Funding Priority: Emotional and Social Development
In the Emotional and Social Development support area at the Competence Center, the State Education Authority and the youth welfare offices of the city and county collaborate. Special education teachers and social education specialists work closely together. This support area emerged from the Network for Educational Assistance—a team of social education specialists and special education teachers. We support and advise young people, their families, and teachers within the school and family systems. Our approach is guided by a respectful view of human nature, encouragement, and a focus on highlighting positive developments. It is important to us to recognize each individual’s strengths and, building on those, to help them help themselves.
Outpatient Care Provided by the Child Welfare Network
The application is submitted by the school or the social services departments of the city and county youth welfare offices, in collaboration with the parents. Special education teachers and social education specialists then contact the regular school and the parents. Together, they assess the situation at school and at home. Based on the individual’s specific needs for assistance and support, various support services can then be utilized. In addition to assessment and support planning, the work of special education teachers includes, among other things, classroom assistance and observation, individual and small-group support, and targeted instructional programs to strengthen work habits and social behavior—for example, bullying intervention, dealing with insults, or nonviolent communication.
However, support from the network can, upon request, extend beyond the school day; social-educational support is also available for the home. The social-educational specialists also provide support and counseling on parenting issues. Together with the parents, efforts are made to reestablish effective learning routines at home and to improve communication within the family. The goal is always to strengthen relationships—particularly between parents and children, but often also between siblings.
If outpatient support through the network no longer seems effective, the children can take a “break” from their regular school at the Center of Excellence for Language and Education. They spend three months or up to two years in what are known as “time-out” and “transition” classes. The network’s itinerant special education teachers and social education specialists serve as a link between the time-out and transition classes, the parents, and the regular school, and prepare a professional assessment for admission.
Time-Out Class
We provide support, instruction, and care for children who, due to their difficulties, can no longer continue their education in the regular classroom setting at a public school
- for a limited period (12 to a maximum of 16 weeks of classes)
- in groups of 8 to a maximum of 10 students
- in a stress-free environment at the Competence Center and
- with other caregivers
in the transition class so that they can subsequently be reintegrated into their original school. The temporary move to the transition class is intended to help all those affected de-escalate the situation and create space for change.
The goal of the time-out class is:
- Easing the Tense Situation
- comprehensive diagnosis
- Teaching Basic Emotional and Social Skills
To this end, we provide the children with firm rules, a clear and transparent system with consequences, plenty of positive reinforcement—even for “small” successes—established routines that provide a familiar framework, and reliable relationships. This requires clarity, transparency, and consistency on the part of the team.
Transition Class
Enrollment in the transitional class is an option for students who have been identified as having special educational needs related to emotional and social development and for whom the duration of support provided by the time-out class was insufficient to ensure a successful return to the general education program.