Visit of a special needs school

Today we visited a mainstream school where there were 2 kinds of integrated children:
1.Pupils with physical disabilities (exemple: blind children or in a wheelchair)but without intellectual problems.

Those children are integarted in "normal" classes, but can get some extra help from a special teacher. There was a blind child in second grade (9 years) integrated in a class I visited, he had a special teacher who was there only for him, he also had his own computer with a special lamp (on the picture)thanks to that he could read.

2. Pupils with learning disabilties .
They have difficulties to learn in many different subjects, can't stay concentrated for a long time and they mostly have social gaps (difficulties to live with others).
Those children were in special classes, with fewer students. In those classes, students can be from different levels and ages, the teacher adapts his work for each student and work a lot on social skills, to make the pupils become well intergated citizens in the society.

3. There is also special classes for pupils who have problems in one specific subject, in this case the child is taken in a special class (a few times a week) where he is going to have intensive courses in the subject in wich he has more difficulties, that lasts several months(it depends of his evolution).

Special classes to relax
The school has 2 special classes where the pupils can relax if he has behaviours problems, he can be alone or talk with a person.


Special programmes
Each year they have 10 "special weeks" (spread all over the year) in those weeks,pupils do different stuff (for instance:a play).

The school building
The school is very big and has a large garden. The school is divided into " 3 little schools" according to the age of the children. The main facilities are in the center of the school and used by everybody (exemple: the gym, the kitchens...). It's nice because verybody knows everybody of his "little school". The pupils in special classes are in the same "little school" as the other pupils of their age.

I tought this school was very interesting and in advance compared to Belgium where it's difficult to integrate special needs children in mainstream schools.