STATUS OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION, ACCOMPANYING CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIC RESPONSE Presentation to PC on Basic Education 9 November

Understanding Inclusive Education Inclusive education defined: “…an acknowledgement that all children and youth can learn and all children and youth need support”. “Enabling education structures, systems and learning methodologies to meet the needs of all learners” (Education White Paper 6, 2001) Barriers to learning refer to difficulties that arise within the education system as a whole, the learning site and/or within the learner, which prevent access to learning and development for learners.  System barriers e.g. overcrowded classrooms, lack of basic and appropriate materials, exclusionary practices and policies etc.  Societal barriers e.g. safety and security, crime and violence, HIV/AIDS, poverty, child-headed households, etc.

Understanding Inclusive Education…  Pedagogical barriers e.g. un- or under-qualified teachers, inappropriate teaching methodologies and LTSM, inappropriate assessment procedures etc.  Intrinsic barriers e.g. behavioural problems, psychosocial and emotional problems, cognitive and sensory disabilities, etc.  The concepts inclusive education and barriers to learning are therefore broader than disabilities

Key Problem Statements that Inclusion Seeks to Address Most learners who experience barriers to learning including the disabled, have either fallen outside of the system or been mainstreamed by default (White Paper 6, 2001) The curriculum and education system have generally failed to respond to the diverse needs of the learner population, resulting in massive number of drop-outs, push-outs and failures (White Paper 6, 2001)

Current Status: Learners with Disabilities in Special Schools, 2009 ProvinceNumber of public special schools Number of TeachersNumber of Learners Number of Learners with a Single Disability Number of Learners with Multiple Disabilities EC FS GT KZ LP MP NC NW WC South Africa

Current Status: Learners with Disabilities in Ordinary Schools, 2009 Province Total Disabled Learners In Separate ClassesIn Mainstream Classes EC FS GT KZ LP MP NC NW WC South Africa

Developments: Curriculum Practical guidelines for accommodating diversity of learners in the classroom were developed in 2009 and are being refined Workshops for teachers in areas of visual and hearing impairments have been organized and Provincial Departments are taking the developments further A Curriculum Management Team has been established to develop the South African Sign Language curriculum as a subject for implementation from 2012 A Reference Group has been established to make inclusion policy inputs into the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements Draft concessions guidelines for assessing disabled learners are being developed The Department is putting a process in place for the development of a curriculum for schools of skills

Developments: Learning and Teaching Support Material The department supplied 30 selected special and mainstream schools with assistive devices through a national and extended it for use by provinces Two Braille Printing Houses have been approached to develop master copies of textbooks for schools with visually impaired learners A basic learner package of devices and other technologies has been put together for procurement and supply to schools with visually impaired learners Plans are in place for the adaptation of workbooks that have been developed for grades 1-6 as part of preparation for the implementation of the CAPS There are plans to engage Departments of Health and Social Development to clarify roles and responsibilities regarding the supply of assistive devices Consultations are planned with Departments of Health and Social Development on usage of health professionals for screening and interventions

Developments: HR & District Development Over the years teachers registered for ACE programmes on Inclusive Education Teachers have been trained on specialized skills on visual and hearing impairment and Provincial Departments ate taking developments further Provincial, district and school officials from 30 selected districts were trained on screening for barriers to learning and packaging of support District-based support teams (DBSTs) and school-based support teams (ILSTs) were established in 30 selected districts and special and ordinary schools respectively Special Schools Guidelines and Guidelines for Full Service Schools have been developed for district development and further identification of schools for further conversions Teachers will be trained on practical guidelines for teaching diversity of learners as part of the CAPS implementation process

Developments: Infrastructure Specifications for making ordinary schools environmentally accessible to the disabled have been developed and are used by Infrastructure Planners The specifications were incorporated into the national Infrastructure Norms for application in all new classrooms and buildings 10 ordinary schools were physically upgraded to be environmentally accessible to serve as models of full-service schools Provinces have taken over the progressive physical upgrading of ordinary schools to full-service schools and 33 schools have been selected Provinces progressively identify additional schools for further conversion to full-service schools with medium term goal of having an inclusive school in every district Development of infrastructure norms for special schools will resume shortly Infrastructure projects are slow in certain provinces due to capacity

Strategic Response Action Plan 2014 and towards the Realization of Schooling 2025 places focus of the Inclusive Education Programme on the incremental conversion of ordinary schools to full-service schools, the establishment of additional special schools where needed as well as tracking the placement of learners between full-service schools and special schools. Coordination of policy interventions such as WP6, WP5, Health Promotion etc. through integrated planning within Basic Education to strengthen inclusivity Embracing a multi-disciplinary approach to building an inclusive system – getting more stakeholders involved

Strategic Objectives In light of problem statements highlighted earlier, two strategic objectives are pursued through Inclusive education:  To improve access to quality education for learners who experience barriers to learning  To improve the quality of teaching and learning in grades R-12 through the provision of additional support for learners experiencing barriers to learning

Improving Access  Strengthening screening systems for early identification of and intervention  Incrementally converting selected ordinary schools to inclusive schools  Incrementally converting special schools to resource centres  Developing funding and human resource provisioning norms  Piloting screening systems as well as funding and human resource provisioning norms  Implementing screening systems and norms for funding and HR provisioning  Incremental and targeted conversion of ordinary and special schools to inclusive and resource centres respectively

Improving Quality of Teaching & Learning  Coordinating the provision of specialized and appropriate LTSM as well as assistive devices by Provincial Departments of Education  Developing the South African Sign Language curriculum as a subject for grades R-12  Developing the curriculum for Schools of Skills for learners who can’t progress beyond grade 9  Developing concessions policy guidelines for disabled learners  Developing inclusion policy statements for incorporation into Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements  Teacher development on innovative curriculum and assessment methodologies taking into account learner diversity  Teacher training on identified specialized areas of special needs e.g. Braille, Sign Language, autism etc.

Thank You 15