Patient school/ParaSchool

ParaSchool serves as an educational bridge between inpatient hospitalisation and the everyday life of a student. It provides a thread of normalcy which patients can grab onto during their stay at the clinic.

Children and adolescents of school age, apprentices, and students make up about one quarter of all patients at the Swiss Paraplegic Centre (SPC). During their long rehabilitation stay in Nottwil, the young people do not have to give up on their education thanks to ParaSchool, a department of ParaWork that supports their reintegration into school.

The school director coordinates lessons with the original or new school, and organises classes in the school at the Swiss Paraplegic Centre. We teach all the main school subjects to students of all education levels, and tailor our lessons to conform with the highest pedagogical values. Patients take final examinations or tests to obtain Swiss certification in the respective subject. It takes extensive know-how and many years of rehabilitation experience to be able to properly coordinate school lessons with patient treatments.

ParaSchool has entered into an agreement with the Office of Elementary School Education of the Canton of Lucerne regarding the schooling of pupils of elementary school age, and is recognised as an official hospital school.

Main ParaSchool functions

With regard to schooling: Preparation and organisation of the return to the original school
Ensuring adequate performance in all the main subjects (elementary school, high school, apprenticeship, etc.)
Motivation, mobilisation and the teaching of material from the original school
Development of concentration skills and performance
Defining and practising new work and learning techniques
Composition and application of measures aimed at positive discrimination
Remedial education for external students
Primary, secondary and tertiary education