Additional funding for teaching special education needs learners

In the framework of Operational programme Science, research, innovation (OP VVV), jointly financed by the European Social Fund, both secondary and tertiary professional schools can apply for two-year simple grant schemes that minimise administrative requirements. The second round of calls for proposals to apply for funding ran until November 2019 (options included funding to cover the posts of special education teachers in schools).

The third round of the call for proposals to apply for funding was not published separately for secondary and tertiary professional schools; it became part of call No 02_19_078 Implementation of regional action plans II published at the end October 2019 (open until the end of May 2021) designed specifically for regional authorities. Schools apply for unit costs at their regional authorities. Among obligatory activities are equal opportunities (mainly for schools with higher number of special education needs students) and prevention of early leaving from education.

All regions prepared their two-year plans to describe how they will contribute to the fulfilment of fair and adequate support for children during their educational path. Part of the so-called School inclusive concepts of regions must be measures to increase the share of pupils who achieve at least lower secondary VET (EQF 2), as well as a clear concept of the number and justification of classes established for pupils with special educational needs at lower secondary level, or ways how to involve individual actors who participate or should participate in quality education in the respective region.

Since 2021, thanks to the Amendment to the Decree No 27/2016 Coll., students who were not clients of school counselling facilities - i.e., they had not been diagnosed with special educational needs yet but still need support (e.g. students from disadvantaged social environment, or with some kind of disability or impairment) - are now able to get support through pedagogical intervention.  The amendment reduced the administrative burden, as this type of support can now also be provided by the school itself. Therefore, even pupils who are not currently clients of a school guidance and counselling facility, have not yet been diagnosed as having special education needs and yet need support (e.g. pupils from a socially disadvantaged environment, with the health impairment/disability) should now also be able to access support through pedagogical intervention.Until 2021, pedagogical intervention had been recommended by counselling facilities as a support measure to students of Grades 2-5 and schools received funding in the form of entitlements from the State Budget. The change aims to reduce the administrative burden placed on schools and, conversely, to increase their ability to respond in a flexible manner to the existing needs of students. Teachers are reimbursed for pedagogical intervention in the framework of their remuneration; this can be carried out by a member of the pedagogical staff with appropriate qualifications related to the content and goal of the intervention: teachers, teaching assistants or special pedagogues. The Decree does not specify the minimum or maximum duration of the intervention, nor limits the number of students in the group. In 2021, the measure was financed by an increase in funds allocated for the remuneration of pedagogical staff.

Government Regulation No 75/2005 Coll. on the Specification of the scope of direct pedagogical, educational, special pedagogical and pedagogical-psychological activities carried out by pedagogical staff was also amended. The aim of the amendment was to ensure that the provision of pedagogical intervention becomes a standard part of the set weekly scope of direct pedagogical activities with 1 hour per week as a maximum and only for the duration of the provision of pedagogical intervention. While a member of the pedagogical staff provides pedagogical intervention, the defined time left for their work related to direct pedagogical activities will be reduced by the time dedicated to the pedagogical intervention (1 hour per week).

The change also reflects the reform of funding effective from January 2020, when the support measure of pedagogical intervention is no longer financed by normative funding from the State Budget. The funds that school headmasters can use to reward the members of pedagogical staff providing pedagogical intervention are included in the school budget. For basic and upper secondary schools governed by the State, municipalities or Regional Authorities, the normative for the average annual amount for extra pay, remuneration and target remuneration of pedagogical staff was increased. For basic and upper secondary schools governed by other founders, the normative amount of salary standards was increased.

The Czech Government’s Policy Statement of January 2022 promised to legislatively anchor supporting positions (such as school psychologist, social pedagogue or special education teacher, etc.) in schools and make them more accessible by the end of 2024. The Government also declared to support personalised teaching, work with diverse groups of children and students, develop the potential of students with social and other disadvantages and to pay a special attention to the development of talent and work with exceptionally gifted students. Support is promised for working  with  families of children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds and children with different mother tonuges.

Until the end of 2024, the supporting positions will be financed in a non-systemic manner, e.g. through projects with simplified reporting and a call under the new operational programme Jan Amos Komenský. From 2025 onwards, funding from the state budget is foreseen.

In 2022, the MŠMT created a methodological material for the institutionalisation of pedagogical supporting positions, i.e. school psychologists and school social pedagogues solely for basic schools. However, the upper-secondary schools show strong interest and call for legislative anchoring of such positions for themselves.    

One of the strategic objectives of the Czech Republic’s education policy under the Strategy 2030+ is to reduce inequalities in access to quality education and to enable the maximum development of all students’ potential. In order to achieve this goal, it is essential to strengthen the role of social work within the regional education system. One way to ensure these activities is to strengthen the position of social pedagogues. Their role is being discussed in the context of the long-awaited Amendment to the Act on Teaching Staff. However, the version of the Amendment which was, after some modifications, passed by the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament in January 2023, does not include this role or other supporting positions in the list of pedagogical staff.     

The situation is rather vague, the research focused on specialised activities, which was commissioned by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, should help to clarify it. On the basis of this research, the MŠMT wants to thoroughly rethink the schools’ support team system and possibly modify it by means of a decree. One of the options would be to identify and specify the activities that should be performed by social pedagogues. The aim of the survey is, among other things, to find out how the set-up of the current Czech system and its funding (i.e. the provision of non-teaching activities, specialised activities of teaching staff or other potential activities) differs in comparison to at least 5 other countries; and to propose adjustments to the system in the areas of: provision of specialised and other positions and non-teaching activities in Czech schools. The aim is also to obtain a differentiated view according to the size, location, and type of schools and educational facilities.