Support for Children with Special Needs
Support for Special Needs in Mainstream Schools
In 2004, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced the following initiatives to support children with special educational needs in mainstream schools:
- Deployment of Special Needs Officers to support children with mild to moderate dyslexia and autistic spectrum disorder to mainstream schools.
- Additional funding for designated mainstream schools to cater to students with dyslexia and autistic spectrum disorder.
- Training of selected primary and secondary school teachers in special needs (TSNs).
Ministry’s efforts to incorporate facilities and resources in our national schools to facilitate the learning of children with special educational needs has been implemented since 2005
Special Needs Officers (SNOs)
Since 2005, MOE has deployed SNOs to mainstream schools to support pupils with mild to moderate Dyslexia and Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) integrate better into their school programmes. By mid 2009, a total of 136 schools (105 primary and 31 secondary schools) will be staffed by SNOs. Schools are resourced based on schools’ level of needs and geographical location, to provide greater choice and convenience to students and their parents.
More SNOs will be provided to more schools over the next few years. By 2010, the expected number of schools with SNOs would be as follows:
| Level | Special Educational Needs | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Dyslexia | Mild ASD | ||
| Primary Schools | All primary schools will have up to 1 SNO per school. | 20 Resourced schools will have between 1 to 3 SNOs per school. | |
| Secondary Schools | 20 Resourced schools will have between 1 to 3 SNOs per school. | 12 Resourced schools will have between 1 to 3 SNOs per school. | |
| School | Zone | Mild ASD Support | Dyslexia Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson Primary School | North | No | Yes1 |
| Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) | South | Yes | Yes1 |
| Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) | South | Yes | Yes |
| Bedok Green Primary School | East | Yes | No |
| Bendemeer Primary School | South | Yes1 | No |
| Bukit Panjang Primary School | West | Yes1 | Yes |
| Bukit Timah Primary School | West | Yes | Yes1 |
| Bukit View Primary School | West | Yes1 | No |
| Canossa Convent Primary School | East | No | Yes1 |
| Catholic High School | South | No | Yes1 |
| CHIJ (Katong) Primary School | East | No | Yes |
| CHIJ (Kellock) | South | No | Yes1 |
| CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School | North | No | Yes |
| Chongfu Primary School | North | No | Yes |
| Chongzheng Primary School | East | No | Yes1 |
| Chua Chu Kang Primary School | West | No | Yes |
| Compassvale Primary School | North | Yes1 | Yes |
| Coral Primary School | East | No | Yes |
| Edgefield Primary School | North | Yes1 | No |
| Elias Park Primary School | East | Yes | Yes1 |
| Evergreen Primary School | North | Yes1 | Yes1 |
| Fairfield Methodist Primary School | South | Yes | Yes1 |
| Fernvale Primary School | North | Yes1 | No |
| Fuchun Primary School | North | Yes | Yes1 |
| Fuhua Primary School | West | Yes1 | No |
| Gan Eng Seng Primary School | South | No | Yes |
| Geyland Methodist Primary School | East | Yes1 | No |
| Gongshang Primary School | East | Yes | No |
| Greenridge Primary School | West | No | Yes |
| Greenwood Primary School | North | No | Yes1 |
| Griffiths Primary School | East | Yes | No |
| Henry Park Primary School | West | Yes | Yes |
| Holy Innocent’s Primary School | North | No | Yes |
| Hong Wen Primary School | South | No | Yes |
| Jiemin Primary School | North | No | Yes1 |
| Junyuan Primary School | East | No | Yes1 |
| Juying Primary School | West | No | Yes |
| Kong Hwa School | East | No | Yes |
| Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary School | South | Yes | Yes1 |
| MacPherson Primary School | East | No | Yes1 |
| Maha Bodhi School | East | No | Yes |
| Maris Stella High School | North | No | Yes |
| Mayflower Primary School | North | Yes1 | No |
| Methodist Girls’ School (Primary) | West | No | Yes |
| Monfort Junior School | North | Yes | Yes1 |
| Nan Chiau Primary School | North | No | Yes1 |
| Nan Hua Primary School | West | Yes1 | Yes |
| Nanyang Primary School | West | No | Yes |
| Naval Base Primary School | North | Yes | No |
| Ngee Ann Primary School | East | No | Yes |
| Northland Primary School | North | No | Yes |
| Pasir Ris Primary School | East | No | Yes |
| Pei Chun Public School | South | No | Yes |
| Pioneer Primary School | West | No | Yes |
| Punggol Primary School | North | No | Yes |
| Raffles Girls’ Primary School | South | No | Yes |
| Red Swastika School | East | No | Yes |
| River Valley Primary School | South | Yes | Yes1 |
| Rosyth School | North | No | Yes |
| Sembawang Primary School | North | Yes | No |
| Seng Kang Primary School | North | No | Yes |
| Shuqun Primary School | West | No | Yes |
| St. Andrew’s Junior School | South | Yes1 | Yes |
| St. Anthony’s Canossian Primary School | East | No | Yes1 |
| St. Anthony’s Primary School | West | No | Yes1 |
| St. Gabriel’s Primary School | South | No | Yes |
| St. Hilda’s Primary School | East | No | Yes |
| St. Joseph’s Institution Junior | South | Yes | Yes |
| St. Margaret’s Primary School | South | No | Yes |
| St. Stephen’s School | East | No | Yes |
| Tao Nan School | East | No | Yes1 |
| Temasek Primary School | East | Yes1 | Yes |
| Townsville Primary School | South | No | Yes |
| Unity Primary School | West | Yes | No |
| White Sands Primary School | East | No | Yes |
| Xinghua Primary School | South | No | Yes1 |
| Yangzheng Primary School | South | Yes | No |
| Yew Tee Primary School | West | No | Yes1 |
| Zhangde Primary School | South | Yes1 | No |
| Zhonghua Primary School | South | Yes1 | No |
1Schools will only receive their trained SNOs in mid-2009.
Secondary Schools Resourced for Mild Autism Spectrum Disorder (Mild ASD) and/or Dyslexia Support
| School | Zone | Mild ASD Support | Dyslexia Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) | South | No | Yes |
| Balestier Hill Secondary School | South | Yes | Yes |
| Canberra Secondary School | North | No | Yes1 |
| CHIJ Katong Convent | East | No | Yes1 |
| CHIJ St. Theresa’s Convent | South | No | Yes1 |
| Chong Boon Secondary School | South | Yes | No |
| Deyi Secondary School | North | No | Yes |
| Jurongville Secondary School | West | Yes1 | No |
| Kent Ridge Secondary School | South | No | Yes1 |
| MacPherson Secondary School | East | Yes1 | No |
| Montfort Secondary School | North | No | Yes |
| North View Secondary School | North | Yes1 | No |
| Ping Yi Secondary School | East | No | Yes |
| Punggol Secondary School | North | No | Yes1 |
| Queenstown Secondary School | South | Yes1 | No |
| Seng Kang Secondary School | North | Yes | No |
| Shuqun Secondary School | West | No | Yes |
| St. Gabriel’s Secondary School | South | No | Yes |
| St. Hilda’s Secondary School | East | No | Yes1 |
| St. Patrick’s School | East | No | Yes |
| Tampines Secondary School | East | Yes | No |
| Teck Whye Secondary School | West | Yes | No |
| Westwood Secondary School | West | No | Yes |
1Schools will only receive their trained SNOs in mid-2009.
Teachers Trained in Special Needs (TSN)
Recognising the need for students with other mild special needs (e.g. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, speech and language difficulties) to be supported in schools, MOE aims to train 10% teachers in all primary and secondary schools by 2010 and an additional 10% teachers in secondary schools by 2012.
The training for teachers in special needs (TSNs) started in June 2005. Since then 1200 teachers have been trained in special needs and another 800 teachers will be undergoing training in May 2008.
As teachers trained in special needs (TSNs), they will be able to:
- provide individual or small group support to the students with special needs in their form class,
- share strategies and resources with teachers and parents,
- assist with transition of students with special needs from one level to the next, and
- assist with monitoring of the student᾿s progress.