External specialist provision refers to out-of-school resources in the form of external centres and institutions that support individual learners and/or empower schools and teachers.
Some countries call them ‘resource centres for inclusion’, others ‘competence centres’, ‘resource centres’ or ‘reference centres’. This type of resource may be responsible for:
- needs identification and educational planning;
- short-term or part-time support for individual learners;
- provision for training and courses for teachers and other professionals;
- support for parents;
- development and dissemination of materials and methods;
- support for transition between phases of education;
- support in entering the labour market (European Agency, 2019b, p. 24).
(See also ‘Specialist provision’)