Debated in Parliament on 26 Feb 2025.
Miss Rachel Ong asked the Minister for Education (a) whether an assessment of the effectiveness of the Circle of Friends (CoF) initiative in supporting social interactions of students with special educational needs has been conducted; (b) if so, what is the basis for assessing its effectiveness; (c) whether there are differences in its effectiveness between neurodivergent students and students with physical and sensory disabilities that are visible; and (d) whether CoF is implemented in every secondary school that has neurodivergent students.
The Circle of Friends (CoF) is an evidence-based intervention which involves peers supporting a classmate with Special Educational Needs (SEN) who has social and behavioural challenges, guided by the school's SEN Officer. Since 2021, all schools have personnel who are trained to implement CoF. However, not all schools have implemented CoF, depending on the needs of the individual students.
In 2023, the Ministry of Education's evaluation of CoF in a small number of primary and secondary schools showed social and behavioural improvement in students with SEN requiring such support, as well as an increased sense of responsibility, empathy and acceptance among peers who participated in CoF.
However, the evaluation did not look into comparisons across SEN profiles.
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