Statped in other languages

Statped is a national service made up of four regions under the leadership of a main office located in Oslo. 

Statped is currently undergoing a reform that

is intended to secure users all over the country equal

access to Statped’s services. Statped will work in six defined core

areas: the hearing impaired, the visually impaired, the

deaf-blind, those with language and speech difficulties,

those with acquired brain injury and those with learning

difficulties.

Norwegian pupils are entitled to teaching that is as specially-adapted as possible, and as far as possible and advisable, this should take place in the local mainstream school. The law clearly states that:

‘Education in school is to be adapted to the individual

pupil’s abilities and capabilities. Pupils who do not or

cannot achieve a satisfactory learning yield from

ordinary teaching, have a right to special needs

education’. 

In many cases, schools and local authorities

will need guidance and competence and Statped assists

local authorities in this work and provides special

teaching services at individual and system level in areas

in which the country’s 430 local authorities do not have

sufficient competence.

Inclusion in mainstream schools is a very important

objective of Norwegian educational policy. This implies

that most national special need schools will be converted

into competence centres with the emphasis on part-time

courses for pupils and for the parents and guardians of

deaf, blind and deaf-blind children and pupils needing

alternative, supplementary communication. Other

teaching will take place at the school in the pupil’s own

local authority area, but with individual adaptation. Two

national schools will remain however, after the creation

of the new Statped. These are the school for the deaf in

Trondheim and the school for the deaf-blind in Oslo.