District Tshwane South : D4 Human Resource Management Workshop

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Progress on expanding access to education for
children with disabilities
Presentation to Parliamentary Select
Committee October 2009
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Content

• Obligation towards implementing Convention on the
  Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• Ensuring access to education through an inclusive
  education system at all levels
• Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support
• Environmental Access
• Availability of Assistive Devices
• Availability of Appropriate LTSM
• Teacher Training
• Availability of Specialist Professional Staff
• Guidelines for Inclusive Learning Programmes
• Curriculum for SASL
• Advocacy
• Strengthening of Special Schools

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Convention on the Rights of Persons with
DisabilitiesObligations for Member Countries

• Equal access to education opportunities,
  irrespective of the severity of the disabilities.
  
• Access to an inclusive, quality and free primary
  education and secondary education on equal basis
  with others in the communities in which they
  live
• Reasonable accommodation of the individual's
  requirements is provided
• Specific needs of all learners experiencing
  barriers to learning are met.
• Development of minimum norms and standards for
  the education of learners experiencing barriers
  to learning.

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Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities- Access to Education and Skills 1

• Capacity building for all stakeholders (parents
  and care-givers, teachers, learners and education
  planners) towards meeting the needs of learners
  experiencing barriers to learning.
• Ensure early identification, intervention and
  development of all children with disabilities
  within an integrated Early Childhood Development
  (ECD) and other related policy frameworks.
• Specialised support and access to appropriate
  modes of communication
• Access to FET
• Access to ABET

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Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support

• Teachers and district officials trained on the
  tool in 30 selected districts in 2008
• The strategy links with others such as Curriculum
  Differentiation/adaptation
• In 2009, a further 40 000 documents distributed
  to provinces for further training of teachers and
  district officials
• It facilitates admission of only disabled
  learners with high needs and profound
  disabilities to special schools and with moderate
  needs to mainstream schools

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Environmental Access

• 30 ordinary schools earmarked for conversion to
  full-service/inclusive schools and 10 already
  converted
• Provinces to use funding from Treasury to convert
  the remaining 20 schools by 2011
• Principles of Universal Designs are applied
• Department developed the National Infrastructure
  Norms
• The above to guide incremental upgrading of
  existing schools while ensuring new schools
  comply
• Guidelines for Full-service/Inclusive schools
  have been developed and 40 000 copies are being
  printed for distribution

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Provision of Assistive Devices

• R12 million tender on materials and assistive
  devices awarded in 2008
• Needs analysis conducted in 32 special schools
  and 4 full-service schools
• Provision made to 7 special and 3 full-service
  schools for learners with Communication, mobility
  and visual impairments
• Provincial Education Departments invited to
  participate in the tender

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Availability of Appropriate LTSM

• The Department is developing a strategy for
  provision of quality education for visually
  impaired learners
• Audit of services has been completed in all
  schools for visually impaired learners strategy
  development process
• 25 schools received 10 Brailled story books each
  for Foundation Phase through Ithuba Books Project
• In 2006 the Department bought books for visually
  impaired learners in grade 10 special
  intervention on NCS

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Teacher Training

• Part of provincial budgets for Expansion utilised
  to train teachers and district officials in
  different implementation areas SIAS, ILP and
  utilisation of Assistive Dervices
• In 2007 and 2008 educators from respective
  special and full-service schools trained
  specialised skills such as visual impairment
• The Department in collaboration with Centre for
  Public Service Innovation and South African
  Council for the Blind build capacity for visually
  impaired educators on innovative technology
  including Victor Reader
• Developmental needs incorporated in CPTD
  programmes

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Availability of Specialist Support Service Staff

• Provinces such as EC, KZN, NW and WC have created
  and are filling much needed posts for therapists
  and Learning Support Facilitators
• Main thrust has been creation of itinerant posts
  where incumbents reach out to different schools
  to build capacity and support school-based
  support teams
• Supplying assistive devices has alerted the
  system in particular provinces, on acute shortage
  of therapists

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Guidelines for Inclusive Learning Programmes

• More than 3000 teachers trained on Curriculum
  Differentiation since 2006
• Provinces such as KZN and WC have trained special
  schools on the NCS
• The Department has prioritised the implementation
  of the curriculum for the next three years

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Curriculum for SASL

• Teachers from schools for the Deaf were trained
  Deaf Education in 2007/8
• The Department is in the process of finalizing
  the GET and FET SASL curriculum initiated by the
  Free State

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Advocacy

• Two sets of DVDs have been developed to raise
  awareness on the UN Convention as well as
  importance of an Inclusive System that ensures
  rights of access to education for disabled
  learners is promoted
• DoBE and Social Development have collaborated in
  the development of a Strategy for the Integration
  of Support Services for Children with
  Disabilities
• In 2008 an Inclusive Education Learning Space was
  launched of the Departments Thutong Portal
  this provides interactive dialogue among
  stakeholders

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Strengthening of Special Schools

• Since 2006 PEDs invest in the upgrading of
  conditions in under-resourced special schools in
  response to Audit Report of Special Schools of
  2002
• The conversion of 30 special schools to Resource
  Centres is nearing completion

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