Duty of care.

Extra support needed

When a student needs extra support, the school must provide that support. This is called the duty of care. It only applies to students with a support need. It does not matter if the student is new or already at the school. Together with parents, the school looks for the best place for the student. The rules are:

• The school must always check if they can offer the needed support.
• If they cannot, they may only unregister the student after finding another suitable place. The school must find this place for the child.

Registration of child with support needs

If you know at registration that your child needs extra support or care, tell the school. After you register your child in writing, the duty of care starts. The school then checks if they can provide the needed support, possibly with extra support from the partnership Tailored Education. The school has 6 weeks to decide if they accept your child. Sometimes the school needs more info to decide well. Schools can ask parents for extra info. The period can be extended once by 4 weeks.

If you register your child at different schools, tell the schools. The school of first choice gets the duty of care.

When does the duty of care not apply?

The duty of care does not apply in some cases:

• If the school where the child is registered is full. This must apply to all students. Schools may not refuse a registration because they have too many children with a disability in the school or class.
• If parents refuse to support the basic principles of the school.
• When students, for example, have a language delay and need extra help to catch up. There are resources at schools and municipalities to fight delays.
• When registering for an institution of cluster 1 or 2. These institutions are not part of the partnership Tailored Education and have their own admission procedure.
• When registering at a different level than the old school advises.

If things do not go as they should

Unfortunately, some schools do not meet the duty of care. Or the talks with parents do not go well. Is this happening to you? Read what you can do about it.