Language assessment

Procedure for reception and referral of newly arrived pupils

Depending on the newly arrived pupil’s language proficiency and adaptability there are two schooling options in the City of Odense:

• Flexible Reception Agreement (modtageflex-ordning) at the local district school for grades 0-9
• Reception classes (modtagelsesklasser) at Åløkkeskolen (grades 0-6) and at Dalumskolen (grades 7-9)

Flexible Reception Agreement

As part of the flexible reception agreement (modtageflex-ordning), the local district schools accept newly arrived pupils with a reasonable language base in their mother tongue who have had coherent and unproblematic schooling before their arrival to Denmark. Whether the family has the necessary social resources to support their children's schooling to a reasonable extent is also considered.

The pupil will be enrolled in a regular class at the local district school and receive support for children with Danish as a second language.

Reception classes

The schools, Åløkkeskolen and Dalumskolen, accept pupils who have special circumstances in their lives in addition to their need for language support. These may be circumstances that prevent the pupils from benefitting adequately from being enrolled in a regular class with support for children with Danish as a second language.  

If the newly arrived pupils need additional screening to determine their need for language support during the school start, they will also be referred to a reception class until the right schooling option is found for them. 

Organization of the flexible reception arrangement in district schools: 

In accordance with the rules for teaching Danish as a second language, the elements in the organization of the basic education can differ from school to school and is based on the needs of the individual pupil. Regardless of how a district school chooses to organize the flexible reception agreement, the student has his/her primary affiliation with one class.

• The basic education can be given in small groups outside the regular class where the pupils in need of basic teaching/language support have separate group classes for a few hours a week. The number of hours can vary based on the needs of the pupils and their progress. 
• The basic education can also be one-to-one sessions if, for example, there are no other newly arrived pupils at the district school or if the pupil would benefit from individual sessions more than from group sessions.
• If it is logistically possible and if it will benefit the newly arrived pupils’ learning, it is also possible to group newly arrived pupils from several district schools and teach them together. 

The basic education must, as much as possible, be linked to the education that takes place in the newly arrived pupil’s regular class. In the beginning the teaching will, however, be focused on the basics of learning Danish which is typically not directly related to the curriculum of the pupil’s regular class.