Support for students with special education needs (SEN)

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar, Ang Mo Kio GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education (a) how many teachers are trained to teach special needs students in Crest Secondary School, Spectra Secondary School, Northlight School and Assumption Pathway School; and (b) how many allied educators are there in each of these schools to help these students in the classrooms.

Response

1. Crest and Spectra Secondary Schools, Northlight (NLS) and Assumption Pathway School (APS) tend to have more students with Special Education Needs (SEN). Their enrolment is smaller than other typical schools and they also receive a higher level of resourcing to support students, including those with SEN.

2. As a result, they have a better teacher to student ratio, and they use the additional funds to hire specialised manpower to support SEN students. Typically, each of them has about ten such specialised staff who support students’ additional needs. This is well above what is provided for in a typical secondary school.

3. All teachers in these four schools have gone through SEN awareness training and receive regular professional development in SEN knowledge and skills. About 15% of the teachers have a higher level of training such as the “Teachers Trained in Special Needs” course offered by the National Institute of Education.