Speech by Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister of State, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Manpower at the MOE-NCSS SPED Teacher Award held on Fri, 16 Nov 07 at 1430 hrs at the Marina Mandarin Hotel

SPEECH BY MR GAN KIM YONG, MINISTER OF STATE, MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND MINISTRY OF MANPOWER AT THE MOE-NCSS SPED TEACHER AWARD HELD ON FRI 16 NOV 07 AT 1430 HRS AT THE MARINA MANDARIN HOTEL

1 It gives me great pleasure to join you today. This is a significant event as the SPED Teacher Award is the highest award given by MOE and NCSS in recognition of the excellence attained by our SPED teachers and schools in educating children with special needs. This is the first time that we honour them at the national level. These awards will be conferred annually.

2 I note that for this inaugural Outstanding SPED Teacher Award and the Innovation Award, nominations come from a wide range of people - supervisors, colleagues, stakeholders, parents, students and members of the public. This is very encouraging as it reflects the extensive engagement at every segment of the society.

3 I understand from the Selection Panel that they were very impressed by the professionalism of the finalists as well as their commitment, their passion for special education, the meaning they have found teaching children with special needs. They find great satisfaction when their efforts were rewarded with students’ achievements. Today, while I will be presenting the awards to 4 teachers and 3 SPED schools, I would like to congratulate not only the winners, but also all the nominees. I believe each one of you would have become richer from the experience of being held in high regard by the people who nominated you.

The Role of Special Education Schools
4 Our education system aims to help individuals achieve their full potential, equip them with the necessary skills for employability and to imbue in them the right values to become good and active citizens. This applies not just to children in our mainstream schools, but also to children with special needs. The SPED schools are an integral part of the education landscape in Singapore. They provide specialized settings for our special needs children to access learning, to realize their potential and to be nurtured into productive citizens.

The Role of Special Educators
5 Teachers play a major role in catering to the diverse range of special needs. Currently, there are some 700 teachers in the 21 SPED schools. They are our key in delivering quality education to our children with special needs. These teachers not only teach our children knowledge and skills, but they are pivotal to creating a safe, caring and stimulating learning environment for our children.

March 2007 Initiatives
6 In March this year, MOE announced several initiatives to enhance educational support for children with special needs in the SPED schools. Since then, MOE has been working with the SPED schools and various organizations, including NIE, WDA, ITE and NTUC Learning Hub to roll out these initiatives. We are working with a few SPED schools to pilot some of these initiatives. We will evaluate the outcome and identify key success factors to help us refine the initiatives.

Pre-vocational Certification
7 Let me elaborate on one of the prototypes which we are working on with Metta School and Delta Senior School. This invovles the prevocational certification programmes for students with mild intellectual disabilities. To improve the employment potential of our children, MOE is working with ITE and WDA to offer nationally recognized certification for SPED students. We hope that this will provide an avenue for the students of these 2 schools to obtain certification which would facilitate placement in open employment.

Greater Training and Professional Support
8 Over the past few years, MOE and NCSS have put in place more resources to promote continuous learning amongst SPED educators, such as a training vote of $1100 for each teacher to engage in customized training; and an innovation grant for teaching and learning to help the SPED schools develop niche areas. Another initiative announced earlier this year was on further strengthening the professional development for special education teachers. NIE will be conducting 3 new courses for SPED teachers. These are :
• Certificate in Teaching Special Needs Course for MOE teachers seconded to the SPED schools;
• Management and Leadership in Schools Course for Senior Teachers and middle level Heads or Heads of Programmes; and,
• Bridging Course on Mainstream Curriculum for special education teachers who are preparing students for national examinations.

In addition, for teachers who are teaching the prevocational programmes, MOE has worked with the NTUC Learning Hub to provide a training course leading to the award of the WDA Advanced Certification in Training & Assessment. Eighty teachers have begun the course and when they complete the course in Mar 2008, they will be qualified to teach the WDA pre-vocational certification courses.

Participation in Mainstream Cluster Activities
9 SPED schools are now linked up with mainstream schools through the mainstream school cluster system, so that SPED school leaders and mainstream school leaders can come together as a learning community to learn from one another’s expertise and experience. I am heartened to know that the SPED and mainstream schools are exploring various opportunities for collaboration.

10 Increasingly, more teachers in our main streatm schools are recognizing the need to develop deeper knowledge and experience to cater to some of their students who may have mild levels of learning disabilities. A few are even seeking work attachment opportunities in SPED schools. As they come to learn from the SPED schools, I would encourage you to share your expertise with them. I would also encourage more SPED school teachers and leaders to further build upon these established ties to seek reciprocal work attachment in the mainstream schools to gain fresh insights in teaching and learning and develop new ideas for special education.

Work Attachment
11 To broaden SPED teachers’ exposure beyond their schools, a 2-prong work attachment scheme is being worked out. Besides reciprocal attachment for the teachers, SPED teachers can also go on work attachment to non-educational organizations like teachers in our mainstream schools. MOE will be working with partners in the public and private sectors to provide work attachment opportunities for SPED teachers.

12 Teacher Work Attachment is a professional development activity. It will enable SPED teachers to broaden their perspectives and outlook. When they return to the SPED schools, they can translate their new experiences into innovative and interesting teaching strategies that would benefit their students. I would like to encourage SPED teachers to take advantage of the work attachment scheme and I would urge the school management to be supportive when your teachers apply for such work attachments.

Conclusion
13 We have made good progress in Special Education. MOE will continue to work with NCSS and other partners, to engage the SPED schools in our efforts to further improve the quality of education for children with special needs.

14 I am heartened to be able to celebrate this special occasion amongst the veterans and professionals in the SPED sector. Congratulations to the award recipients. I am sure you have already reaped the fruits of your hard work as you see your children grow, mature and become more independent. To all the special educators in our midst, I encourage you to continue to innovate, to take pride in your profession and to give the best possible education to the children under your charge.

15 Thank you.