Schaffhauser Sonderschulen

What Schaffhauser Sonderschulen does

Schaffhauser Sonderschulen, operating under the brand Lernbahn, is a public law institution (öffentlich-rechtliche Institution) of the Canton of Schaffhausen, Switzerland, delivering special needs education and therapeutic services to children and youth with disabilities. The institution serves students with intellectual disabilities, physical and perceptual impairments, speech and hearing disabilities, and severely challenging behavior across five physical locations: Sandacker (physical/perceptual), Granatenbaumgut (cognitive/multiple disabilities), Marienstift (speech/hearing), Bleicheplatz (challenging behavior), and the Timeout-Angebot (temporary support). It also delivers integrative Sonderschulung, placing its specialists into mainstream public schools across the canton to support students with disabilities in regular classroom settings. Core schooling is publicly funded by the canton and provided free to families; therapies (logopädie, physiotherapie, ergotherapie) are reimbursed via health insurance and disability insurance (IV) with medical prescription; day structure and boarding are funded through parent contributions under regulated fee schedules. Governance rests with the Sonderschulrat (five to seven members elected by the cantonal government) and operational leadership by the Geschäftsleitung; Patric Joss currently serves as Geschäftsführer ad interim with Fiona Krüsi as Deputy CEO leading Finance and HR.

The service portfolio follows the Swiss Lehrplan 21 curriculum with individualized development goals, using specialized pedagogical frameworks including trauma pedagogy, solution-oriented approaches, and New Authority concepts for behavioral programs. Interdisciplinary teams combine teachers, therapists, social educators, and specialist staff across sites. Beyond education and therapy, the institution operates a boarding facility (Internat), day structure programs (Tagesstruktur) running until 5:30 PM, and the Teilhabe für alle community initiative that runs the Ferienhort (vacation care) and inclusive leisure accompaniment services in consortium with Insieme Schaffhausen, Pro Infirmis Thurgau-Schaffhausen, and Vereinigung Cerebral Schaffhausen. Student intake is exclusively routed through the cantonal SAB (Schulische Abklärung und Beratung) assessment body; direct enrollment is not possible.

The business model is structurally unique: as a public-sector mandate-holder rather than a commercial entity, Schaffhauser Sonderschulen operates without traditional revenue maximization. Its financial base is anchored by cantonal appropriations, supplemented by insurance reimbursements for therapeutic services and parental fees for ancillary care. All placements are determined by the cantonal SAB referral process, meaning the institution is the sole provider within its geography and has no commercial go-to-market motion. The entity discloses no revenue figures, has no proprietary technology stack, holds no patents, and operates with a leadership team of approximately 20+ named individuals across school principals, department heads, therapy leadership, and executive management, with stated headcount in the 11-50 range.

Name

Schaffhauser Sonderschulen

Legal name

SCHAFFHAUSER SONDERSCHULEN

Website

https://sh-sonderschulen.ch

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Schaffhauser Sonderschulen (Lernbahn) is a public law institution of the Canton of Schaffhausen delivering special needs education, therapy, boarding, and integrative support services for children and youth with disabilities across five locations in Switzerland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Special Education Services

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110), Child and Youth Services (624110)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Autism Classroom & School Program Support (Inclusion/Resource) (EDAKAKAC)

Keywords

• Special education services
• Special needs schools
• Therapeutic interventions
• Integrative schooling
• Boarding services

Headquarters

HQ city

Schaffhausen

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Public Funding: Core schooling is publicly funded by the Canton of Schaffhausen as a public-law institution, provided free to families.
2. Therapy Reimbursement: Therapies (logopädie, physiotherapy, occupational therapy) are covered by health insurance and disability insurance (IV) with medical prescription; parents pay deductibles.
3. Day Structure and Boarding Fees: Parents pay contributions for day structure and boarding services per the parent contribution regulations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Schaffhauser Sonderschulen, operating as Lernbahn, is the cantonal special education institution of Schaffhausen providing dedicated schooling and therapeutic services for children and youth with intellectual, physical/perceptual, speech/hearing, and behavioral disabilities. Services are delivered at five specialized locations and through integrative support in public schools, with supplementary day structure, boarding, and community inclusion programs. The core educational programs follow Lehrplan 21 with individualized development goals, supported by embedded therapies including logopädie, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy.

Product overview

Lernbahn is a special education institution operating as a unified service portfolio under SCHAFFHAUSER SONDERSCHULEN, offering specialized educational programs for children and youth with various disabilities. The core programs include dedicated schools for intellectual disabilities (Geistige Behinderung), physical and perceptual disabilities (Körper- und Wahrnehmungsbehinderung), speech and hearing disabilities (Sprach- und Hörbehinderung), and challenging behavior (Stark herausforderndes Verhalten). These are complemented by integrative special education services in mainstream schools (Integrative Sonderschulung), therapeutic services (Therapien including logopädie, physiotherapie, and ergotherapie), day structure programs (Tagesstruktur), and boarding facilities (Internat). The institution also operates community inclusion initiatives through the Teilhabe für alle project. Operating at five locations across Schaffhausen, the institution follows Lehrplan 21 and works in close partnership with parents, schools, and specialist services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Intellectual Disability Program (Geistige Behinderung)

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Insieme SchaffhausencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Partner in 'Teilhabe für alle' consortium promoting inclusion and providing inclusive leisure activities including the vacation program for children with and without disabilities.
• Pro Infirmis Thurgau-SchaffhausencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in 'Teilhabe für alle' consortium providing support services and advocating for people with disabilities.
• Vereinigung Cerebral SchaffhausencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in 'Teilhabe für alle' consortium representing people with cerebral palsy and supporting inclusive opportunities.
• SAB (Schulische Abklärung und Beratung)coreOthersCantonal assessment and advisory body responsible for evaluating students and assigning them to appropriate schooling forms. Direct enrollment at Lernbahn is not possible; all placements come through SAB.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Sonnenhof Arlesheim: Swiss institution near Basel offering curative education, special schooling, and therapeutic services for children with developmental disabilities; comparable in its anthroposophic/therapeutic orientation and multi-service model.
• Heim St. Josef, Solothurn: Swiss residential and educational facility for children and youth with cognitive and multiple disabilities in Solothurn; comparable in combining special schooling, therapies, and boarding services.
• Sonderschule Bürgerspital Basel: Basel-based special education institution offering school programs and integrative support for children with behavioral and learning disabilities; comparable in its special-school and integration service mix.
• Sprachheilschule St. Gallen: Cantonal language therapy school in St. Gallen serving children with speech, language, and hearing impairments; directly comparable to Lernbahn's Marienstift language-hearing program.
• Stiftung Wagerenhof: Established Swiss foundation providing residential, educational, and therapeutic services for children and adults with disabilities in the Canton of Zurich; comparable in interdisciplinary service model and disability focus, with a larger residential component.
• Stiftung Bachtelen: Bilingual (German/French) Swiss special education institution offering school, therapy, and residential services for children and youth with disabilities; comparable service portfolio and interdisciplinary model.
• Heilpädagogisches Zentrum Ausserschwyz: Public special education center for the Canton of Schwyz providing school, therapy, and integrative services for children with disabilities; comparable in cantonal public mandate and multi-site operating model.
• Pädagogisches Zentrum Schwyz: Cantonal pedagogical center in Schwyz providing special education, therapy, and early intervention services; comparable in its public-canton ownership structure and interdisciplinary delivery model.
• Schulheim Mätteli: Special education and residential school near Bern serving children and youth with learning, behavioral, and developmental disabilities; comparable in combining schooling, therapy, and boarding under one institutional roof.
• Heilpädagogische Schule Zürich: Public special education institution of the Canton of Zurich offering multi-disability school programs and integrative support; directly comparable in mission and operating model to Lernbahn but serving a different Swiss canton.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/schaffhauser-sonderschulen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles22 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Schaffhauser Sonderschulen