Students wait ten months for help

Students have to wait ten months for assistance Five years after Education Différenciée (Ediff) reform went into effect, Minister of Education Claude Meisch (DP) ordered an evaluation of the change. Six areas were found to need improvement or further development as a result of the evaluation.

Unacceptably long waiting periods Probably the most significant change involves cutting down on the waiting periods. When the study's findings were revealed on Monday, Claude Meisch acknowledged that it took too long for the children to receive assistance from the competence centers.

A child must wait ten months on average before receiving assistance. This is not acceptable.

The diagnosis, which takes an average of eight months, is the cause rather than protracted administrative procedures. The dearth of pediatric psychiatrists in and outside of Luxembourg may be a contributing factor in this prolonged waiting period.

"We are powerless to halt the shortage. Because of this, we want to take a different approach and make an initial diagnosis in order to determine which competence center is, in fact, in charge.

In no more than three months should concrete assistance begin after this question has been clarified. Then comes the creation of the thorough diagnosis.

Additionally, the regionally based Equipes de soutien des élèves à besoins spécifiques (ESEB) must improve their responsiveness and provide assistance within the next four weeks. At the local level, that is in the schools, new positions are being created in preparation for the A-EBS.

Future use will include the use of so-called assistants pour enfants à besoins spécifiques (A-EBS), in addition to the specialized teachers (I-EBS). A-EBS ratings ought to be given to all elementary schools.

Each year, the objective is to gradually bring on 50 of these auxiliaries. According to the I-EBS, of the 150 planned I-EBS, 129 have been hired so far. In the upcoming years, 150 A-EBS will be hired at the DAP level (DAP Auxiliaire de vie, DAP Education), and they will be stationed in the schools, "to take on tasks within the framework of inclusion that do not necessarily have to be performed by highly specialized professionals.".

Meisch hopes that this will help schools become more responsive so that they can "react quickly in emergencies.". Better collaboration between centers of excellence There is also a need to enhance collaboration between centers of excellence, particularly when it comes to kids who have multiple difficulties.

According to Claude Meisch, these kids were "a little neglected because no competence center declared itself responsible.". In order to ensure more coordinated cooperation between the competence centers, new procedures and processes have been put in place.

Quality development in the area of inclusion is another important concept. A new organization called the Service National de l'Education Inclusive (SNEI) will be in charge of carrying out this task.

With the help of the SNEI, the various partners will be able to communicate more effectively and support will continue to get better. Completely inform parents about school inclusion, support measures, and procedures The evaluation also revealed that parents do not feel particularly well informed about these topics.

The problem, according to Claude Meisch, is that "they don't know how the system works, what their rights and obligations are, and who is responsible for what obligations.". With the help of campaigns and informational materials, parents will be more actively involved and thoroughly informed in the future.

The National Inclusion Commission (CNI) is entrusted with the responsibility of regularly exchanging ideas and resolving issues with the national parents' association, particularly with the representatives of children with special needs. Better networked thanks to an app It is also crucial that all parties involved are networked and that information on dossiers be shared, allowing anyone with the proper authorization to access the information and follow the process.

A new app ought to be used to accomplish this digitally. The innovations, in accordance with Meisch, will be incorporated into a draft law that will be delivered to the cabinet in the upcoming weeks and that is anticipated to go into effect in 2023 or 2024.

Negotiations with the trade unions, the Collège des directeurs des Fondamental, the Secondaire and the competence centers, as well as with the National Parents' Association, led to the creation of the draft law. Claude Meisch believes that the Ediff reform has been successful despite the need for improvements. Luxembourg is considered to be a model student throughout the EU.

Resources for kids with special needs have increased by more than twofold since the reform went into effect, and 700 new positions have been created. While the percentage of children who attend school in competence centers has decreased from 0.89 to 0.76 percent, the percentage of children who receive outpatient care in a regular school has increased from 0.72 (2014/15) to 0.85 percent (2020/21).

This share is greater than 1.5 percent in the EU. According to Meisch, Luxembourg is an example of a successful student in the EU.

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Negotiations with the trade unions, the Collège des directeurs des Fondamental, the Secondaire and the competence centers, as well as with the National Parents' Association, led to the creation of the draft law.