To be closed

Inclusive school on the brink of closure: parents on the barricades

Inclusive teaching promotes development and learning.(Bild: Elternverein LWWW, Krone KREATIV)

In Vienna-Hernals, 120 children are threatened with the closure of their school. Many have special needs. Parents are shocked. 

Around 120 children attend the Lernwerkstatt Wien West in Hernals. Around 40 percent of the primary school pupils have a speech impediment. The joint, inclusive lessons significantly benefit their development. This form of teaching has been in place for several years. But now the project is under threat.

Parents informed at short notice
"We only found out a few days ago that our school is being closed. A functioning model of inclusion is being destroyed, children's rights are being ignored and surrounding schools are being put under additional pressure," says Stefanie Bramböck, herself an affected mother. But this is obviously exactly what is planned. The building in Hernalser Hauptstraße is shared with the special school for physically disabled children.

There are two schools in Hernals - for physically disabled children and children with speech disorders.(Bild: Zwefo)

"Due to the increasing demand for school places for children with physical and multiple disabilities, it will be necessary to build additional classes for them in the coming years," the Education Directorate told the Krone. So the speech-impaired pupils will have to move out. They are to move to a facility in the 16th district. This solution is also intended to cover the high demand for primary school places in Ottakring.

Extreme uncertainty for children
For the parents concerned, this is absolutely not an option: "For children with this specific need for support, such a change of school from a familiar environment is associated with extreme uncertainty and is very difficult. You can't just take them and put them somewhere else. The children are not only torn away from their familiar surroundings, but also from their social environment."