Proportion of SEN Students in Mainstream Schools and Ensuring Adequate Training for Teachers

Mr Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik asked the Minister for Education (a) what is the current proportion of students with special educational needs enrolled in mainstream schools; and (b) how does the Ministry ensure that teachers are adequately equipped to support these students while also meeting the learning needs of the broader student population.

About 7% of the student population in mainstream schools have reported special educational needs (SEN). This proportion has remained stable over the past three years.

Our schools adopt a whole-school approach to support teaching and learning of all students, including those with SEN. This ecosystem of support comprises school leaders, key personnel overseeing the Case Management Team, Teachers trained in Special Needs (TSNs), subject teachers and SEN Officers.

For example, while all teachers have the basic knowledge and strategies to teach classrooms with diverse student needs, each school has about five to 10 TSNs with deeper expertise who are able to share best practices with other teachers to support students with more complex needs. There is also ongoing professional learning for teachers to build up confidence and strengthen their skills to support students with SEN.

Furthermore, every primary school is resourced with additional teachers specially trained to carry out targeted interventions such as TRANsition Support for InTegration (TRANSIT) and the School-based Dyslexia Remediation (SDR) Programme. Through TRANSIT, Primary 1 students identified with social and behavioural needs are placed in smaller class sizes of up to 10 to develop foundational self-management skills as they begin their schooling journey. Some students with SEN may also be in parallel pull-out small classes for learning support in English and mathematics where they learn alongside other students with weak language and literacy skills.

Teachers trained in the SDR programme support Primary 3 and 4 students with dyslexia through explicit and systematic instruction that encompasses phonics teaching, sight word recognition and reading comprehension strategies. These targeted intervention sessions conducted in classes of four to six students enable students with dyslexia to strengthen literacy skills. Concurrently, in their regular English language classes, teachers continue to reinforce these literacy skills using strategies that are essential for some students and beneficial for all.

Mainstream schools have SEN Officers who provide learning and behavioural support for students experiencing social-behavioural challenges and adjustment difficulties. This may be done in class or in individual or small group settings. More SEN Officers are deployed to schools with a higher number of students with SEN.