MLS Jan 2018 Local Attachment MLS local report final | Page 8

sustain employment’. These are aligned to their school mission, which
is to `provide a vibrant learning environment that inspires students
towards independence and integration into society’.
Using Universal Design for Learning (UDL), teachers then design the
curriculum to develop their students in these three domains. Design of
lessons are trusted to the teachers’ understanding of their students’
needs and ability. In a class of four students, there can be varied
pedagogies and different modes of assessment due to the varied
cognitive, social and motor aptitudes.
Teaching and learning: structures and processes
Similar to the Career Guidance Counsellor role that has been included
in most secondary schools and junior colleges, since September 2017,
the role of a Transition Planning Coordinator (TPC) has been created
for SPED schools. This is in tandem with MOE’s greater governance and
role in the special needs sector. The TPC oversees the transition of
students from 7 to 18 years of age and upon graduation, i.e. life after
school, as part of the S2W (School to Work) programme in collaboration
with SG-Enable. He/she works synergistically with the Job Coach and
brings on board curriculum understanding and background knowledge.
As such, the TPC role is currently held by a former SPED teacher for
Fernvale Gardens.
The social workers in the SPED schools play a much larger role in
student development and engagement with parents than that in
mainstream schools. Unlike in mainstream schools where the form
teachers and Year Head team would get in touch with parents and
external parties, the social workers in the SPED schools help to
significantly reduce the administrative load from their teachers by
taking the lead in liaising with external stakeholders, such as submitting
the application for various bursaries for the child and making home
visits when necessary. The social workers would look into issues and
challenges that families with special needs children face and refer them
to external organisations such as Family Life Services to render their
assistance.
Team-teaching is integral to every classroom. As each class would have
students of different levels of special needs, they are grouped according
to their learning ability, which allows the teacher to use appropriate
pedagogies suited to their needs. This low student-to-teacher ratio
allows close interaction and monitoring. Appropriate level of
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