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Every child should attend a school that provides education suited to their talents and capabilities. About one in every five pupils needs extra assistance at primary school. With this in mind, schools adapt their teaching to the individual child's development.
Duty of care: a suitable school for every pupil
On 1 August 2014, a new law introduced a ‘duty of care’ for all schools to offer an appropriate place to children who need extra assistance, at one of the following locations:
- the school where the child is currently registered;
- another mainstream school;
- a school providing special education or special secondary education.
Aims of appropriate education
By introducing the law on appropriate education, the government seeks to achieve the following aims:
- every child will receive appropriate schooling;
- every child will attend a mainstream school, or if that is not possible, a special school;
- schools will get more facilities to provide tailor-made education;
- the focus will be on a child’s potential and educational needs, not on their impairments or disabilities;
- children will no longer spend long periods at home because schools cannot cater for their needs.
Adapting the curriculum to the needs of the pupil
It is possible to tell at an early stage, by testing pupils and observing them and by using a pupil monitoring system, whether a pupil is lagging behind or failing to make progress. If a pupil has learning difficulties, the school can for example:
- adapt the curriculum to the learning difficulty;
- help the pupil to plan their time;
- help the pupil with their homework;
- provide books and tests with large type;
- place the pupil in a small group of other children at the same level.
If none of these approaches are successful, the pupil may be given extra supervision.