with the emphasis upon the meeting of individual needs. According to the National Curriculum, students with deafness will have the ability to communicate in both written Swedish and sign language, but sign language is stated as their first language.
The State offers support by The National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools who runs three national and five regional special schools. The national schools cater for students with:

• visual impairment combined with additional disabilities (MDVI)
• deafness or hearing impairment combined with learning disabilities
• severe speech and language disorders.

The regional schools offer education for students with deafness or hearing loss that corresponds to compulsory schooling.

The National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools also run four national Resource centres with specialized knowledge of students with:

• visual impairment with or without additional disabilities
• deafness or hearing impairment combined with learning disabilities
• congenital deafblindness
• severe speech-language disorders.

The resource centres offer assessments of children and young people, and training programmes for educators and parents. For more information, please access the following link: http://www.spsm.se/Startpage/

Pupils who are blind or have visual impairments, but with no other impairments, have been educated in general classes since 1988. Support is provided via resource centres. The teaching materials used in their classes are adapted for their needs by the National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools, and technical equipment by the regional counties.