A child’s head slammed against a bus window, repeated physical attacks in classrooms, and teachers calling the police after losing control of volatile situations.
These are among the incidents parents say have turned a Luxembourg City primary school into an increasingly unsafe environment, prompting fears among some pupils about attending class.
More than 100 people have now signed a petition launched by parents of children attending the school. The document alleges that violent incidents have been occurring since the beginning of the school year, affecting both pupils and staff. Despite measures introduced by the school and the authorities, parents say the disruptions have continued.
“This is not a series of isolated incidents, but a persistent structural problem”, the petition, published on 15 January, states. It is addressed to Luxembourg City Alderman Paul Galles, Françoise Welbes, Regional Director of Luxembourg City Schools, and Francine Vanolst, Head of the Directorate General of Fundamental Education. The parents call for “immediate, effective, and lasting action to address the ongoing violence, aggression, and instability”.
Parents say the problems have persisted in two classrooms in the lower primary years of the Dommeldange primary school. Several of the pupils involved are placed in foster homes around Luxembourg City. In their petition, parents underline that inclusion is a “fundamental educational objective”, but warn that without “qualified staff, appropriate resources and clear procedures, it risks turning into a form of neglect”.
Claiming that some pupils have “severe trauma and significant behavioural difficulties”, parents argue that they’re placed in mainstream classes even though the necessary staffing and specialised support are not in place.
“These children become isolated and overwhelmed, while other pupils feel unsafe”, one mother told RTL Today.
Another parent says one pupil in her daughter’s class went into crisis “every single day”, describing fights with teachers, including one incident that resulted in a police intervention. “A pupil attacked a teacher and damaged their glasses. Other teachers couldn’t calm him down, so they called the police.”
Parents say these repeated disruptions continuously interrupt learning.
In one of the two affected classes, three of the five foster home pupils have since been moved to other establishments one parent claims, but disruptions continue. She describes an overwhelmed teacher who has resorted to handing a tablet to one of the disruptive pupils: “The teacher just gives him an iPad to calm him down, sitting at the back of the class watching videos.”
While some measures have been taken, including allegedly limiting one pupil’s attendance to a single day per week and relocating several others, parents say the incidents have continued. One mother recalls her son’s head being slammed against a bus window. “Our son is the victim of what this pupil has lived”, she says.
Paul Galles, Luxembourg City Alderman for education and youth, acknowledges the situation and confirms he has visited the school himself “to understand what we can do as a commune”. He says primary education directorates have also visited on multiple occasions to assess the situation, but emphasises that responsibility for specialised support ultimately lies with the Ministry of Education.
Dommeldange, he notes, has long welcomed pupils from foster homes, many of whom face difficult life circumstances, but he says the situation has now reached a tipping point. Even teachers trained and experienced in handling challenging behaviour are becoming overwhelmed, he adds.
He also cautions that simply relocating a pupil is not a real solution. He explains that the city plans to meet directly with the foster homes “to find a solution tailored to the children’s needs”.
A Ministry of Education’s spokesperson, confirmed upon request that the ministry is aware of the case, stating that “a specialised schooling offer, outside the Dommeldange school, is currently being developed”.
Regarding the police intervention, the ministry’s response to RTL Today states that calling the police can be appropriate when immediate safety is at risk, “but it is not common practice”. The priority, they stress, remains pedagogical management and the prevention of crisis situations through established support tools.
The ministry also notes that several reinforced measures are already in place at the school, including a full-time school psychologist, a socio-emotional support educator, and the intervention of a specialised teacher.
Additional system-wide measures introduced this school year include the creation of the ONE Schouldéngscht, a new service for reinforced supervision, the recruitment of additional specialised teachers, and the creation of two new socio-therapeutic centres. The ministry reiterates that reducing class sizes has not been shown to improve outcomes or prevent behavioural incidents. Instead, short term measures focus on strengthening integration support by deploying additional staff and specialised professionals.
One mother stresses that “the goal is not to stigmatise anyone, but pupils should not be afraid to go to school”, adding that the issue goes beyond one individual: “This is about a system struggling to protect everyone, including those who need specialised support.”
Some of the parents say they have taken further steps, including giving testimony together with their children at the local police station. Some warn they may withdraw their children from the school if the situation does not improve.
The situation comes at a time when similar incidents are increasingly reported in Luxembourgish schools. Recently, Luxembourg’s teachers’ association warned of an increasingly unsustainable environment, citing a lack of specialised staff and rising behavioural challenges.
