Professional employee specialist

The professional employess cooperating with schools include:

•  psychologist, 
•  special pedagogue and field special pedagogue,
•  speech therapist,
•  therapeutic pedagogue,
•  social pedagogue and
•  career advisor.

They work in school facilities of educational guidance and prevention and in facilities of social assistance. School facilities of educational guidance are founded by the local state education administration body. 

The activity of guidance facilities which provide special-pedagogical and psychological-pedagogical guidance is methodically directed by the Ministry Education, Research, Development, and Youth of the Slovak Republic. 

The guidance facilities provide professional activities to children, their legal representatives, and employees of schools and school facilities free of charge.

Psychologist in a special educational facility, school facility of educational guidance and prevention or in social assistance facility performs psychological diagnostics and provides individual, group and collective guidance to children, pupils, their legal representatives, and pedagogical employees.

Special pedagogue and field special pedagogue in a special education facility, a school facility of educational guidance and prevention or a social assistance facility performs special pedagogical diagnostics, provides individual, group, and collective counselling to children and pupils with special educational needs or risk development, focuses on the correction of learning and behaviour disorders, and provides counselling also to legal representatives and teachers.

Speech therapist performs logopedic diagnostics and provides intervention and counselling to children and pupils with impaired communication ability, their legal representatives and teachers.

Therapeutic pedagogue provides therapeutic-educational assistance and guidance to children and pupils with impaired or threatened psychological, emotional or social development and behaviour disorders, and to their legal representatives and teachers.

Social pedagogue performs prevention, counselling and intervention activities with a focus on children and pupils with risk behaviour, threatened by social-pathological phenomena, and from socially disadvantaged environment, their legal representatives and teachers. He/She performs social-pedagogical diagnostics of the environment and relationships and educational activities in the social-educational area.

Career advisor in school facilities of educational guidance and prevention performs diagnostic activity, coordinates provision of information to pupils, legal representatives, and teachers; methodically directs the activities of career guidance in schools and school facilities; cooperates with vocational education institutions, employers, secondary schools, and higher education institutions. Career advisor aligns pupils’ career development with their individual skills and interests.

There are primary schools and kindergartens founded at health care institutions for the hospitalised children and pupils. They provide education to the extent allowed by pupils‘ health. At the same time, pupils are provided health care.

School library is funded by the founder, who allocates funds for the school library from school’s budget. These are funds for acquisition and access to external databases, funds for school librarian’s salary, and funds for spatial, technical and technological equipment required for the library’s activity. Methodological guidance on the national level is provided to school libraries and their founders by the methodological centre for school libraries (SK). 

Legislative references

National Council of the Slovak Republic, 2019. Act No. 138/2019 on pedagogical employees and professional employees and on the change and supplement to some acts (Zákon č. 138/2019 Z.z. o pedagogických zamestnancoch a odborných zamestnancoch a o zmene a doplnení niektorých zákonov) (last accessed 29/12/2022).

National Council of the Slovak Republic, 2008. Act No. 245/2008 on education and training (Education Act) and on the change and supplement to some acts as amended by subsequent provisions (Zákon č. 245/2008 Z.z. o výchove a vzdelávaní (školský zákon) a o zmene a doplnení niektorých zákonov v znení neskorších predpisov) (last accessed 29/12/2022).