MINDS Fernvale Gardens School

Location

Area: Seng Kang
Address: 7 Fernvale Road, Singapore 797635

Telephone no.

6481 6697

Email

fgs@minds.org.sg

Website

http://www.minds.org.sg/FGS

Special needs catered for

Moderate to severe intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder

Age range

7 to 18 years old

Curriculum offered

Customised

School mode

Double session

Services offered

School bus transport

School fees

Contact the school directly for more information.

Date

• Wednesday, 8 May 2024

Time

• 12pm to 2pm

Format

• Virtual

Contact information

• Contact person: FGS Admission Team
• Tel: 6481 6697
• Email: fgs@minds.org.sg

How to register

• Register online by Monday, 15 April 2024.

Primary 1 (2025 cohort)

• Application deadline: 31 July 2024.
  

  Applications received after this deadline may be considered for waitlisting until a suitable vacancy is available.

• Start of school: January 2025.

Other levels (2024 cohort)

• Application deadline: No deadline.
  

  Application is ongoing throughout the year until all vacancies are filled.

• Start of school: Start of the next term.
  

  If your child is assessed to be suitable and there is vacancy.

To develop future-ready students and community contributors, Fernvale Gardens School (FGS) has these programmes for students: 

FGS Reading Passport 

FGS Reading Passport aims to cultivate the love for reading and improve students’ vocabulary and functional literacy skills so that they can communicate in different contexts. Providing a variety of curated books, our students can choose the books to read based on their reading level and interests. 

The world of books sparks our students’ curiosity and exposes them to new experiences. Reading improves their language skills and vocabulary — it opens the door to lifelong learning!

Math Digest 

Early numeracy skills are the foundational skills that form the core of numeracy that is critical to all mathematical learning.  

The Math Digest aims to develop early numeracy skills and factual fluency of our students through daily practice. It is a series of activities which teachers carry out daily to build basic numeracy skills such as counting, subitising (the ability to recognise a number of things without counting)   and the telling of time.

There are differentiated learning experiences for our students based on their competencies to acquire mathematical concepts.

Fun Fernvale Farmers (F3)

The F3 programme integrates modern-day farming for students to learn through the environment in a fun and novel way. It applies interdisciplinary approach to:

• Teach important basic concepts in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.
• Build vocabulary for language development.
• Inculcate core Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) values.

Students go through experiential learning through different hands-on activities. They have opportunities to experience and explore urban farming, growing vegetables and herbs through hydroponics in our FGS Community Garden.

Drama-based Arts curriculum

FGS's drama-based Arts curriculum develops our students' creativity, build their self-confidence and enhance their social communication skills.

A positive and safe environment is provided for students to try out different roles, improvise props, and learn to express themselves through their body language, facial expressions and speech.  Students also acquire social skills and learn to cooperate with one another during collaborative drama activities.

Transition activities

As part of the MINDS family, FGS provides opportunities for our students to be attached at MINDS Employment Development Centre and Training Development Centre. This provides our students a better transition experience in preparing them for the future after their graduation.

To facilitate post-school transition, learning journeys-cum-workshops for parents and students which raise awareness for career opportunities and post-school services are organised. Through the activities, both the students’ vocational skills and interpersonal skills are also developed.

Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) Certification

FGS equips our students with relevant skills for work that are based on the students’ strengths and interests. For students with the potential to open employment  , FGS supports them in acquiring WSQ certification so they can have more pathways to employment. 

FGS supports students in acquiring Workplace Literacy and Numeracy (WPLN) certification as it widens opportunities for them to be eligible for further education. 

FGS provides a future-focused learning environment by:

Leveraging information and communications technology (ICT) to enhance teaching and learning

One example is the iTile – an interactive educational system which provides hands-on activities or performance tasks such as matching, spelling or counting.

All classrooms in FGS are equipped with interactive smartboards which allow for online educational games, short quizzes and exit tickets to cater to the different learning style of students. Through these interactive activities, teachers can assess students’ learning and provide immediate feedback during lessons.
Redesigning Physical Education (PE) using S³TPAF approach

Health and physical fitness are important elements for a good quality of life. To this end, FGS takes a systematic approach in the teaching and learning of physical education. FGS designs PE lessons according to the principles of S³TPAF, where the overall approach is Sustainable and Systematic with Standardisation (S³) during teaching, practice, assessment, and feedback (TPAF).

As part of the approach, FGS uses a centralised website where materials can be accessed for teaching and learning. The materials ensure standardised quality teaching during PE lessons and also provide a systematic skills assessment for our students. 

It also provides our students a platform for self-directed learning where they can take charge of their learning at their own pace and time. They can use the materials online to learn and practice new skills or maintain a healthy lifestyle by following our exercise videos produced in-house.

FGS is a caring community

Positive Behaviour Support

FGS adopts a Positive Behaviour Support framework to proactively support our students in their needs. An individual learner profile is developed for every student so that their needs are addressed with proactive strategies. FGS aims to understand each student well through an individualized profiling system so that we leverage the student’s interests and preferences to enhance their learning.

We Grow We Glow

Developing students of good character is one of the fundamental goals of education in FGS. We provide a school-wide learning platform and opportunities for the development of character, social-emotional competencies, and citizenship dispositions in our students. Students who demonstrate the school values are also recognised in school.

Primary / Junior

• Language / Communication
• ICT (Information and Communications Technology)
• Mathematics
• General Science
• Social Studies
• Social Development
• Personal Care / Health Education
• Domestic Science
• Physical Education
• Art and Craft / Music
• Travel / Recreational Skills

Secondary / Senior

• Language / Communication
• ICT 
• Mathematics
• General Science
• Social Studies
• Social Development
• Personal Care / Health Education
• Domestic Science
• Physical Education
• Art and Craft / Music
• Travel / Recreational Skills
• Vocational Skills

• Scouts
• Brownies and Girl Guides
• Sports Club
• Performing Arts
• Visual Arts
• Modular CCA
• ICT Club

Matilda Chan Jia Ling Alumni (Graduated in 2019) Matilda graduated from FGS in 2019 and is currently attending the Vocational Programme at Metta School. During her years in FGS, she was a responsible and self-directed student who always strived to do her best at all times. This was seen in her determination to complete every task even though it could be challenging at times. At 16, Matilda was given the opportunity to start her first work experience as a Retail Assistant at Miniso. The school then found another work experience opportunity to match her interests. She went on to work as a Baking Assistant at Petite Bakehouse for about 2 years. Matilda managed both the work and school life well. She diligently returned to school on some days for dance practices as she was one of the lead dancers. Currently, she is completing her training in the Food and Preparation course and will be awarded ITE Skills Certificate (ISC) at the end of 2021.

Benjamin S/O R. B. Gunasekran Senior Programme Benjamin is a young adult who enjoys playing sports and participating in sports events. Last year, he participated in the Play Inclusive 2019 Unified Floorball Competition and his team was awarded 1st placing in the Floorball Mixed 16 & Above (Division 4) team category. He was awarded a Finisher Medal at the Special Spartan Race 2019. In addition, he also represented FGS in the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge 2019. Generally soft spoken, Benjamin has improved in his social skills as teachers have been giving him affirmation and encouragement from time to time. Hence, he is now able to communicate confidently with others and carry out his prefect duties well. During the Inter-MINDS Schools Budding Chef Challenge 2019, he demonstrated full commitment in preparation for the competition. His team was awarded the Most Creative Dish in this competition. Besides displaying exemplary sportsmanship, Benjamin has also done well in his Vocational skills training. School has provided Benjamin a variety of in-house work experience opportunities to hone his skills. Some of these opportunities include assisting the school clerical officer to distribute packages to the different classes and helping the Domestic Staff to pack food and drinks in the school canteen. All in all, these experiences will certainly help boost his confidence when he pursues his course in Food Preparation at Metta School, upon his graduation at the end of this year.

Surya Gunawan s/o Vangades Varan Junior Programme The holistic special education programme in FGS has made a significant impact in Surya’s cognitive and social development. From being a child with low self-esteem, Surya has transformed to a confident individual who enjoys learning new skills and performing his prefect duties well.  In addition, he has shown improvement in participating in classroom discussions and always offers to help his fellow classmates with work assignments. He also displays artistic flair and has performed on various platforms.  Surya has had a special interest and talent in sports, especially football. He is being groomed in many sports skills for CCA. Sports teachers at FGS have been working with Surya to help improve his strength and confidence. He has demonstrated good teamwork skills with his FGS teammates as well as his Play Inclusive partners from Hougang Secondary School. At Play Inclusive, athletes with intellectual disabilities are teamed up with unified partners, who are persons without disabilities.  In 2019, Surya participated in the Play Inclusive Competition where the football team won second place. Play Inclusive Competition is jointly organised by Special Olympics Singapore and SportCares since 2018, and is supported by MOE. It aims to promote inclusion in the community through shared sporting experiences between persons with and without intellectual disabilities and special needs. He also participated in the Special Olympics Singapore Swimming Competition 2019 where he won a Silver medal. Although the swimming competition was relatively new to him, Surya put in his best effort and his coaches were impressed by his will and determination to succeed. Given time and training, Surya will surely go a long way to accomplish and achieve his goals.

Joshua Clairmont Alumni (Graduated in 2020) Joshua graduated from FGS in 2020. Although he has challenges in expressing himself, he has the motivation to work and FGS provided him with work-related assignments in school. With support from job coaches, he could complete tasks which required him to follow more than 10 steps in a sequence. He displayed eagerness to learn and was able to complete the work assigned. After graduation, Joshua was engaged by Foreword Coffee under their Alternate Work Programme. It is a programme to accommodate persons with disabilities that requires higher support. Since then, he has learned different work skills and is able to complete more than five different tasks. Due to Joshua’s excellent performance, his contract with Foreword Coffee has been extended until the end of the year.