1. EARLY INTERVENTION AND EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS Done By: Irene Stacy IvySarita Christine Yan Pheng

2. Children with special needs shall receive: - A quality education -A quality early intervention and education programme Enable them to: a. Live independently b. Become gainfully employed c. Engage in lifelong learning d. Possess a quality of life in all areas (this includes quality of care for those with high support needs) e. Contribute to others at home and in the community VISION

3. INTRODUCTION Early identification and intervention service have benefits for the child, society and economy. Helps to develop the child’s maximum potential Reduce later education costs to society The child gains economic and living independence

4. Factors affecting the achieving excellence in the early intervention and education of children with special needs are: Timely and appropriate placement A quality curriculum and pedagogy. Professionals who are systematically trained and coached Active family caregiver involvement in schools and at home. Planned integration must start early.  from one school year to another  one setting to another and  from school to employment Strong strategic and accountable leadership at all levels.

5. EFFORTS AND ISSUES IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS Education -Passing of Compulsory Education Act in 2003 All children born after 1 Jan 1996 must attend a national primary school, however, the Act has excluded some groups of children including children with special needs CURRENT SITUATION: ACROSS ALL AGE GROUPS

6. Early Intervention and Special Education Child in Singapore Fund Provider: MCYS MOE NCSS Donors Service Operators: VWOs Management of VWOs in Fund Allocation & Service Development: NCSS Current Governance System of Early Intervention and Special Schools

7. Most key initiatives include :- - previously DIRC - Disability Information and Referral Centre, now known as CEL - Centre for Enabled Living - EIPICs - Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children - Therapy hubs - All special schools VWOs management committees running EIPICs and VWOs-appointed school boards have full authority to make all decisions. Note: - impact on quality of special needs education served is unclear

8. CURRENT SITUATION: BIRTH TO SIX YEARS Following are the early detection and intervention programs with government funding: Pivotal ServicesService Providers Assessment and Diagnosis for Early Identification.CDU –KKH.CDU-NUH.Child Guidance Clicnic-IMH.Various VWOs. Therapy and Parent Training Services – Supporting Children with EIPIC Services.CDU-KKH.CDU-NUH Information and Referral Services.DIRC (Disability Information and Referral Centre) Early Identification Program for Infant and Children (EIPIC) Centres* – Provides Social Education and Rehabilitative Services for Special Needs Children.Rainbow Centres.Autism Assoc.Autism Resource Centre.AWWA.Fei Yue Community Servvices Integrated Childcare Program (ICCP) – Support children with special needs in childcare centre 17 VWOs Therapy Hubs - Provide therapy services to VWOs. Society if Moral Charities. Society for the Physically Disabled. Note : Funding for EIPIC Services for families : Families with per capita income of more than S$1,000 will not qualify for government subsidy from 2010.

9. The parents of children with special needs need to select between mainstream and special settings. Disability friendly schools accept students without any formal assessment before entry. CURRENT SITUATION: SIX YEARS AND OLDER IN MAINSTREAM SETTINGS DisabilityNo. of Designated Mainstream Schools Supporting the Disability Hearing Impairment2 secondary schools Visual Impairment4 secondary schools Physical Disability59 primary and secondary schools DyslexiaBy Year 2010:All primary schools and 20 secondary schools Autism Spectrum DisorderBy Year 2010: 20 primary schools and 12 secondary schools

10. CURRENT SITUATION: SIX YEARS AND OLDER IN SPECIAL SCHOOL SETTINGS NCSS Role -development of special school’s Programme Evaluation System and conduct on-site assessments. MOE Role -support in organizing principal and teacher training programmes. There are 21 special schools catering to a wide range of disabilities. Of these 4 offer mainstream academic subjects.

11. Prime Minister’s call for a more inclusive Singapore Result in increased funding: up to 4 times of funding per primary student, Increase in support of development of special school buildings. Government recurrent expenditures on SPED close to $54 milllion in FY 2005/06. Before integration models of Canossian Eduplex and Pathlight, integration of special students are piecemeal and based on the CIP initiatives of mainstream schools.