The number of children with inclusion assistance due to a (threatened) disability in daycare services has risen continuously in recent years. In 2019, according to the joint education report of the Federation and the Länder, Education in Germany 2020 (‚Bildung in Deutschland 2020‘), 82,185 children with inclusion assistance took up an offer in daycare facilities or daycare. At the same time, the proportion of those attending inclusive rather than specific facilities and groups is increasing in day-care centres: In 2019, almost half (48%) of all children with inclusion support were cared for in groups in which the proportion of children with inclusion support was below 20% overall.

According to the "Agreement of the Länder on the Common Basic Structure of the School System and the National Responsibility of the Länder in Central Questions of Educational Policy" (‘Ländervereinbarung über die gemeinsame Grundstruktur des Schulwesens und die gesamtstaatliche Verantwortung der Länder in zentralen bildungspolitischen Fragen‘), pupils with special educational needs can also be educated at special educational establishments (e.g. special schools, special needs centres, schools with a special educational focus, special educational and advisory centres) in order to take account of the pupils' individual circumstances and the parents' right to choose the place of learning at school.

The structure of the special school system may vary from Land to Land. Special education institutions must be able to provide the required technical equipment and special teaching aids. In addition, therapeutic, nursing and social support from other non-school institutions can also be included. Special education institutions vary according to the type of special education on which they focus and the educational courses they offer. They provide support to pupils in any developments which may lead to their possible transfer to a mainstream school and to training.

The aim of special education centres (sonderpädagogische Förderzentren), either as regional or supra-regional institutions, is to meet individual special needs or a range of different needs (e.g. physical and motor development, hearing and sight, and so on) and to guarantee special education in inclusive or specific forms. This form of education is based as near to the home as possible and provided by specialists. Within the scope of the responsibility of special education centres for preventive measures, support is provided even before the determination of special educational needs has taken place, sometimes as early as Kindergarten.

Definition of the Target Group(s)

For the definition of the target groups of special educational support at special schools, the information in the section on special education needs provision within mainstream education apply.

Admission Requirements and Choice of School

Children and young people with disabilities or special educational needs are required to attend school, just as are their non-disabled peers.

When a child reaches school age, his/her parents or legal guardians enrol the child either with the Grundschule or, if he or she is found to have a disability, with the relevant special education institution. Against the background of the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, there are currently different rules in the Länder. This is also true of the rules on transferring pupils who attend a general school but are identified with special needs in the course of their schooling.

In principle the parents or legal guardians decide whether their child attends a general school or a special school. If their preference is not acceded to, they can seek redress out of court or through the courts.

Age Levels and Grouping of Pupils

Special education institutions can be classified according to educational courses, grades and year groups. Various types of special education institutions (e.g. for those with sensory impairments) combine the educational courses of the Hauptschule, Realschule and in some Länder also the Gymnasium and lead to the qualifications normally awarded by these schools. As at mainstream schools, these educational courses are divided up into the primary and secondary levels and organised in grades according to age, although instruction may be spread over more years than at mainstream schools.

Special education institutions with a special educational focus on learning are organised in grades according to age or performance levels. Special education institutions with a special educational focus on mental development, as a rule, comprise three levels, each of which is made up of several grades, the last of which is known as Werkstufe, Berufsschulstufe or Abschlussstufe. These two types of educational courses can also be established at other special education institutions, e.g. at a special school for those with sensory impairments.

Curriculum, Subjects

Apart from special education institutions with a special educational focus on mental development and partly those with a special educational focus on learning, all special schools work on the basis of curricula or education plans which in terms of educational goals, lesson content and performance requirements match those of mainstream schools (Grundschule and the educational courses offered by the Hauptschule, Realschule and Gymnasium). However, the methods used must take into account the specific conditions and effects on learning with regard to the special educational focuses. As a rule, special education institutions with special educational focuses on learning and mental development work according to their own guidelines which, like all other curricula or education plans, are issued by the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs of the relevant Land. In Thüringen, students with special educational needs in the area of learning are taught in the education programme of the Hauptschule according to the corresponding curricula since August 1, 2020. General information on the development of curricula can be found in the section on teaching and learning in the primary sector.

Teaching Methods and Materials

Special education institutions are often schools with all-day offers. They are sometimes also run as a boarding school. Comprehensive assistance for pupils with disabilities is part of the teaching concept and instruction and education complement each other.

Instruction is designed to particularly meet individual needs and some lessons are held in small groups or on an individual basis. As a rule, class sizes at special education institutions are lower than at general schools.

Depending on the type of disability, therapeutic measures such as physiotherapy, behavioural therapy, speech therapy, and so on, may be added to lessons at special education institutions.

Progression of Pupils

Continuous assessment of performance takes place in special education institutions in a similar form to that of mainstream schools. In the case of pupils with intellectual disabilities or severe intellectual disabilities, the assessments take the form of reports on their cognitive, social and emotional development.

Special education institutions examine regularly whether the needs of the pupil can still be catered for there and in which grade he or she should be placed or, alternatively, whether the pupil should move to another special school or to a mainstream school. The decision on which grade a pupil should be placed in is, as a rule, a matter for the school but it is the education authority that decides on a school transfer, following consultation with the parents or at their request and consideration of commissioned opinions or reports.

Certification

In so far as the type of disability or illness allows, special education institutions award the qualifications obtained from mainstream schools (Hauptschulabschluss, Mittlerer Schulabschluss and also Allgemeine Hochschulreife), provided that instruction was based on the curricula of the respective school type and the educational course was completed successfully. In some Länder, specific qualifications are offered for the special educational focuses Learning and Mental Development.

For pupils who were not taught using the curricula of mainstream schools, as a rule, the teachers' conference deems that an educational course has been successfully completed when the pupil has passed through all the stipulated school levels successfully.