Speeches
Speech by Ms Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of National Development and Ministry of Education, at the MOE-NCSS SPED Teacher Award Ceremony, on Friday, 13 November 2009, at 4.00pm, at the Rock Auditorium, Suntec City
Members of SPED School Management Committees
Principals, Teachers, Parents
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good afternoon.
Introduction
It gives me great pleasure to be here this afternoon at the presentation ceremony of the MOE-NCSS Special Education Teacher Award. This annual award is the highest recognition given to acknowledge and honour SPED teachers for their outstanding contributions towards the care and development of children with special needs.
Today, we are here to honour three outstanding SPED teachers who have inspired us with their passion, innovation and dedication to teaching. The recipients, along with the other finalists, have shown a strong degree of professionalism and commitment to their students, schools and communities. They have been creative in their teaching, going the extra mile to meet the needs of their students. They shared their knowledge generously and mentored their younger colleagues. They have shown a strong commitment to life-long learning and professional development. I congratulate all the winners and nominees. You are held in high regard by your school leaders, colleagues, parents and your students and you have much to be proud of.
In addition to the SPED Teacher Award, we are here to recognise schools for their innovation efforts with the Innovation Award. All the nominees for the award have sought improvements in teaching and learning, in student development and in creating a conducive school environment. Schools are able to produce high-quality innovations only by encouraging and nurturing their teachers. The achievements of two SPED schools have been highlighted and they will be presented with the Innovation Award this afternoon.
New School Buildings
An ideal school environment is one that is conducive for children’s physical, mental, social and emotional development. SPED schools today are housed in new, purposed-built buildings equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. Since 1995, MOE has worked tirelessly to accelerate the provision of such purpose-built school buildings. There has been a vast improvement since the time when SPED schools were housed in renovated mainstream school buildings. Currently, we have completed 12 purpose-built schools and another 3 will be completed in the next 2 years. In addition, 4 SPED schools have been refurbished to cater to ambulatory students who do not need specially retrofitted facilities.
MOE has also expanded the list of standard infrastructural provisions to SPED schools. Examples of these facilities are computer rooms, indoor play area, and a sensory integration room to cater to the multi-sensory learning needs of SPED children. I am certain that these facilities will enhance the educational outcome of the schools by making the environment more conducive for teaching and learning.
Professional Development
Strong leaders and good teachers are critical to the success of our SPED schools. We therefore encourage our principals and teachers to be life-long learners and to acquire new knowledge, skills and competencies throughout their career. MOE has worked with our partners over the years to continually promote the professionalism of our school leaders and teachers.
Physical Education
Teachers need to be equipped with specialised skills and knowledge in specific subject domains such as Physical Education. MOE has worked with NIE to start a 40-hour course called Adapted Physical Education and Sport. This course, which commenced in April this year, provides SPED teachers with knowledge to develop appropriate physical education curriculum for students with special needs.
To date, 22 SPED teachers have completed this course. They have learnt to adapt activities for students with special needs and to teach physical education through meaningful activities and games. One teacher commented that the course has boosted her confidence to teach PE while another shared that she has seen improvement in her students’ motor skills development after applying what she had learnt. More courses will be organised in 2010 so as to raise the quality of sports education in SPED schools.
ICT
Another area is in the use of ICT in SPED schools. MOE has developed an ICT training framework to equip teachers with core and elective ICT skills. In addition to basic skills such as PC maintenance and word processing, teachers can also sign up for more advanced ICT skills to explore the use of applications such as digital imaging, videography, smart whiteboards, Web 2.0 and robotics.
With the Teaching and Learning Fund from MOE, about 100 SPED teachers have completed courses such as “Digital Story Telling via Web 2.0” and “Comic Life for Teachers and Learners”. Teachers gave feedback that these courses have provided good lesson ideas which enabled them to apply new technologies in making learning more interesting and interactive for their students.
With the skills acquired through these workshops, SPED teachers are now better prepared to leverage on technology to teach creatively. This would further liven up their lessons and bring about more engaged learning in the classrooms.
NIE Courses
With effect from this year, in addition to the Diploma in Special Education (DISE), two new courses, Specialist Post-graduate Diploma in Special Education and Specialist Diploma in Special Education, have been offered by NIE for SPED teachers teaching mainstream curriculum. To date, about 85% of the teachers in SPED schools have completed at least one of these programmes.
In addition, 20 Heads of Department and Senior Teachers in SPED schools have studied alongside the Heads of Departments of mainstream schools in the NIE Management and Leadership in Schools (MLS) programme. Through the programme, they acquire knowledge and explore ideas on school management. Many participants have found the professional networking opportunities with counterparts from mainstream schools and other SPED schools very valuable. An additional 11 key personnel are expected to participate in the MLS programme next year.
I understand that the first batch of MLS graduates together with several past OSTA winners have successfully organised the first-ever SPED Learning Day for all SPED school staff earlier this morning. I am much heartened by this strong ownership in the fraternity - to help each other level up.
Scholarships for Degrees and Sponsorship for Diploma Training
We encourage our SPED school staff to be lifelong learners and to pursue avenues to upgrade themselves professionally. As such, MOE will offer scholarships to principals and key personnel of SPED schools to enhance their professional expertise. Up to 10 scholarships would be offered yearly to non-graduate principals and key personnel to pursue degree-level training in special education.
For graduate principals and key personnel, MOE will also be offering postgraduate scholarships for them to further upgrade themselves through a Masters degree programme. Up to 2 scholarships will be offered yearly to graduate principals and key personnel to pursue a Masters programme locally or overseas in a relevant area of specialisation. SPED schools will benefit from the scholarship scheme as it will enhance the level of specialized skills and knowledge.
As part of the professional team in SPED schools, psychologists have a key role working alongside teachers in providing specialised assessment and intervention for children with special needs. MOE will provide sponsorships for psychologists in SPED schools to obtain the part-time Diploma in Educational Psychology. This diploma, a tripartite collaboration between the Ministry of Education, National Institute of Education and University College London, will provide the SPED psychologists with the necessary skills and competencies in providing quality psycho-educational assessments and support for SPED students.
Better Administrative Support for SPED Schools
For principals to be better supported and for teachers to better focus on teaching, SPED schools would be given more resources to meet their administrative duties. With effect from 2010, MOE will be providing all SPED schools with an Administration Manager position. The Administration Manager will assist the Principal in financial, human resources and general administration of the school.
The provision of support in the 3 areas; scholarships for principals and key personnel to pursue degrees, sponsorship for psychologists to go for further post-graduate diploma training and provision of the Administration Manager position; aim to build the capability of SPED schools to enhance the quality of education for their students. There is much for the community of SPED schools to look forward to.
Conclusion
We have made good progress in special education through the years. MOE will continue to work with NCSS and other partners to engage SPED schools in our efforts to further improve the quality of education for children with special needs.
May I end by saying “congratulations” once again to all award recipients. Your award is a testimony to the impact you have made on special education. However, the best award for all the SPED teachers must be from your students - to see them grow in maturity and independence under your guidance, to see them smile under your care and to see them thrive with your encouragement. Keep up your good work and strive to be better for yourself, your school and your students.
Thank you