Access to Education and Support for Learners with Special Education Needs

Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Women. Children and Persons with Disabilities

Department of Basic Education

24 August 2011

1

Vision

“Inclusive schools provide an effectiveeducation to the majority of children

and improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the entire education

system and build an inclusive and tolerant society”

2

Education White Paper 6 • Launched in July 2001• Purpose: to bring about systemic measures for changing schooling

and support provisioning landscape in the following ways:– Increasing access to quality education and support for all– Strengthening and changing role of special schools to Resource

Centres– Building capacity of mainstream schools for improved support services– Strengthening districts – more cost effective use of scarce resources– Strengthening framework for teacher development– Strengthening mechanisms for accessible curriculum– Overhauling the screening, assessment and admissions policy to focus

on making support available in ordinary schools and centrally involving parents and teachers in decision making

– Advocacy on inclusivity

3

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Article 24 speaks to the realities on the ground• Increasing access to education for learners with severe and

multiple disabilities• Increasing capacity in the mainstream to reduce the number

of referrals and drop-outs by providing reasonable accommodation

• Integrating support in all programmes• Recognising dignity

4

Schooling System For Disabled Learners

• Disabled learners access education in any of the following schools: Special schools which in the main are for disabled learners requiring

high levels of support Full service schools which are flagship ordinary schools that are

welcoming to all children and support each every child to develop to his/her full potential irrespective of background, culture, ability or disability, gender or race – models of good inclusive practice

Ordinary schools which should focus on learners requiring low levels of support – the long-term vision of the inclusive education policy is that these schools should also be inclusive

Learners in Schools By Primary Disability Across Provinces, 2007

Disability Ordinary Schools: Separate Class

Ordinary Schools: Mainstream Class

Special Schools

Attention Deficit Disorder 2,551 15,295 2 177Autistic Spectrum Disorder 372 5,267 1 062Behavioural Disorder 1,410 7,977 5 919Blind 295 581 1 103Cerebral Palsied 362 781 5 299Deaf 397 1,009 5 647Deaf-Blind 201 1,350 62

Learners in Schools By Primary Disability Across Provinces, 2007 Cont.

Disability Ordinary Schools: Separate Class

Ordinary Schools: Mainstream Class

Special Schools

Epilepsy 679 3,527 2 526Hard of Hearing 1,168 6,616 1 414Mild or moderate intellectual disability 5,998 11,248 24 359Partially Sighted 1,378 10,535 2 032Physical Disability 554 3,089 3 860Severe Intellectual Disability 1,033 2,313 19 302Specific Learning Disability 8,961 21,283 9 970Total 25,359 90,871 90 314

Source: EMIS, 2007

Learners With Disabilities in Special Schools, 2009

Province Number of public special schools

Number of Learners with a Single Disability

Number of Learners with Multiple Disabilities

Number of Teachers

EC 40 8741 6512 816

FS 19 3409 1471 502

GT 116 24363 12104 3109

KZ 63 11238 8690 979

LP 10 3054 1914 272

MP 20 3352 3026 317

NC 10 1559 66 139

NW 33 4518 375 426

WC 81 15698 1529 1667

Total 392 75 932 35 687 8227

Combined= 111 619Source: EMIS, 2009

Learners With Disabilities in Ordinary Schools, 2009

Province Separate Classes Mainstream Total

EC 948 18,708 19,656

FS 4,788 16,667 21,455

GT 3,726 12,397 16,123

KZ 6,504 15,721 22,225

LP 3,043 3,940 6,983

MP 1,482 12,051 13,533

NC 34 3,390 3,424

NW 1,251 6,581 7,832

WC 200 13,104 13,304

Total 21,976 102,559 124,535Source: EMIS, 2009

Funding Allocation To Special Schools in 2010/11

Province Number of Schools Budget 2010/11(R’000)

EC 40 R470 677

FS 19 R265 569

GT 115 R1 196 701

KZ 66 R772 903

LP 29 R251 564

MP 19 R194 635

NC 10 R7 100

NW 35 R218 948

WC 80 R11 845

Total 413 R3 389 942

Source: Provincial Budget Monitoring, 2010

Institutions Resourced to Increase Access To Education For Disabled Learners To Date

Province Full Service Schools Special School Resource

Centres

EC 15 13

FS 41 4

GT 15 15

KZ 75 18

LP 17 4

MP 138 18

NC 6 4

NW 95 19

WC 108 17

Total 570 112

11

Number of Special Schools Per Disability

Primary Disability Number of Schools

Autistic spectrum disorders 4

Cerebral palsy 6

Cerebral Palsy and Physical Disability 1

Communication 1

Child and Youth Care Centres (Incl. Reform, Industry & Clinic schools)

35

Epilepsy 2

Hearing Impairment (Deaf & Hard of Hearing)

35

Number of Special Schools Per Disability Cont.

Primary Disability Number of Schools

Hearing Impairment and Visual Impairment

2

Hearing, Visual, & Severe Intellectual Disability

1

Serious/Chronic Illness (Hospital schools) 8

Specific Learning Disabilities (Incl. remedial & neurological disorders)

17

Moderate Intellectual Disability (Schools of Skills and Vocational Schools)

53

Moderate and Severe Intellectual Disability & Autistic Spectrum Disorder

6

Severe Intellectual Disability 161

Visual Impairment 20

Activities For Supporting Special Needs Learners • Curriculum development including South African Sign language curriculum

grades R-12; methodologies for accommodating diversity through Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements

• Training of provincial, district and school management teams on visual and hearing impairment

• Consolidating a training programme for teachers of visually and hearing impaired learners for 2011 to 2013

• Adaptation of workbooks to Braille, the SASL and Augmentative and Alternative Communication

• Procuring Braille textbooks grades 10-12• Establishing posts of therapists and Learning Support Educators based at

districts to support schools• Progressively increasing full service schools and special school resource centres

Progress Made with Capacity Building To Date Province Schools with

School-based

Support Teams

Learning Support

Educators

Teachers trained 2001 –

2011

District officials trained

ILSTs trained

EC 64 36 1005 558 450

FS 1376 127 11100 255 1376

GP 2092 215 750 280 503

KZN 1989 110 1600 620 120

LP 66 249 305 64 249

MP 4240 22 605 4361 8566

NC 412 0 18384 153 478

NW 687 116 3345 377 5211

WC 1095 592 2221 650 1095

Total 8 696 1 415 39 315 7 148 16 672

15

Next Steps

2012 - 2014

16

Action Plan To 2014• Respond to the following policy formulation challenges:

– Developing funding norms ensuring funds are allocated per learner disability

– Ensuring a strong referral system working with departments of Health and Social Development

– Identification of different levels of disabilities and how they can be supported

– Improve curriculum delivery and assessment methodologies to accommodate diversity in learning styles and needs

– Strengthening remediation particularly for learners who lost out on learning opportunities

– Ensuring the provision of accessible LTSM and textbooks for all learners– Identifying opportunities for young people with disabilities– Supporting parents of disabled children to access support

Action Plan To 2014• Reaffirming principles of the White Paper 6, in particular

– the need for greater access amongst the poor by increasing access to specialist services

– the need for a fundamental mindset shift in the way the schooling system regards special needs and disability through advocacy

• Issues that must be tracked over the long term include– The extension of the network of special and full service schools – the capacity of districts to support ordinary schools with respect to

specialist services and the loan of costly equipment – and the extent to which ordinary schools refer learners to special or

full-service schools for full- or part-time attention.

18

Priorities for Inclusive Education to 2014

• Action Plan To 2014 proposes the following for the Inclusive Education Programme: Increase the number of full service schools to at least one for every

district by 2014 while ensuring their access to specialist services Strengthening district support for schools in dealing with special needs Mediating Guidelines for full Service Schools and Guidelines To Ensure

Quality Education and Support In Special Schools and Special Schools Resource Centres at district level.

Monitoring the implementation of the inclusive education policy in the system

Increasing Full Service Schools To At Least One Per District by 2014

• Definition: a school that is welcoming to all children and supports each child to develop to his/her full potential irrespective of background, culture, ability or disability, gender or race

• Activities will include: Coordinating the procurement of assistive devices where required by

provinces Ensuring that established school-based support teams (ILSTs) are

functional in existing full service schools Developing funding norms that respond to the roles and

responsibilities that full service schools have to carry out Monitoring compliance with Guidelines for Full Service Schools by

existing full service schools

Increasing Schools That Implement Inclusive Education Policy

• Screening, identification, assessment and support strategy (SIAS): Refining for finalisation as policy during 2011/12 for a roll out thereafter Develop a SIAS training programme for use by Teacher Development

institutions to train teachers from 2012 onwards

• Developing a training programme on methodologies to accommodate diversity in the classroom through CAPS by July 2011

• Finalising the South African Sign Language curriculum grades R-12 for implementation from 2013

• Developing teacher training programmes in special needs targeting visual impairment, Deaf and hard of hearing in 2011/12 for implementation through to 2013

Strengthening District Capacity To Support Special Needs

• Building capacity of district officials on Guidelines for Full Service Schools and Guidelines to Ensure Quality Education And Support in Special Schools and Special Schools Resource Centres in 2011/12

• Building capacity of district officials on SIAS during 2012/13 to support schools in the identification of special needs

• Indicator: increasing the percentage of schools in which at least one teacher has received specialised training in the identification of barriers to education

Provision of Accessible Textbooks, Workbooks, LTSM and Assistive Devices

• Procuring the Brailling of adapted workbooks for grades 1-6 and subsequent ones

• Procuring prescribed books in Braille for grades 10-12 in 22 schools for the Blind

• Adapting subsequent workbooks for Brailling during 2011/12• Procuring the Brailling of CAPS-aligned textbooks from 2012

onwards• Coordinating the procurement of assistive devices for schools

by provinces ongoing until 2014

Challenges and Risks

• Limited capacity and expert knowledge to implement the inclusive education policy at all levels of the system

• The demand for a multi-disciplinary approach in addressing barriers to learning including special needs

• Lack of a coordinating framework in government for providing access to specialist services

• Inclusive education not being seen as cross-cutting and as everyone’s business in the system

Thank You

25