Luxembourg closed private and public schools and crèches to the public on 16 March as a measure to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Education facilities reopened in a phased approach from 4 May. Further details on this can be found in the "recent announcements" section further down the page.

Reopening schools:

16 April: 4 May: Back to a different kind of school

Schools reopened in a phased approach on 4 May for final year students, on 11 May for the remainder of secondary and from 25 May for primary and pre-school.

Children with health conditions or living with someone who has an underlying health condition can be exempted from school or crèche attendance, provided homeschooling continues. To find out more, speak to your child's teacher or another contact at their school.

Parents of primary school aged children are currently being surveyed about their future childcare needs since attendance from 11 May will be one week on, one week off, and then only half day attendance.

Strict measures will be in place to avoid any risk of spreading covid-19 as outlined by education minister Claude Meisch (DP).

Classes will be divided into two groups which attend classes on alternate weeks. One group will come to school for a week, the other will reinforce what they have learned by working at home. The following week, the groups are reversed.

Other measures include:

- The compulsory wearing of mouth protection in school, but optional in the classroom. A teacher may decide whether or not to make it mandatory in class. Mouth protection will also be mandatory on public school buses. Parents will be advised to advise their children to wear it between home and school.

- hand disinfectant will be made available in schools. Hand washing is recommended every hour;

- pupils will stay in their groups to avoid any mixing;

- sports classes are suspended;

- canteens will be closed. Solutions are being studied for the school;

- special measures will be taken related to moving around in the common areas such as corridors and stairways;

- unnecessary groupings will be avoided. For example, recreation will be done in several waves to more easily respect the 2-metre distance;

- vulnerable staff members will not return to schools. Pupils in the same situation will stay at home;

Extraordinary parental leave

For parents who have no other childcare options, an extraordinary parental leave is offered to parents of children aged under 13. This leave is extended beyond 25 May for parents who have no alternative childcare options.

1. There is no need to indicate the start and end dates on the form. The parent taking the leave should inform their employer of the days (or half days) that they will take as family leave. It is then up to the employer to inform the social security agencies of the specific days being taken.
2. One copy of the completed and signed form should be sent to the Caisse Nationale de Santé, “Indemnités pécuniaires”, L-2980 Luxembourg. The other to the employer.
3. Parents (including those who are divorced) can alternate the leave but cannot take it simultaneously. Both parents should complete the form and inform their employers of the days, or half days, they are taking. For instance, one parent could take off specific days of the week and work on the alternate days when the other parent takes the leave. Or, one parent could take special leave in the mornings and the other parent the afternoons.
4. The family leave can be interrupted and restarted at any time without having to fill out a new form. Employees just have to inform their employer of the timing of the end and start dates.
5. The leave is only applicable for parents of children under the age of 13. Exceptions are made for a child over 13 who is hospitalised (limited to 5 days). The government is also drawing up special measures for parents of disabled or special needs children.
6. Only parents who are in the Luxembourg social security scheme, which includes many non-resident cross-border workers, can apply for the family leave.
7. The form can be downloaded here.

Similar leave is available to a parent of a child aged over 13 who has a disability and there is no other suitable care option available by using this separate form, and for people caring for an elderly parent or child or an adult with a disability by using this form.

Here’s a list of sites offering further educational resources for homeschooling:

Schouldoheem (homeschool) is a site created by the education ministry offering information, contests and homeschooling resources in English.

Educational platform the ZpB has a handful of its civics and media literacy materials in English.

The national youth service, the SNJ, has resources and games to keep young people occupied.

Parents and learners can get e-learning support by calling the helpline on 8002 9090.

Other announcements

2 April: Schools may be reopened exceptionally for vulnerable learners

During this announcement, the following arrangements were announced for public schools:

Primary schools: End of primary schools tests are scrapped. The decision of which secondary stream to follow will be based on the pupil's performance during cycle 4, on the intermediate assessments of cycle 4 and on information from a psychologist, if parents opted for their intervention. The orientation interviews, during which the class teacher and the parents of the pupils take a joint orientation decision, are maintained. Enrolment at the secondary will take place between 29 June and 3 July 2020.

Distance learning will continue to 3 May 2020. It will focus on essential content, including new content, the mastery of which is essential for students to progress in their school career. When courses resume, the content dealt with in distance learning will be consolidated in the classroom, before new learning is initiated.

The second and third terms of the current school year will be merged into a single reference period running from 6 January 2020 to 15 July 2020. The class teacher will assess the learning of each student based on the work done by the student in the context of distance learning. For each student, an interim report will be drawn up for the period from 6 January to 15 July 2020.

Secondary school: The second and third terms of the current school year will be merged into a single reference period running from 6 January 2020 to 9 July 2020, except for schools which have adopted a semester rhythm.

Distance learning will continue to 3 May 2020 and will focus on the essential content required to enable pupils to be admitted to the next class. When classes resume, the content dealt with in distance education will be consolidated in the classroom, before new learning begins. For the calculation of the semester average in each of these disciplines, the lowest grade will not be taken into account. As a reward for student participation in distance learning activities during the suspension of classes, teachers will be able to increase, for each of these disciplines, by 1 to 4 points the average of the marks obtained in the period from 6 January to 9 July 9 2020. In the other disciplines, distance learning during the suspension of courses will focus on work that encourages students to work independently such as dossiers and projects. After resuming classes, students will review these assignments with their teachers and will have the opportunity to rework them. They will be given a grade. For the calculation of the semester average in each of these subjects, the lowest grade will not be taken into account. The criteria to move to the next year remain unchanged.

Final examinations for the baccalaureat are planned to start on 25 May and should follow the original timetable. The examination papers will focus exclusively on the subject matter dealt with in the classroom; they will therefore not cover the content dealt with in distance education. The examination syllabuses for all subjects will be adapted and published on eschoolbooks.lu from 6 April 2020.

The final grades of this year group are based one-third on the annual grades and two-thirds on the examination grades. The results of the school year will not be taken into account to the disadvantage of the student.

In order to guarantee this, the pupil will choose one of the three following options:

• option 1: The mark obtained in the 1st semester is considered as the annual mark.
• option 2: The mark obtained in the 2nd semester, if applicable, is considered as the semester mark. At the student's request, an optional class assignment may be written in a maximum of three disciplines during the week of 18 May 2020 (18, 19 and 20 May). The grade of the optional paper will be taken into account with the grade already obtained for the calculation of the semester grade.
• option 3: In the absence of a mark for the 2nd semester on the last day of class, either a homework assignment may be written in a maximum of three subjects during the week of 18 May 2020 (18, 19 and 20 May): in this case, the mark obtained for the homework assignment will constitute the semester mark; or the mark for the first semester will be considered as an annual mark. The decision criteria for admission, deferment or refusal of students remain unchanged.

Click here for further information on professional training and vulnerable learners (in French)

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