The Minister of State for Education Sun Xueling announced on Wednesday (March 3) that Primary 1 students with social and behavioural needs will get “targeted intervention” (in all schools) by 2026. This is part of the ministry’s school intervention programs for better learning in Singapore.
This school intervention program is aimed at easing a child’s transition into primary school as well as help him/her develop self-management skills.
As part of the program, students will get learning and behavioural support from allied educators and teachers in small groups. This will be done within their form classes, under the Transition Support for Integration or TRANSIT.
In particular, they will learn about managing their emotions and classroom work habits. They will also develop social and communication skills. The programme plans to achieve this by adopting a number of ways including role-play, independent practice and coaching by trained professionals.
The Programme Will Benefit About 5 to 10 Primary 1 Students
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Speaking about the initiative in Parliament during the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) Committee of Supply debate, Ms Sun said, “By the end of P1, students should be able to learn independently in class, with occasional help.”
The programme will benefit about five to 10 Primary 1 students in each school per year. By the end of 2021, TRANSIT would have run the pilot programme in about 40 schools or about one in five primary schools.
How Kids Will Be Selected For The TRANSIT Program
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For the TRANSIT program, the teachers look for signs like the pupil not being able to pay attention for long, or not being able to make friends.
Primary 1 students will then be enrolled in the TRANSIT program to attend English and Math classes separately from the regular classes for the next six months.
While the curriculum remains the same, the teaching style will be different.
Special Education Schools To Get More Attention
The ministry will also expand the Grace Orchard School, according to Ms Sun. The school works with students with mild intellectual disability and mild autism spectrum disorders. The school will now take 600 students between the ages of 7 and 18 years, up from the current 450 students right now.
“This is to help meet the demand for places in the west region and enhance the accessibility of SPED (special education) schools serving students with mild intellectual disability. MOE will work in conjunction with social service agency staff to improve students’ educational experiences,” she said.
The special education schools will also get new vocational training facilities, larger classrooms and modulation spaces for students. There will also be facilities for physical education classes and sports.
More Effort For Disadvantaged Students With UPLIFT
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The Ministry of Education is also working on bringing more children to school from low-income families.
The Uplifting Pupils in Life and Inspiring Families Taskforce (UPLIFT) will help disadvantaged students attend school regularly. The first pilot programme began in January last year at Woodlands, Kreta Ayer, and Boon Lay.
UPLIFT has supported about 100 students so far, a number that will double by the end of this year. That number will further increase to over 300 by 2022, MOE announced in a press release recently.
About 80 percent of students placed in the programme in early-2020 are attending school more regularly, according to the second Minister for Education Maliki Osman. The programme will also extend to Bukit Merah, he added.
The programme was expanded in February this year to include those students who were living in rental flats. The team aims to support students from about 70 schools living in the pilot sites, by the year-end.
With multiple programmes being launched by MOE, those needing most help are sure to benefit immensely.
Source: CNA
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