Education staff responsible for guidance in schools

Generally, the following functions are established at all basic schools (základní škola), secondary schools (střední škola) and tertiary professional schools (vyšší odborná škola):

• school counsellors (výchovný poradce)

• school prevention specialists (školní metodik prevence)

At some schools, there are also:

• school psychologists (psycholog)

• school special educational needs specialists (speciální pedagog)

Within the support measures for children, pupils or students with special educational needs, the teacher's assistants (asistenti pedagoga) work at schools.

All the mentioned professions are considered as members of education staff according to the Act on Education Staff. They are obliged to participate in continuing professional development. The conditions of service are the same as for (other) teachers. In public schools, they are remunerated according to the uniform salary scale system.

School counsellor

Generally, the function of a school counsellor is established at all basic schools, secondary schools and tertiary professional schools, and there can be more than one school counsellor at a school. The school counsellor is a teacher appointed to the function by the school head.

Standard activities of the school counsellor include (among other things):

• career guidance and counselling on pupils' further educational and career paths;

• search and study of pupils whose development and education require special attention, and preparation of proposals for further care of these pupils, including collaboration on the preparation, checking and recording plans of their educational support;

• providing or arranging (entrance and continuous) diagnostics of special educational needs and interventional activities for pupils with special educational needs;

• creating conditions for the integration of pupils with disabilities into a school; coordination of counselling services provided to the pupils by a school and school guidance establishments, and coordination of educational measures for the pupils;

• passing on professional information from the area of career guidance and care for pupils with special educational needs to school education staff.

Professional teaching qualifications for the relevant type or stage of school and completion is a prerequisite for performing the function of the school counsellor. The prerequisites for performing the specialised methodical activity and more complicated counselling activities of a school counsellor is a study programme for a school counsellor according to the Decree on In-Service Training of Education Staff. This is organised by the higher education institutions (vysoké školy) part of his/her lifelong learning programme. It lasts at least 250 (45-minute) lessons and is finished with a defence of a thesis and final examination in front of the examining board.

The school counsellors, in the case where they provide counselling service that require above the mentioned study programme for school counsellors, are placed into the 13th pay category which is one level higher than teachers at primary and secondary level of education can be placed in.

As stated in the ​Government Regulation on Determination of Direct Educational, Special Needs, and Educational and Psychological Activities of Education Staff, the extent of a school counsellor's direct teaching activity is reduced by 1 to 5 lessons a week according to the size of the school.

Direct teaching activity of a school counsellor decreases as follows:

School prevention specialist

There have been school prevention specialists at schools since 1996, originally as school coordinators of prevention. A prevention specialist is usually a teacher with the minimum of 2 years of previous teaching experience. In agreement with the law, these specialists generally operate at all basic, upper secondary and tertiary professional schools.

Standard activities of the prevention specialist at school include above all:

• coordination of creation and control of the implementation of the school preventive programme

• coordination and participation in school activities aimed at the prevention of truancy, addiction, violence, vandalism, molestation, sect abuse, pre-criminal and criminal behaviour, manifestation of self-destruction and other socio-pathological phenomena, or risky behaviour

• methodical supervision of the activities of school education staff in the area of the prevention of risky behaviour (identifying risky behaviour, preventive work with classes, etc.)

• coordination of the education of school education staff in the area of the prevention of risky behaviour.

The decree on in-service training of education staff states that prevention of socially pathological phenomena is one of the specialized activities for which education staff have to obtain further qualifications (study programme of 250 lessons – the content of which is strictly set).

A school prevention specialist is entitled to receive an allowance of CZK 1000–2000 (EUR 39–79; EUR/CZK 25.41; 24 April 2018).

School psychologist, school special educational needs specialist

There are school psychologists and school SEN specialists working at some schools. Their activities are specified in the Decree on Providing Guidance in Schools and School Guidance Facilities. The decision on whether the psychologist or SEN specialist will work at school is up to a school head. The number of school psychologists is increasing, also thanks to the support from the European Social Fund. The plans for guidance services provided at schools aim to gradually introduce these workers mainly to schools with 500 and more pupils.

The activities of these specialists should not be less than 0.5 of the normal workload. Based on the Act on Education Staff, psychologists and SEN specialists working at schools and school facilities are included within the education staff.

The qualification requirements are the same as for psychologists and SEN specialists at school guidance and counselling facilities (školská poradenská zařízení).

Education staff at school counselling facilities

Pedagogical and psychological counselling centre (pedagogicko-psychologická poradna) and special education centre (speciálně pedagogické centrum) are school facilities that provide special guidance services. Other facilities, centres for educational care (střediska výchovné péče), also help to provide guidance services; these centres are established according to the Act on Institutional Education and Protective Care in School Facilities and on Preventive Educational Care in School Facilities.

Specialist teams of school guidance and counselling facilities and school provisions for preventive education care consist of:

• psychologists (psycholog)

• SEN specialists (speciální pedagog)

• prevention specialists in pedagogical and psychological counselling centres (metodik prevence v pedagogicko-psychologické poradně)

• social workers (sociální pracovník)

• in the case of the centres for educational care, also of educational childcare staff(vychovatel)

Within these institutions, psychologists are considered as education staff performing a direct pedagogical-psychological activity according to the Act on Education Staff. SEN specialists are included among education staff performing direct special educational needs activity and the educational childcare staff are included among education staff performing direct educational activity. Social workers have generally not yet been included in the category of education staff.

The education staff members are obliged to participate in continuing professional development. The conditions of service are the same as for teachers. In public schools, the employers are remunerated according to the uniform salary scale system.

A school psychologist must have a Master's degree in psychology.

According to the Act on Education Staff, a SEN specialist must have completed a Master's study programme in the field of pedagogical sciences focused on special needs pedagogy. From the 1st of September 2012, also persons who completed their Master's study programme in pedagogical sciences focused on pre-primary pedagogy or teacher training for primary schools or teacher training of general subjects at secondary schools or educator training or who completed their Master's study programme in the field of pedagogy can become special needs teachers. However, these persons also have to complete a supplementary study for broadening their qualification carried out by a higher education institution in the framework of lifelong learning education.

Prevention specialists in pedagogical and psychological counselling centres must acquire a degree at least in a Bachelor's study programme at a higher education institution.

Social workers must usually have completed an upper secondary school, or a higher education institution in the field of social work.

Educational childcare staff of the centres for educational care are required to have completed a higher education course focused on special needs pedagogy for educators, or to have extended the secondary or tertiary professional education prescribed for other educators by completing a Bachelor's degree or in a lifelong learning programme with the focus on special needs pedagogy.