Czech pupils who need extra help at school wait up to 18 months for an assessment

Counselling centres assess pupils who need extra help at school, and families wait around half a year, up to 18 months in places.2 sourcescsicr.czČŠI — counselling centres: capacity, work and access (another site)The Czech School Inspectorate's report on counselling centres: the share meeting the legal three-month deadline fell to 80% of workplaces, and only 24% meet it every time, mostly for lack of capacity.Complaint · ct24.ceskatelevize.czČT24 — more pupils need support, and neither schools nor centres keep up (another site)Nearly 160,000 pupils had support measures last school year, 20% more than the year before, and waits for a counselling centre run around half a year, up to 18 months in places.News · The number of pupils getting that help rose 20% in a year.ct24.ceskatelevize.czČT24 — more pupils need support, and neither schools nor centres keep up (another site)Nearly 160,000 pupils had support measures last school year, 20% more than the year before, and waits for a counselling centre run around half a year, up to 18 months in places.News ·

Good for Someone with a psychology or special-education team who can sell to schools.

Category
Education
Entry
Hard
Verified

The opportunity

2/2 · Clear, recurring pain

Pupils who need extra help at school wait months for a counselling-centre assessment, and more centres now miss their legal deadline.2 sourcescsicr.czČŠI — counselling centres: capacity, work and access (another site)The Czech School Inspectorate's report on counselling centres: the share meeting the legal three-month deadline fell to 80% of workplaces, and only 24% meet it every time, mostly for lack of capacity.Complaint · ct24.ceskatelevize.czČT24 — more pupils need support, and neither schools nor centres keep up (another site)Nearly 160,000 pupils had support measures last school year, 20% more than the year before, and waits for a counselling centre run around half a year, up to 18 months in places.News ·

Suggested solution

Build a service that gives small schools a psychologist and a special educator over video, so pupils get first help while they wait for an assessment, as 2 companies already do in the United States.

  1. Family or school. Today: Books an assessment at the counselling centre. With the suggested solution: Books only pupils who need the formal step.
  2. Pupil and family. Today: Wait around half a year for a date. With the suggested solution: Get first help from a remote specialist meanwhile.
  3. Centre psychologist or special educator. Today: Assesses the pupil at the centre. With the suggested solution: Unchanged: the formal assessment stays with the centre.
  4. Centre staff. Today: Write up notes, reports and returns. With the suggested solution: Unchanged: the centre keeps its own paperwork.
  5. Teachers. Today: Handle lighter needs without an assessment. With the suggested solution: Handle them with a remote specialist's guidance.

Why now

0/3 · No deadline

No dated rule forces schools to act, but demand for support grew a fifth in a year and centres fall behind.2 sourcescsicr.czČŠI — counselling centres: capacity, work and access (another site)The Czech School Inspectorate's report on counselling centres: the share meeting the legal three-month deadline fell to 80% of workplaces, and only 24% meet it every time, mostly for lack of capacity.Complaint · ct24.ceskatelevize.czČT24 — more pupils need support, and neither schools nor centres keep up (another site)Nearly 160,000 pupils had support measures last school year, 20% more than the year before, and waits for a counselling centre run around half a year, up to 18 months in places.News ·

Willing to pay

2/2 · Clear signs

Some schools already buy a psychologist's time from freelancers, and the state pays schools for psychologists every year.2 sourcesZákony pro lidizakonyprolidi.czMŠMT — the state takes over school psychologists' pay (another site)The education ministry's own estimate: paying 1,215 school psychologist and special educator posts from the state budget from January 2025 costs about 905M CZK a year.Subsidy · Market checkdidanet.czCzech check — nobody sells schools remote SEN specialists (another site)Fourteen Czech query shapes, the business register and the contracts register: record systems for counselling centres, test publishers, reading apps and family speech therapy exist, and no Czech firm was…Market check ·

  • About 905M CZK a year pays 1,215 school psychologist and special educator posts.Zákony pro lidizakonyprolidi.czMŠMT — the state takes over school psychologists' pay (another site)The education ministry's own estimate: paying 1,215 school psychologist and special educator posts from the state budget from January 2025 costs about 905M CZK a year.Subsidy ·
  • A school gets half a post at 180–299 pupils, rising to 2.5 posts.kvic.czKVIC — how school psychologists are funded from 2026 (another site)From January 2026 the state funds school psychologist and special educator posts through a standing per-school allocation, from half a post at 180–299 pupils to 2.5 posts at 1,000 or more.Subsidy ·
  • Schools that buy this time buy it from individual freelancers, not firms.Market checkdidanet.czCzech check — nobody sells schools remote SEN specialists (another site)Fourteen Czech query shapes, the business register and the contracts register: record systems for counselling centres, test publishers, reading apps and family speech therapy exist, and no Czech firm was found selling schools remote psychologists or special educators.Market check ·

Per case

Per project

Validated abroad

2/3 · Proven once

Two established US companies sell schools psychologists, speech therapists and special educators over video.2 sourcespulse2.comParallel Learning (another site)A New York company that sells school districts licensed psychologists, speech therapists and special educators over video, for assessments and therapy, after a USD 20M Series B.In the source’s words“The company currently operates in 25 states and serves more than 10,000 students.”Company abroad · presence.comPresence (another site)A US company that has delivered therapy and assessments to schools remotely since 2009, now with more than 10,000 schools and 2,000 licensed providers.Company abroad ·

Where it works: US — home market CZCZUS
  1. Parallel Learning (another site)Based in United States
  2. Presence (another site)Based in United States

Market gap

2/2 · Open

Czech firms sell counselling centres their record systems and tests, and none was found selling schools remote specialists.Market checkdidanet.czCzech check — nobody sells schools remote SEN specialists (another site)Fourteen Czech query shapes, the business register and the contracts register: record systems for counselling centres, test publishers, reading apps and family speech therapy exist, and no Czech firm was found selling schools remote psychologists or special educators.Market check ·

New, selling this: nobody on file. Established, selling this: nobody on file. New, selling something nearby: Medevio (since 2020), Terapie řeči (since 2024). Established, selling something nearby: Didanet (ARET Praha) (since 1997), Amenit (PPP Professional) (since 1998), Hogrefe-Testcentrum (since 2000), VIRIDIS (Evidence PPP/SPC) (since 2001), Levebee (Včelka) (since 2014). No established player sells this here.

The space is still open

Execution difficulty

1/3 · Hard

Makes it easier

  • No licence is needed to sell schools a psychologist's time.
  • Some schools already buy it from freelancers.
  • The state pays schools for these posts every year.

Makes it harder

  • Schools are public buyers.
  • Only a registered counselling centre can issue the formal recommendation.
  • Psychologists are scarce.

Suggested first moves

  1. Build a video service that gives a small school a psychologist and a special educator for a few hours a week.
  2. Call the heads of small primary schools that have no psychologist of their own and offer a term's trial.
  3. Recruit psychologists and special educators who want part-time remote work, including those on parental leave or outside the big cities.