33 MORE SCHOOLS TO SUPPORT STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

1.         33 additional mainstream schools will be provided with trained Special Needs Officers (SNOs) by the middle of 2008 to support students with mild to moderate Dyslexia and Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In addition, 13 schools that were previously resourced to provide support for Dyslexia or ASD will now be receiving an additional SNO trained in the other disability.  This will bring the total number of schools that will be staffed with SNOs to 103 (80 primary schools and 23 secondary schools).

2.         This move is in line with the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) efforts to incorporate facilities and resources in our primary and secondary schools to support the learning of children with special educational needs. The list of primary and secondary schools to be given resources by mid-2008 can be found in Annex A.  

3.         In the next few years, MOE will continue to provide more schools with SNOs.  MOE’s target is to recruit a total of 236 SNOs by 2010. To date, we have met 44% of this target.

4.         The information on schools with SNOs will be made available on the MOE Primary 1 Registration website, and the Secondary 1 Information Booklet (“Choosing Your Secondary School”).  Students with special needs will go through the normal Primary 1 registration and Secondary 1 posting process. However, students who do not get a place in a school with SNO support may subsequently appeal to the Pupil Placement Section of MOE.

BACKGROUND

5.         In May 2005, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Education, announced the selection of the pioneer batch of 14 schools (10 primary schools and 4 secondary schools) that would receive SNO support for students with special needs in 2006. In June 2006, MOE announced that more schools would be provided with SNOs in 2007, bringing the total number of schools that will be staffed with SNOs to 57 primary schools and 13 secondary schools.

6.         The SNOs provide additional in-class support, small group specialised remedial work and/or skills training for students with dyslexia or ASD.  They complement the support that class teachers provide to these students. 

7.         SNOs are required to have a minimum qualification of a diploma or a full GCE ‘A’ level certificate.  Some of the SNOs have relevant experience in working with children with special needs.  Applicants are also required to have good interpersonal skills and the passion to work with children with special needs. SNOs undergo a one year full-time Diploma in Special Education course conducted by the National Institute of Education (NIE).  They will be deployed to resourced schools after their professional training with NIE.

Annex A