Chairperson of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Education; Chairman and Senior Management of SG Enable; Chairpersons and Members of Social Service Agencies (SSAs); Chairpersons, School Supervisors and members of SPED School Management Committees; School Leaders of our 24 SPED Schools; and all SPED educators, guests and friends here in Republic Poly, and online,
Introduction
1. A very good morning. It is my pleasure to be amongst many colleagues and friends from the Special Education (SPED) fraternity. It's so nice to see so many friends gathered together. Today is a significant day because the last time SPED leaders gathered onsite for the SPED Conference as it was then known as, was about four years ago in 2018 at the Singapore EXPO.
2. Welcome to all our SSA leaders, School Leaders, Key Personnel and educators attending onsite and a big hello again to more than 3,000 online participants supporting SPED Learning Festival (SPED LF) 2023. While we continue to hold the SPED LF or the SPED Learning Festival, in a hybrid format, I am very glad to have this face-to-face platform this morning to meet and interact with all present.
See Possibilities, Inspire Community, Empower Dreams
3. This year's SPED LF theme, which is- See Possibilities, Inspire Community, Empower Dreams - challenges all to uncover the untapped possibilities for our students. Outside of the SPED fraternity, few may appreciate the challenges faced in helping children with moderate to severe Special Educational Needs (SEN) uncover their strengths and meet their life goals.
4. This goal cannot be achieved without many shared hearts and helping hands to enable our students to achieve their dreams, whatever they may be and wherever they may be. Allow me to unpack and share my views on how we can get there as a school community and as a wider community network of partnerships.
Recognising and Supporting Our SPED Educators
5. First, school communities need committed and skillful educators in every classroom. Having visited several SPED schools and interacted with groups of SPED educators, I am very encouraged by the efforts of the SPED fraternity to plan and deliver innovative and engaging lessons that meet the wide range of students' needs.
6. I personally witnessed how MINDS – Towner Gardens School, for example, students picked up vocational skills at its Yummy Snack cart during my visit in April this year. Through this simulation of a food and drinks stall, students learnt to interact with customers, prepare orders and work as a team. This helps build up their confidence and prepares them to be active contributors in their communities.
7. During my visit to Lighthouse School in September this year, I was also excited by how technology could be leveraged to help visually impaired students learn literacy skills. Through the use of the VoiceOver app on the iPad, I saw many students were able to play a word game and edit a Word Document efficiently on the desktop! And they challenged me, and of course they did far better than I did. This made learning literacy skills fun and engaging for our students.
8. Such learning opportunities are made possible by teachers who can understand their students, teach impactfully, identify the right tools to use, and empower them to dream and discover. Without competent teachers, our students would not benefit from a quality educational school experience in SPED.
Promising SPED Teacher Award
9. To this end, we want to honour excellent SPED teachers today. Teachers who have shaped the hearts and minds of our students. These teachers find that spark in our SPED students and believe that they can look beyond their disabilities and help them imagine a future, full of hope and promise.
10. Since 2007, MOE and NCSS have conferred the Outstanding SPED Teacher Award (OSTA) and Innovation Award (IA) to recognise teachers who are passionate believers, thinkers and doers who harness the potential of their students. These awards have been rebranded as the MOE – SG Enable Awards as SG Enable has become the focal agency for disability services since 2020.
11. In addition to the OSTA, I'm happy that MOE and SG Enable have introduced a new award this year, the MOE – SG Enable Promising SPED Teacher Award, or PSTA, or 'P-STA' in short. The P-STA recognises the potential in SPED teachers, those who are at the early stages of their careers yet display the passion and qualities of a future leader in SPED.
12. With these awards, MOE and SG Enable hope that the awardees, whether they are starting out in their careers or have years of experience under their belt, can continue to serve as role models to their students and colleagues and inspire them to pursue their dreams.
13. This year, six teachers will be awarded the OSTA and PSTA awards. While we congratulate all awardees, please allow me to share on a PSTA awardee, Ms Nur Irdayu binti Abdul Kadir, an Art Teacher in Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore School (East). She is a strong believer in her students' potential. Irdayu worked with the relevant Heads of Programme to enhance the selection criteria for students to qualify for her school's IT Enrichment classes. This enabled more students to benefit and learn Digital Media Design and Video Production skills.
14. During her Art lessons, she also created opportunities for her students to apply their skills in authentic settings. This included designing artwork which were displayed in Go-Ahead Singapore buses to raise awareness for persons with special needs. Through Irdayu's efforts, her students are able to harness their strengths and develop critical skills that will enable them to be active contributors to their community. As such, with the introduction of the PSTA, we hope more teachers like Irdayu would be able to contribute their talents and impact SPED students, and continue to receive the OSTA one day. Congratulations, Irdayu.
Strengthening the Quality of Our SPED Teaching Workforce
15. Furthermore, MOE is committed to growing and retaining good teachers like Irdayu. MOE has been awarding deserving teachers the MOE Masters Scholarship in SPED since 2011 and we will be presenting the awards to five recipients. Over the past few years, MOE has been enhancing the attractiveness of the SPED teaching profession. The SPED Teaching Profession: Journeys of Excellence package (or the Journeys Package) was announced in 2020.
16. As part of the package, the SPED Teacher Career Framework, Role Profiles and Competency Frameworks were introduced. A Training Roadmap was also developed to guide SPED teachers in their professional development. MOE has been working closely with SSAs and SPED schools
and there has been steady progress in implementing the Journeys Package.
17. As we continue to expand the number of SPED schools, we know that we need to grow the SPED teaching fraternity, now at about 1760 strong, by around another 350 teachers by 2030. I appreciate that the recruitment of SPED educators is not easy. There will be demand for competent teachers in different settings, such as EIPIC Centres, pre-schools and even mainstream schools, to support our students with SEN.
18. Therefore, as a fraternity we need to strengthen ourselves through professional development to stay impactful with this finite resources. For instance, I gained useful insights from my recent trip to Finland where I saw how they deliver its Early Childhood Education and Care services.
19. Finland adopts an integrated approach to enable students with varying levels of SEN to interact with one another from young, through a play-based curriculum that emphasises the fostering of group dynamics, respect and empathy.
20. Manpower resources are creatively maximised through the use of collaborative teaming. Teachers work closely with parents to learn skills and knowledge from medical and allied professionals in the schools and apply them intentionally to support every child. I am very encouraged that some elements of this are already incorporated in our SPED TLSs.
21. In this regard, MOE is not resting on our laurels and continues to build and strengthen the three 'Ps' of SPED that we value: namely, a) our People; b) the Professional Development; and c) our Partners.
a) For the 1st 'P', People. While MOE had revised SPED salary guidelines as part of the Journeys Package, there is a need to review SPED salaries from time to time to keep pace with other competing sectors. To better attract and retain talent in the SPED sector, MOE has reviewed salary guidelines for teachers and teacher aides and we are pleased to share that additional funding will be provided to SPED schools to raise salaries. Enhanced guidelines will accompany the salary changes. I'm sure the schools will follow the guidelines closely to benefit all the teachers. More details will be announced in Q1 2024.
b) 2nd P, Professional Development. We will also extend more milestone Professional Development (PD) opportunities to SPED Key Personnel and School Leaders from 2024. In addition, we will expand the range of PD opportunities to strengthen teachers' functional competencies in working with specific disability profiles, and core competencies under the SPED Teachers Competency Framework.
c) For the third 'P', Partners. SSAs and SPED school leaders are instrumental in motivating SPED teachers to give of their best at work, and identifying and retaining talent in SPED schools. We will work closely in partnership with SSAs and SPED schools to ensure that the enhancements to salaries and PD opportunities are well implemented. This ensures that SPED teachers will benefit from the enhancements, and in turn be able to provide better education and support for their SPED students.
22. We hope that the proposed enhancements to the Journeys Package would enable us to continue tapping on the talents and passion of our SPED teachers. Working together with other key staff members such as Teacher Aides and Allied Professionals, our SPED educators, when taken care of, can develop within our students the determination to see possibilities in themselves.
Strengthening the Quality of Education / Curriculum
23. With a teaching fraternity that is trained and renumerated well, we can sustain the provision of a quality education for our students.
24. Since 2021, MOE has worked with SPED educators and stakeholders to co-construct SPED Teaching and Learning Syllabuses (TLSs) to raise quality of curriculum, teaching and learning. These syllabuses provide greater guidance to schools in designing and delivering quality curricula that is customised for their students' diverse learning needs and aspirations.
25. In 2021 and 2022, three TLSs were launched. These were the i) Daily Living Skills, ii) Visual Arts and iii) Vocational Education TLSs. These syllabuses helped schools to review and re-design their curricula and lesson delivery, as well as promote growth in teachers' capabilities and collaboration with allied professionals, families and the community.
26. At the 2023 MOE Committee of Supply debate in March this year, I announced that we are releasing two more SPED syllabuses that will develop critical life skills for students to be active in the community as contributing citizens.
27. Today, I am pleased to launch the (a) Communication and Language, and (b) Social-Emotional Learning syllabuses. Let me provide a short introduction of the TLSs.
a) The Communication and Language (C&L) TLS places new emphasis on functional communication skills and forges a partnership between teachers and speech and language therapists in delivering this curriculum. There is also greater leveraging of assistive and digital technology, as well as alternative and augmentative communication tools for effective communication.
b) The Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) TLS will promote personal and social well-being, and build resilience in our students to cope with challenges and adversity. It also promotes Self-Determination in students, through choice-making, goal-setting and self-advocacy, to increase students' agency and confidence in determining and pursuing their life aspirations. It is important to make these syllabuses come alive in the classroom.
28. Good practices already abound in our classrooms today. APSN Tanglin School's SEL Department introduced the use of a board game to teach emotional regulation to their students. Through the Emotional Roller Coaster Board Game, students practise social skills like taking turns and cooperating with other players, and learn about different emotions, and strategies to manage the uncomfortable ones, in a fun and engaging way.
29. We also have four stories of students who have gained competencies in communication and social skills that have helped them, at home, at school and at work settings. This includes Mohamad Darwisyh from St. Andrew's Autism School, Isaac Tan from Metta School, Keith Yeo from MINDS – Fernvale Gardens School and Noor Fateha from Rainbow Centre – Yishun Park School.
30. I'm also pleased that all of them, including their parents, are here amongst us and you can talk to them and hear about their experiences. These stories showcase the collaborative efforts between teachers, job coaches and Allied Professionals, and close home-school partnerships. We will learn more about them in the video later on.
31. We are excited to explore the role of the SPED TLSs as a tool to uncover more possibilities to make for effective students' learning and development. Together, I am sure these two new TLSs will positively inculcate critical life skills that can better support their transition to post-school so that they can better integrate and thrive with the wider society.
32. With these skills, we would be able to empower our SPED students to explore new possibilities
and be bold in the dream to lead meaningful and quality life.
Enabling Partnerships to Inspire the Community
33. As captured by today's Learning Festival, we know that partnerships are indispensable to helping our SPED students to see possibilities, connect with the community so that they can have their dreams empowered. As we know, learning does not end in the classroom. The skills learnt in the classroom must be relevant to the everyday lives of our SPED students. For them to be able to have authentic and meaningful opportunities to practise what they have learnt in school, the active involvement of the wider community is very crucial.
34. These community partnerships may come in many forms, including between schools, agencies such as SG Enable and parents. It is through developing strong and meaningful partnerships that enable our SPED students to see a world that is beyond their homes and schools. Through the outcomes of these partnerships SPED students and families can become better supported and integrated into the community.
35. For example, Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore School (East) [CPASS (East)] implemented the Trans Disciplinary (Trans D) approach. This began with teams comprising SPED teachers and allied professionals, working tightly together to integrate learning opportunities for students into their daily activities for their holistic development.
36. More recently, CPASS (East) extended this into the Trans D Home Collaboration Programme in partnership with parents and caregivers. The Trans D teams equipped families with the necessary skills to help the students continue learning at home. This approach reinforces the skills and strategies learnt in the classroom as students can apply them to real-world settings outside of school. For their efforts, CPASS (East) was awarded the MOE-SG Enable Innovation Award.
37. There are many other teams who contributed well. My heartiest congratulations to all of them.
38. By ensuring that continuum of learning and support, we would be able to empower our students to seize opportunities and empower them to chase their dreams, with the support of multiple partners in the community.
39. Support for SPED students' dreams and aspirations should also continue after they graduate from school, and this can only be done through close partnerships with families and the community. MOE will continue to work closely with SG Enable and our many partners to ensure a strong handshake from SPED schools to post-school.
40. When planning for students' transition to life after graduation from SPED schools, caregivers are sometimes unsure of what options are available out there, and whether these options are suitable and can continue to encourage learning and meaningful engagement for their children after graduation. Some programmes and services also have waitlists, and caregivers are not aware of alternative options while waiting to be enrolled.
41. In this regard, I am happy to share that SG Enable has developed a new post-18 resource kit titled "Planning for the future after graduation" for parents and caregivers of SPED students that can help families and their children be better aware of the range of post school options available. So you need not worry about what happens after 21. Many, many parent are always very concerned, but I hope that this resource toolkit will be able to help the parents and assure that the support continues beyond 21.
42. The resource kit contains information on the variety of post-18 options for SPED graduates, going beyond centre-based adult disability services such as day activity centres and sheltered workshops, and including options such as community programmes, lifelong learning opportunities, open and supported employment opportunities, and many more.
43. The resource kit complements MOE's ongoing efforts to enhance processes and capabilities of SPED schools for Person-Centred Transition Planning during students' secondary years. We have started prototyping a new family envisioning process for greater family involvement and empowerment in transition planning, and the resource kit will help to increase families' knowledge and ability to support their children in making decisions about and pursuing their life goals.
44. Families are encouraged to work with SPED school Transition Planning Coordinators (TPCs), visit SG Enable's Enabling Guide or reach out to SG Enable to find out more about the resource kit. I urge schools and TPCs to journey together with families and explore the variety of post school options that our students can tap on to meet their life aspirations.
Conclusion
45. As we press on and press ahead together, as a fraternity, let us always take pride in the life-giving work that we do. Despite all these challenges that we faced on a day-to-day basis, always remember that it is your work that makes it possible for our SPED educators to develop essential skills that prepare them for life and to realise the belief that every child can learn. By harnessing their strengths and untapped potential, our SPED students can seize the opportunities to lead meaningful and enriching lives.
46. Through this, we create an environment that inspires the wider community to come together as one to advocate for and support the needs of our SPED students. With the community's support,
our students can dream and work towards their life goals.
47. SPED educators, without the passion, care and commitment of our SPED fraternity, SPED will not be where it is today. However, the work of SPED is never complete. It will continue to take place in our SPED schools, our community spaces, and in the homes of all families who care for children with SEN.
48. Our recently released Forward SG report also calls upon all Singaporeans to be part of a national effort to build a fairer and more inclusive society for all those with special needs. I hope that we can build on the good work to enable our SPED students to truly live out the vision for SPED, that is for our students to be 'Active in the Community, and Valued in Society'. Thank you again for your presence and dedication.
49. I wish all of you a purposeful and enriching Learning Festival ahead. Thank you.