P45

Within the framework of the organization of school time, and with the priority objective of reducing school failure, while maintaining the competence level of the curricula, some schools on projects have been reflecting on the organization of school time. Some then opted for 45-minute learning periods instead of 50-minute periods. This functioning is oriented towards optimizing the students' instruction time. It involves the recovery of time for the organization of permanent workshops within the schedule to respond immediately to the needs of remediation, excelling, research and personal and autonomous development...

High level students athletes

In secondary education, pupils at ISCED 2 or ISCED 34, recognized as high level athletes, promising athletes or training partners by the Minister of Sport, may replace all or part of the periods devoted to complementary activities or basic options with periods of sports training. The timetable for each student who has the status is set at the beginning of the school year.

Throughout secondary education, these pupils can also replace the periods of physical education of the core curriculum with periods of sports training. In addition, their participation in sports preparation activities in the form of training camps or training and competition is permitted for a maximum of 30 half days (unless otherwise specified).

In addition, the mission of the "life project" department of the General Administration of Sport is to support and accompany recognized athletes in both their sporting and study projects and to help them achieve excellence in these two fields.

There are about 1200 high level students athletes attending compulsory education in the French Community.

Young musical talents

At the request of the school head of a secondary school, pupils at ISCED 2 or ISCED 34 who have passed an admission test in a higher school of arts may replace all or part of the periods devoted to complementary activities or basic options with periods of musical instruction. The timetable for the "young talent" student is set at the beginning of the school year.

Arts secondary education

The organization of the "Arts secondary education" is the result of a partnership between 14 full-time secondary schools and 7 academies from part-time secondary arts education (ESAHR = Enseignement Secondaire artistique à horaire réduit). This option is organized at ISCED 34 (grades 3 to 6) (Arts education in the transition stream). Arts lessons are taught by ESAHR teachers, for 8 periods of 50 minutes in the second stage and 11 to 14 periods in the third stage. Successful completion of these studies is confirmed by the issue of the Certificate of Upper Secondary Education (CESS), giving access to higher education.

Arts secondary education is linked to several fields of education: music, speech and theatre arts, dance and transdisciplinary training. In 2018 - 2019, 600 students were enrolled. Even if this figure remains modest, it should be noted that the number of learners has been constantly increasing in recent years.

Social Advancement Education

Social Advancement Secondary Education can be attended on a permanent or occasional basis, during the day or in the evening.

They can be taken independently (language or office automation lessons), but also capitalized in order to obtain secondary school certificates :

• The Qualification Certificates provide a level of knowledge and skills necessary for the practice of a profession in many sectors. These certificates correspond to those issued in full-time secondary education (they have the same value on the labour market and for access to regulated professions) or are specific to social advancement education ;
• The Certificate of Primary education (CEB = Certificat d’études de base), the Certificate of Second Stage Studies (CESDD = Certificat d’enseignement Secondaire du deuxième degré) and the Certificate of Upper Secondary Education (CESS = Certificat d’enseignement Secondaire supérieur) are equivalent to those issued in full-time secondary education.

No student may be admitted as a regular student in social advancement education as long as he or she is subject to full-time compulsory schooling. A person wishing to register must therefore be at least 16 years old (or 15 years old and have regularly attended the first two years of secondary education) and have the level determined to follow the chosen training. However, young people who are still subject to compulsory part-time schooling (up to the age of 18) must be enrolled simultaneously in full-time education or in a dual vocational education center (CEFA).

Students must pay a registration fee. Some categories of students benefit from a reduction in tuition fees (fully compensated unemployed, jobseekers who must be registered, beneficiaries of the Integration Income granted by a Public Social Assistance Centre (CPAS)).

Social Advancement Education is organized in a modular way according to a system of teaching units.

The teaching units at ISCED 34 mainly prepare for further study, including higher education, and offer the possibility of access to a level of qualification.

The teaching units at ISCED 35 provide access to an integrated test that provides a level of qualification and also offers the possibility of further studies, including higher education.

A section generally includes internships and a final test called an "integrated test".

When passing each teaching unit, the students are awarded a certificate of success. The student must capitalize on the success certificates of each teaching unit to obtain the diploma of the section.

Because it is essentially aimed at adults with multiple experiences and pathways, Social Advancement Education takes into account the skills acquired in all types of education, in other forms of non-formal and informal training, including skills resulting from professional experience: these are the mechanisms for the valorization of acquired experience (VA = Valorisation des acquis) and the validation of skills (VDC = Validation des compétences).

Content-Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)

Content-Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is currently experiencing an increasing popularity. It is an alternative approach to traditional foreign language learning. This approach involves intensive and long-term exposure to a second language during the student's schooling through the teaching of some subjects in the language of immersion.

The decree of 11 May 2007 on CLIL (Décret relatif à l'enseignement en immersion linguistique) came into force on 1 January 2008. It brings together in a single text all the provisions concerning CLIL, both for primary and secondary education.

The decree lays the following foundations, among others :

• there is no specific exam to enter CLIL. Students are accepted by the head teacher in the order of enrolment ;
• CLIL is open to all forms of education: general, technical, artistic and vocational education ;
• outside the Brussels Capital Region, the language of immersion may be Dutch, English or German. In the Brussels-Capital Region, this language is Dutch, at least until the end of the 1st stage ;
• CLIL in secondary education begins at grade 1 or 3. The establishment that begins CLIL at 1st grade must continue it at least at 2nd grade. The institution that begins CLIL at grade 9 must continue to do so until the end of the form it offers ;
• 8 to 13 periods per week can be devoted to CLIL. At the 1st stage, periods devoted to complementary activities may still be added ;
• examinations for subjects taught in the language of immersion are conducted in that language ;
• …

In 2018-2019, 122 secondary schools organized CLIL: 70 in Dutch, 46 in English and 6 in German.

Openness to languages and cultures Programme

It was following a European directive of 1977 that the Openness to Languages and Cultures (OLC) programme was set up by the French Community. Thanks to a partnership with around ten countries from inside and outside the European Union, two types of courses are offered to primary and secondary schools: a language course given to pupils who so wish outside compulsory school hours and a language and culture awareness course organized during school activities with the aim of improving their understanding of the Other by discovering different cultures.

Inclusive education

Reasonable accomodation

In the decree of 7 December 2017 on Reasonable accomodation, (décret "Aménagements raisonnables" du 7 décembre 2017) which has been in force since the start of the 2018-2019 school year, it is foreseen that any ordinary school pupil with one or more special needs is entitled to appropriate reasonable accommodation, provided that his or her situation does not make it essential to register to specialised education. Needs may be related to disorders such as: stuttering, color blindness, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, dyslexia, dysorthographia, dysphasia, dyspraxia, high intellectual potential, Asperger's syndrome, dysexecutive syndrome, attention deficit disorder with/without hyperactivity. 

The reasonableness of the accommodation is assessed, among other things, in light of the financial and organizational impact, the impact of the accommodation, particularly in terms of supervision, the frequency and duration of the accommodation and the impact on the quality of the students’ life.

The arrangements can be material, organizational or pedagogical. They are set up for the benefit of pupils with specific needs, attested by a diagnosis made by specialists and are the subject of consultation between the stakeholders involved.

The accommodations put in place to support the student in his or her learning are also necessary during the assessments. As part of the external certificative evaluations are concerned, a modified version can be obtained at the time of the test.

These arrangements concern the form of the test itself or the passing of the test’s procedures. The list of authorized software is updated annually and included in the organization circulars for common external tests.

Inclusive classes or establishments

Specialized education can be organized in the form of a class or an inclusive establishment.  It is composed of one or more inclusive classes.  Inclusive establishments have existed on an experimental basis since the 2017-2018 school year.

An inclusive class is a group of students with special needs enrolled in specialized education of type 2 with or without autism or type 3 for students with autism, located in a regular school.

The primary objective for students participating in this type of project is social and relational inclusion in order to acquire various skills in an ordinary school environment.

Reinforcement of the learning language (DASPA support device)

The "DASPA" decree of 7 February 2019 (décret DASPA) has the following objectives :

• ensure the reception, orientation and optimal integration of newly arrived pupils and pupils assimilated to newly arrived pupils into the French Community's education system ;
• offer academic and pedagogical support adapted to the teaching profiles of the newly arrived pupils and those assimilated to newly arrived pupils linked to difficulties relating to mastery of the language of instruction and school culture ;
• offer a stage of intermediate schooling accompanied by gradual integration before these pupils are eventually integrated into a year of study.

To achieve these objectives, the decree provides for the possibility for schools to organize a Reception, Integration and Schooling of Newly arrived pupils and Assimilated Pupils (DASPA = Dispositif d’Accueil et de Scolarisation des Primo-arrivants): this is an educational structure aimed at the reception, integration and schooling of newly arrived and assimilated pupils in ordinary education.

The duration of the DASPA course is between one week and one year. This period may be extended by a maximum of 6 months.

Home schooling

The subject of home schooling is governed by the decree of 25 April 2008 laying down the conditions for being able to satisfy compulsory schooling outside of education organised or subsidised by the French Community, with the exception of the rules laid down in articles 18 to 20 which will be progressively repealed with the entry into force of the common core curriculum.

Home schooling allows children of compulsory school age residing in the Brussels-Capital Region or the Walloon Region to continue their schooling outside a school organised or subsidised by the French Community. This framework is aimed at children who are in school :

• at home (in the strict sense) ;
• in a school organised or subsidised by the Flemish or the German-speaking Community ;
• in an educational establishment whose attendance is likely to lead to the award of a title benefiting from an equivalence decision (law of 19 March 1971 on the equivalence of foreign diplomas and certificates) ;
• in an educational establishment whose attendance is likely to lead to the award of a diploma or certificate under a foreign scheme and whose teaching is recognised by the French Community, at the request of the establishment or the persons responsible for the child subject to compulsory education, as enabling the compulsory education to be met ;
• in an educational establishment situated in the territory of a State bordering Belgium and whose attendance is likely to lead to the award of a diploma or certificate recognised by the Government of that State. These are schools located in Germany, France, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg or the Netherlands.

Parents must send a declaration of home schooling to the Directorate General for Compulsory Education by 5 September each year. After this date, only parents arriving from abroad and moving to the Brussels-Capital Region or the Walloon Region during the schoolyear may apply for home schooling for their child(ren).

Children in home-based education are required to obtain various certificates at the ages laid down by legislation, from 12 years old and above.

In the event of health, learning or behavioural problems, or when the minor is suffering from a motor, sensory or mental handicap, the level of education to be attained can be adapted. In such cases, parents must submit a reasoned request to this effect, together with the declaration of home schooling.

The number of home schooled children is very low (several hundred for the whole of compulsory education).

Distance Learning (Home education) is organized in E-learning.  This is a non-compulsory type of education. It is an alternative and/or complementary offer to compulsory education, regulated by the decree "E-learning" of 13 July 2016 (décret "E-learning").  Its main missions are to prepare for the tests of the juries of the French Community as well as the external tests organized by the French Community. The Distance Learning/E-learning teaching offer meets the needs of an audience of young people following home or similar education (hospitalization, travel, high-level students athletes, ...) or adults who do not wish or cannot integrate classroom teaching (compatibility with professional and/or private activity...). Distance Learning/E-learning is also aimed at students who wish to benefit from remediation, academic support or an upgrading/excelling of subjects. E-learning in the French Community offers all the advantages of online teaching with individual tutoring by teachers. The lessons’ modules cover all the subjects of the official primary and secondary school curricula for full-time education organized by the French Community: French, mathematics, foreign languages, sciences, etc. These lessons’ modules are dynamic and interactive. They offer modularization in short units (10 hours of learning), multimedia content, activities with immediate feedback, assignments submitted and corrected online. The online training platform is available all year long. Learners are individually accompanied by temporary teachers with the required teaching titles. Their role includes all the dimensions of educational tutoring: reception, mobilization, relationship with the learning group, assistance in mastering the technical environment, formative evaluation, etc. The progress of learners in the modules is conditioned by the completion of all the activities proposed and the achievement of the required level of success of the work requested.

Other variants

Different pedagogies

Several schools have adopted particular pedagogic methods inspired by the educational principles of pedagogues such as Decroly, Freinet or Steiner, … These institutions are very often named after these pedagogues.

Teaching in hospital

Teaching in hospital is also possible. It allows continuous monitoring for sick or hospitalized students. This type of education depends on type 5 of specialised education. This teaching is meant for children or adolescents with physical problems and / or suffering from a psychological or psychiatric disorder. These students are supported by a clinic, a hospital or a medico-social institution. The original school, however, keeps the competence for the certification of the student. If hospitalization is short (a few days), pedagogical action is towards timely remediation, reasoning or research tasks, according to the educational needs and health status of the student. If hospitalization lasts longer (weeks or months), schooling requires regular cooperation between the hospital school, the original school and if necessary with home teachers so that the subjects taught and to study are properly followed and so that the reinstatement of the pupil in his/her school of origin takes place in good conditions.