Opportunity for students to get special support “Lottery”

When a student is having great difficulties in school, and a little extra help in class (or extra adjustments as they’re called) isn’t enough, extra support may be necessary. Teachers turn to the principal, who in turn should ensure that the student’s needs are investigated, often in consultation with the student’s health, before making a decision.

A student’s needs can be linked, for example, to learning problems, difficulty concentrating, mental illness, various forms of autism or social problems.

Nearly 64,000 elementary school students are receiving additional support in school this school year. This corresponds to 6 percent of the entire student group. but fresh Statistics from the National Agency for Education It shows significant differences. Some examples, where both municipal and independent schools are included in each municipality:

In Nybro municipality in Kalmar county, every fifth student (19.8 per cent) receives special support. This is the highest percentage in the country. The second place is Hällefors in the county of Örebro with 19.6%.

Vadstena from Östergötland got the lowest share: 0. Johann Wernström, head of Vadstena’s education department, told TT that the municipality had reported incorrectly. A quick check with school administrators Friday indicates that the proportion of students receiving special support is about 6 percent.

Even if that were the case, 16 municipalities – all relatively small – still had less than 3 percent of students with private support.

Several hundreds more

The largest school municipality in Östergötland, and one of the largest in the country, is Linköping. There, as high as 10.3 percent of students have private support. About the same size as in Örebro, it’s 5.2 percent. This means that Linköping has approximately 900 students with more work programs than Örebro.

Skellefteå in Västerbotten and Mölndal in Västra Götaland and Kalmar are similar in size. But while Skelleftea and Mölndal have 3.5 and 3.7 percent of students with private support, Kalmar has 7.8 percent. This means that Kalmar has more than 300 students with more work programs than Skellefteå and Mölndal, respectively.

It’s hard to see any pattern in the statistics, and the differences can also be significant within a municipality, says Ulrica Dahlén, unit director at the National Agency for Education.

This may indicate two explanations. On the other hand, needs can vary in size. We know that the risk of a student needing special support increases if the parents’ education level is low. In municipalities with more students with difficult socio-economic conditions, this increases the risk that more people will need special support. Another possible explanation is that some municipalities and school administrators have better routines for spotting students who need support, she says.

He had notifications

The routine – and the appropriate skills – were also mentioned by Kristel Horsak, principal of the primary school in Linköping municipality, where every tenth student receives special support.

– For a good number of years, we have been working a lot with work programs, to give students support based on their circumstances. We have learned from reporting cases again, as we have been noted to have shortcomings. We follow the results closely, and our teachers are skilled at identifying support needs and it has implications, she says.

Linköping also has several resource schools for students who are in dire need of support.

Some municipalities have dismantled resource schools and special education groups, while we have kept them and increased the number of places, says Kristel Horsack.

Different levels of ambition

The National Union of Teachers (LR) published its own survey on private subsidies and, just like the National Education Agency, concluded that private subsidies are generally used of late. It is more common among 9th graders.

It is a huge misplaced social and economic tragedy for students, says LR President Issa Vahlin.

Plus, the opportunity for support varies by place of residence, she said.

The big problem is that municipalities can invest differently and choose to invest differently. The big differences are due to different degrees of level of ambition, says Osa Vahlin.

School and debate expert Per Kornhal also paints a picture of municipalities being allowed to choose their own path.

The system we have creates a great deal of diversity and teachers and school administrators find it difficult to assert their rights, he says.

TT: But is there a legal right to support?

Yes, but the Education Act has become more than just a recommendation. We don’t maintain the same standard for all students in Sweden, but municipal budget frameworks govern. He says it will be a lottery where students will receive special support, and in the end children who have parents who have the strength to fight will win.

right to describe

Osa Vahlin describes the quarrel between frustrated teachers and school management, in which the teacher sees a clear need for special support but is told that classroom teaching must be adapted. The reasons may be a lack of specialized teachers, a lack of money or a resistance to “referring” to students in need of special support.

The teacher may have conditioning requirements for ten or twenty students in a class. The LR Chairman says this is something that has exploded completely and the step of receiving private support is much longer.

In order to break this pattern, educators with special needs – which there is a huge shortage nowadays – must become much more.

Teachers should also be able to prescribe special educational support. Teachers see the need, and they should be able to step back, says Osa Vahlin.

Per Kornhal also advocates the right to prescribe private educational initiatives for teachers.

– It will be very expensive, but it will be more expensive if the students do not get help. If we are to be able to put pressure on the system, teachers must be given an expanded mandate.