COMPLETE NATIONAL OVERVIEW

Legal System

The teaching of children, young people and adults is regulated by a number of acts, and with one exception, the general provisions on special education are contained in the ordinary acts applying to the school area in question. The exception is the act on special education for adults, which since 1980 has been the legal basis for compensatory special education for adults with functional difficulties of a physical or psychological nature; there is however also a ministerial order on special educational support in vocational education and training etc. But otherwise there is no special legislation which applies to pupils with special needs. In the ordinary legislation pertaining to the individual levels of education, it is laid down more or less directly that the teaching must be open to all and thus be organised and executed with due consideration of the pupils' different prerequisites and needs, and there may be provisions regarding special considerations in connection with examinations and the like.

In the Folkeskole, where the compulsory education is a decisive element of the legislative basis, it is laid down very precisely and obligingly that all children are obliged and therefore also entitled to complete the Folkeskole or other teaching of a standard which can measure up with that of the Folkeskole. The Act on the Folkeskole thus applies to all children of basic school age as well as children who have not yet started school, if they due to a handicap have needs for special educational assistance. The aims of the school, the number and scope of the subjects, the organisation of the teaching in class levels, evaluation etc. are thus directed equally at well-functioning pupils and at pupils with severe functional disabilities.

The Act on the Folkeskole does however contain supplementary provisions on special rights for certain pupils and on possibilities of deviating from some of the provisions in the act in relation to these pupils. In section 3 of the Act on the Folkeskole, it is laid down that ''Special education and other special educational assistance shall be given to children whose development requires special consideration or support'', and it is directly mentioned that these provisions may contain deviations from the subject-range of the school, the provisions on proficiency assessment and the weekly timetable. It is characteristic of section 3 of the act that there is no indication of any form of objective or categorical delimitation of the group of pupils with special educational needs. The decision as to whether a child's development requires special consideration or support is dependent on a concrete assessment in each individual case, which according to section 12 in the act shall be made upon pedagogical and psychological counselling and upon consultation of the pupil and his/her parents.

The provisions on special education and other special educational assistance of the Act on the Folkeskole are elaborated on and amplified in a number of ministerial orders and circular letters as well as in a number of guidelines on the content and organisation of the teaching. The latter are subject to continuous revision. The regulations governing special education are mainly dealing with the following topics: the pupils, the time of initiating special education and other special educational assistance, the content of the special educa-tional assistance, the different forms of special education, the procedure in relation to referral of pupils to special education and other special educational assistance, special considerations at examinations, transition from school to working life, teacher training etc.

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Pre-school Education
The legal provisions governing the one-year pre-school class are laid down in the Act on the Folkeskole. It is among other things laid down that:

•  the Folkeskole shall comprise a one-year pre-school class, a nine-year basic school, and a one-year 10th form;
•  the municipal council shall be responsible for the establishment of pre-school classes;
•  a child shall at the request of the parents be admitted to a pre-school class in the calendar year of his or her 6th birthday, or later;
•  the teaching in pre-school classes shall as far as possible be given in the form of play and other developing activities. It shall be endeavoured to familarize the children with the daily routines of school life;
•  for the pre-school class and the 1st and 2nd form levels, an integration of parts of the teaching may be organised. At small schools, the entire teaching at these form levels may be common.

Compulsory School
It must be underlined that in Denmark it is education - and not schooling - that is compulsory. Compulsory education means an obligation to participate in the teaching provided in the Folkeskole or in teaching which is comparable to what is generally required in the Folkeskole.
According to the Danish Constitution, all children of compulsory education age have a right to free education in the Folkeskole. Parents or persons with legal custody of children, who see to it themselves that the children receive instruction, which meets the general requirements set to the teaching in the Folkeskole, are not obliged to enrol their children in the Folkeskole.

Compulsory education commences on 1 August of the calendar year of a child's 7th birthday and terminates on 31 July of the year, in which he or she has received regular instruction for 9 years, not including the pre-school class.

Transition Period
“ Personal counselling and guidance shall contribute to giving the pupil a realisation of his or her own expectations and prerequisites and enable him or her to draw up a personal education and training plan as well as an action plan.” This is one of the aims set out in the Ministry of Education's order regarding educational, vocational and labour market orientation  (Order on the Aims of the Teaching in the Subjects and Obligatory Topics of the Folkeskole), section 21: Educational, Vocational and Labour Market Orientation.

This plan will describe the student’s future goals - after compulsory schooling or after the 10th form - as well as the factors needed in order to achieve these goals. The plan is drawn up on the basis of the student’s educational record, which is begun in the 6th form.

The record is prepared by the student in co-operation with the parents and the school and is regularly updated until the student leaves the Folkeskole.

The counsellor is responsible for the student’s preparation of educational plans and re-cords. The counsellor, in co-operation with the class teacher and the other teachers, assists the student in this.

The counselling of students with special needs takes place in co-operation with a school consultant, the so-called curator.  Students with special needs – for example students who have received special needs education, students who lack self confidence, motivation or a social network – will be given special attention and support in their choice of work and further education, in the form of special guidance and counselling.
 

Financing

The total educational expenditure in 2002 was approx. 110.9 billion DKK, which corre-sponds to 8,0 % of the total public expenditure.

The different levels of the Danish education system, which belong under the responsibility of the Ministry of Education, are in some way or other funded by means of the so-called ''taximeter system'' (i.e. according to the principle of ''the money follows the student'').

The taximeter system is part of the Ministry's overall strategy of target and framework management. The main idea behind this strategy is that decisions with regard to the im-plementation of courses of education are best made by the people directly faced with the problems, i.e. the heads and boards of the educational institutions.

The system is based on the allocation of grants to institutions according to their level of activity: Many students release a large grant, few students only release a small grant. The budget of the previous year has no influence on the size of the budget of the following year.

A key element in the taximeter system is the block grant principle. As long as the block grant is used for legitimate purposes, the institution is free to spend the money in accor-dance with its own priorities.

All schools financed by central government receive their grants based on various taximeter systems adapted to the different types of schools.

Pre-school Education
Nurseries, kindergartens, other day-care institutions and pre-school classes are financed by the local authorities from block grants allocated by the State.

Compulsory Schooling
The Folkeskole is a municipal school and the municipal schools are not financed according to the taximeter system. The municipalities decide themselves as to which system of financing they want to use for the schools under their responsibility, but the Ministry of Edu-cation has laid down certain minimum requirements.

Transition Period
Secondary education can be divided into general upper secondary education and vocational secondary education.

General upper secondary education
Local government schools, i.e. municipal and county schools, are not financed according to the taximeter system. Municipalities and counties decide themselves as to which system they want to use when financing the institutions under their responsibility (i.e. Folkeskoler and Gymnasium/HF-courses), but the Ministry of Education has laid down certain minimum requirements.

The HHX and HTX-programmes which are offered at the vocational colleges are financed according to the taximeter system.

Vocational upper secondary education
Within an annual framework, the Minister of Education allocates a grant to the colleges to cover administration, management and operation of buildings. The operational grant is made up of a basic grant, which is laid down in the Government's annual Finance Acts, and a grant which is allocated on the basis of the number of students per year enrolled at the individual college and a rate per student per year. The rate per student per year is laid down in the annual Finance Acts for large groups of programmes.

The Minister of Education furthermore allocates grants to the colleges for their acquisition and maintenance of classrooms, buildings and areas on the basis of the number of students per year enrolled in the college and a rate per student laid down in the annual Finance Acts for large groups of programmes. The rates may vary on the basis of the geographical location of the colleges and other aspects.
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Identification of Special Needs

The decision as to whether a child's development requires special consideration or support is dependent on a concrete assessment in each individual case, which, according to section 12 in the Act on the Folkeskole, shall be made upon pedagogical and psychological counselling and upon consultation of the pupil and his/her parents.

As a rule, it is the teacher(s) of the ordinary teaching which experience a given pupil's special needs. It is the pedagogical-psychological counselling service centre which looks into the nature of the need and makes proposals for remedying it. And it is the headteacher of the school, who decides whether a pupil shall be referred to special education. And finally it is the pedagogical-psychological counselling service centre which is to follow the development of the pupil with a view to making the necessary adjustments, including the discontinuation of the support.

The children will as far as possible be taught at the class level which corresponds to their age. A pupil may however with the approval of his/her parents, attend the same form for two years, if it is considered that he or she will benefit from such a measure or be offered 11 years of instruction in addition to the pre-school class.
 
Special Needs Education within the Education System

The general objectives of special education are that handicapped children should as far as possible be taught in ordinary school environments, and that all children are entitled to an instruction which is adapted to their prerequisites, possibilities and needs. Following this, the objectives of the teaching is identical to the ones applying to the different levels of the education system.

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 the pupil's participation in the normal education in one or more subjects. A pupil may alternatively be taught in a special class either within a mainstream school or within a special school. And finally a combination is possible in which the pupil is a member of either a mainstream school class or a special class, but receives education in both types of classes. Special classes exist for pupils with intellectual disabilities, dyslexia, visual handicap, hearing problems, and for pupils with a physical handicap.

Pre-school education
Special educational assistance for infants is regulated by a ministerial order from 1979.
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 a development that would be harmful for the child and to limit the consequences of the handicap, 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 parents can contact the pedagogical-psychological advisory service in their municipality and ask for special educational assistance for their child.  However, 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.

The pedagogical-psychological advisory centres (PPR) service is obliged to assess the child's needs for special educational assistance upon request.

The Ministry of Education's guidelines on special educational assistance for infants was elaborated in 1980. According to these, special educational assistance for infants shall 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 avoid as far as possible to remove the infant for teaching and/or training in privacy. Focus shall be 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 pedagogical-psychological advisory service
The municipality and the county are obliged to follow up on the development of children referred to special educational assistance. They must, at least once a year, meet to discuss necessary adjustments to be made, i.e. continuation, alterations or discontinuation of the assistance.
The head teacher decides to continue, alter or discontinue the special educational assistance provided for the child, on the basis of advice from PPR. Decisions on special education and other special educational assistance provided by the county are taken by the municipality. Decisions on the contents of extensive special educational assistance are taken by the county council upon consultations with the municipality. All decisions must be taken in consultation with the parents.

As for infants, the PPR advisory service 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 a close co-operation between the school and the pedagogical-psychological advisory centres (PPR) regarding the provisions of special education offered to pupils in the mainstream school system. Special education is always initiated upon advise from the local PPR - deviations from this rule are made only in case the 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 needed for instruction of the pupils:
•  Teaching within all subjects of the Folkeskole
•  Training functions and work methods
•  Special educational assistance to parents, teachers etc.
•  Special educational materials and technical aids
•  Personal assistance
•  Special arrangements and activities

Teaching materials and technical aids
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, PPR estimates the necessity of providing a computer in school or at home for a pupil. 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 ex-pected from the service as the basis of a proposal elaborated 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 that lies under the responsibility of the county. The municipality will refer pupils whose development requires special consideration or support that is best provided by the county.

PPR will advice on the structure and nature of the special educational assistance proposed for the child and whether it should be provided by the county or the municipality. If the county is recommended for this purpose, PPR must outline why extensive special support is best provided by the county. The statement from PPR 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 county 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 county and who have been referred to special education by the municipal council. The county also decides on the content of the educational programme, on the basis of consultations with the municipality and upon a specific request from the municipality.

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

Development of mainstream educational services
New rules on special education in the Folkeskole outlines the importance of inclusiveness and differentiated teaching. Enhancing educational inclusiveness in order to limit the segregation of pupils with special needs is given high priority in the Folkeskole.

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

A child is notified for a pedagogical-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 shall be organised so that it corresponds to the needs and prerequisites of the individual pupil. The use of differentiated teaching methods should be 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 special education.
Differentiated teaching methods should be practiced 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 organise 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 notify the pupil for pedagogical-psychological assessment procedure upon consultation with the parents and the pupil. If the parents do not wish to notify their child for assessment, the head teacher must state very strong reasons for doing so without their acceptance.

The parents and the pupil can also apply directly to the local PPR for pedagogical-psychological counselling. Special educational assistance is provided for the child on the basis of:
•  the assessment procedure
•  proposals from PPR
•  and, if needed, a written report.

If the PPR advisory service finds that the pupil needs special educational assistance, it will elaborate 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 assessment.
The proposal of PPR is followed up by a written report if necessary. Parents are always entitled to request such a report.

PPR is obliged to consult relevant external experts during the assessment procedure, i.e. professionals from the social and health service sector, county advisors and knowledge centres. PPR will then elaborate the proposal for assistance in consultation with the parents. In case of disagreement between the parents and PPR, the advisory service 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 assistance.

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 county'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 instruction in the mainstream school - to be given either in the mainstream classroom or in a special class.

Transition Period
Already during the last year of primary education, which is in Denmark the 6th grade, plans for the future of each individual student are elaborated, in the form of thoughts about what should happen after compulsory education or the voluntary 10th grade following compulsory education.

In Denmark this transition plan is partly elaborated 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. It contains summaries of individual dialogues between the counsellor and the student. These dialogues last approx. 20 minutes each and are held once a year during the 6th and 7th grade plus twice a year during the last two years of compulsory education (8th and 9th grade) and 10th grade.

The Educational Record provides the necessary documentation with regards to the coun-selling process and the student's choices during this process. The course of choosing a youth educational programme or employment after schooling is also shown in the Educational Record.

The Record deals with issues such as the student's forte, interests, expectations to the future and wishes in terms of development. The student's efforts during a certain time span could also be described and put forward as intermediate aims in the Record.

The student's wishes and expectations, as put forward 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 student will elaborate an Educational Plan during 9th grade and perhaps again whilst attending the 10th grade. This Plan will show the student's aims and objectives in relation to further education or employment. The reason why it could be elaborated again after the 10th grade is that compulsory education finishes after the 9th grade.

To strengthen the student's 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 students are offered vocational training programmes within an enterprise. Young people with special educational needs are offered a more comprehensive vocational training programme than others, and it is also possible to offer to them a so-called work training programme of a longer duration during their last years of schooling. This will be arranged either for two whole days per week, and the student will then attend school for the remaining three days, or it can be for five after-noons per week, so that the student attends school each day from 8 a.m. to 12 approxi-mately. The student 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 well known in several European countries as "The Dual System".

Furthermore, each municipality can offer to all students to participate in a so-called bridge-building programme in the course of the 10th grade. These are programmes combining 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 8 to 40 weeks. They comprise two to four elements from various types of schooling as mentioned above, or they can be organised so that the students will attend courses at production schools or labour market introductory courses. Each element lasts from 4 to 36 weeks. In parallel, the programmes contain some elements from the subjects of the 10th grade.

In parallel, the student will accomplish a compulsory task on an individually chosen subject as part of the 10th grade. This will give him or her a possibility to work individually on a given subject, based on the aims and objectives set out in the Educational Plan, on the bridge-building programmes and other activities described in the Plan.

Teacher Training

In the regulations governing special education, it is laid down which qualifications are required from the educators and teachers who are to be involved with the teaching. In the infant area, the teachers are to have completed initial training as teachers or educators as well as a special one-year course in special education at the Danish University of Education.

The carrying out of special education in school follows the basic principle that, if it is a teacher, who is responsible for the total teaching of one or more pupils, he or she must have completed a course of education which in real terms qualifies him or her for the given task. If it is a question of special education, which supplements the ordinary teaching in one or more subjects, there are no particular qualification requirements. It is not the formal but the real qualifications which are important here.

Development of Inclusion/Integration

In connection with the change of law in 2000, a three-year programme was launched that aims to improve and maintain the quality of special needs education. The KVIS pro-gramme (’quality in special needs education’) has as one its aims to inspire the Minister of Education to make adjustments of the law by the end of the three-year period.

The programme is managed both at the regional and central level with the regions as the promoters. It is at this level the concrete changes and new developments must take place in order to meet the objective of improving the quality of special needs education. Regional committees monitor, support and contribute to
•  the development of the regional and local special educational programmes and special provisions for infants
•  the educational institutions and counselling services in the area with a view to developing a coherent counselling and support service in the region in question
•  the co-operation between the social, health and educational sectors in the region with a view to proposing potential improvements in this field
•  the introduction of recommendations regarding the future organisation and distribution of tasks. And they also contribute to the final evaluation through the provision of progress and status reports.

Both policy-makers and professionals in Denmark have pointed out that the local schools should be able to meet the educational needs of the majority of pupils. They have emphasised how important it is that that children have relations with other children and adults in the local environment. School must be sufficiently inclusive to meet the needs of the individual pupils.
This does not necessarily mean that teachers should be able to meet the educational needs of all children in the ordinary mainstream school classes. The special schools with their expertise are, and will continue to be, a valid alternative educational provision.

In accordance with the aim of the KVIS programme, which is to improve the quality in special needs education, it is necessary to approach the concept of ”quality” from a number of different angles in order to influence attitudes of pupils, parents, teachers and school man-agement, and to question traditions.

This can best be achieved through:
•  flexible educational settings
•  continuous discussions regarding special education, profound special education and ordinary education
•  renewal of methods and organisational structures of the educational provision
•  application of new communication methods and educational materials
•  changes in the physical settings of the school
•  in-service training of school staff
•  multi-faceted co-operation internally as well as across schools, sectors, regions and countries.

The local Pedagogical and Psychological Counselling Offices (PPR) that exist in most Danish municipalities play an important role in the quality assurance process, as they are involved with all three types of education – ordinary education, education of pupils with ordinary special educational needs and pupils with profound special educational needs.

The counselling and guidance they provide to schools and parents greatly influences local attitudes and decisions regarding educational and organisational action programmes. The local offices must acquire the specialised knowledge required to ensure the quality of the educational programmes for pupils with special educational needs.

The quality assurance programme deals with eight thematic areas set out by the Ministry of Education.  All eight themes are addressed throughout the programme period but the individual regions can prioritise the way they work with them:

•  Theme 1: Individual educational planning and teaching
The school must be organised so that all pupils enjoy their schooling and profit from the education. The school of the future must base its activities on the pupils’ abilities and describe how to enable the pupils to develop their current competences and potentials. Many pupils with profound special educational needs were previously integrated into a structure and settings which existed already and which were not adapted to their needs.

•  Theme 2: Parent-school co-operation
Parents, pupils and teachers must continuously discuss the quality of education. The exchange of views and close parent-school co-operation can only happen if both parties are positive and openminded. Schools and institutions must be ready to adapt to new educational processes and to the different ideas and requirement of parents. The dialogue between the pupils, the parents and the school must be clear and focused so that it becomes possible to manage the shared responsibility for the education and special pedagogical assistance to the pupils.

•  Theme 3: School structuring and teaching means
New and different forms of co-operating and teaching and new organisational structures with flexible groups of pupils are some of the most important prerequisites of the inclusive school. Willingness to adapt to new and different pedagogical theories and practices is a necessary prerequisite of the discussions of how best to arrange the school. ICT and digital teaching means and materials can improve the quality of the education of the individual pupil and create new and improved opportunities for pupils with profound special educational needs.

•  Theme 4: Management and teacher qualifications
School management and staff must be mentally flexible and willing to introduce new procedures. They must appreciate that in order for the schooling to be successful it must be based upon a dynamic and interactive concept of learning and the solving of tasks as well as specialised knowledge. Furthermore, they must support the practical development of education that aims to make the pupils independent and which is based on the pupils’ individual capacities and potentials and aims to support the development of their personal competences. This also applies to the education of pupils with profound special needs.

•  Theme 5: Transition from compulsory school to further education and employment
All pupils face situations where they move on from one stage in life to the next, for in-stance from compulsory school to further education. These transitions must be as easy and non-problematic as possible and it is important to establish coherence, consistency and continuity for the child or young person through close collaboration between profes-sionals on the basis of an agreed set of principles. If the efforts to achieve coherent solutions are not successful, problems will multiply for pupils with profound special educational needs.

•  Theme 6: Co-ordination of school and leisure time
Schools and institutions must be flexible and see school and leisure time as a joint educational field. Co-operation with other groups of professionals and bodies outside the school or institution facilitates a positive approach to new ways of thinking and working. In order for co-operation to be fruitful, there is a need for such a positive co-operation as well as for adaptability and willingness to break down professional and educational barriers. This will add new dynamic dimensions to the work and increase the opportunities for improving the quality in the solutions of current and future tasks.  For pupils with profound special educational needs it is particularly important that the provision is perceived as a joint coherent whole.

•  Theme 7: Infants
Early intervention with infants must take into account the surroundings that affect the child as well as the special ways in which young children learn. The different partners involved with the child - particularly the parents but also the professionals – must be involved in the efforts to provide a good educational programme. The child’s communication with its surroundings is a central element in this work and it is important to keep in mind that the development of the child’s communication abilities is not only a matter of words and sentences, but also a matter of contact and communication with other people, of personal development and self-dependence.
The aim of the professional intervention is to improve the child’s opportunities for personal development by enabling the child to understand as well as to be understood, as the development of communication skills improves the child’s learning opportunities and hence the chances of a positive development in kindergarten and school.

•  Theme 8: Division of responsibilities and tasks, knowledge mediation
The quality of the combined efforts towards children and young people is improved through the increased co-operation between regional counties and local municipalities. The co-operation itself can bring about improved professional and human resources and is also necessary if we want to develop coherent provisions across sectors and professions and to facilitate continuity in the life and development of our children and young people.
A collection of examples of ”good practice” related to each of the eight thematic areas has been made available. They serve as a source of inspiration for the development of new educational initiatives at the local level. ICT is applied both within the educational pro-grammes and in the collaborative work.
http://pub.uvm.dk/2002/better1/

Quality Indicators for SNE

A ”Think Tank” has been set up to work with quality indicators. It helps clarify the educa-tional concepts that professionals are faced with as a result of the change of law. The members of the Think Tank participate in meetings, seminars and conferences and in the preparation of ICT supported training programmes as well as in awareness raising regarding the Folkeskole’s special educational programmes and related fields of work.

The individual members of the Think Tank have undertaken to focus on a number of specific quality indicators in special needs education. These indicators are:
•  Successful assessment
•  Cross-disciplinary approaches
•  The inclusiveness of the district school
•  New technologies
•  Open dialogue
•  Targeted guidance and counselling
•  School management and development
•  International co-operation

Through the KVIS programme ICT supported courses for collaborate teacher and head teacher groups are being offered, which substantiate the present pedagogical and organi-sation platform of the Danish Folkeskole. This involves concepts such as the inclusiveness of the district school, educational differentiation, team teaching, the learning organisation, open dialogue and school-home co-operation and the pupil centred approach.

Teachers can attend some of these ICT supported courses relevant to the education of pupils with special needs:
•  Children’s networks
•  The pedagogic mandate
•  Teach children to read
•  Guidance of colleagues
•  Differentiation of education
•  Pedagogical ICT driver’s licence for special needs teachers
•  Quality in special needs education
•  Management - Development

These courses are arranged in such a way that
•  one or more teams of teachers from a school can participate – individual teachers do not participate ”on their own”
•  the ICT supported programme has as its starting point the teacher team’s education of their actual pupils
•  the teachers reflect and solve the tasks together
•  a supervisor is in continuous dialogue with the team as required and corrects and comments upon their tasks via electronic mail
•  the subject matter helps promote the participants’ understanding of the inclusive school and the required educational differentiation.

These technology supported in-service training programmes are developed on an on-going basis and made available to schools and teachers through the KVIS programme.
 
Online literature
Here is a list of publications which is a survey of foreign language publications dealing with the different levels of the Danish education system and with other educational issues. Part I contains publications produced by the Ministry of Education, and Part II contains publications produced outside the Ministry of Education (by private publishers and international organisations).
http://eng.uvm.dk/publications/engonline.htm

View the SNE data for Denmark