THAT IS, PROVISION FOR STUDENTS WITH PARTICULAR NEEDS SUCH AS THOSE WITH DISABILITIES, LEARNING DIFFICULTIES, HIGH ABILITY, BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES, OR THOSE FROM PARTICULAR ETHNIC GROUPS OR TRAVELLER COMMUNITIES
The statutory national curriculum does not apply to students in SPED schools and the Ministry of Education does not stipulate compulsory subjects for such schools.6
The control of SPED schools and their curriculum is provided for under the Education Act. In practice, SPED schools are owned by the VWOs (voluntary welfare organisations) which, in turn, are responsible to the Ministry of Education (MOE) for the proper operation of their schools.6
For students in SPED schools, Individual Education Plans (IEPs) are drawn up for disabled students.3
The Ministry of Education (MOE) does not stipulate compulsory subjects for SPED schools.6
The curriculum for the Gifted Education Programme (GEP) (see 1.2.1) is based on the regular school curriculum with enrichment activities which make the work more cognitively demanding to enable students to develop intellectual and higher order thinking skills.3
Enrichment activities for students included in the GEP at primary level include:
At secondary level, GEP students can take either an arts-based or science-based course. All students must take part in extra-curricular activities. Enrichment activities at secondary level include:
In addition, the GEP involves special programmes, which take place out of school time, in science, humanities, IT, leadership. 'Enrichment camps' are organised for mathematics, creative writing and specialised multimedia courses3.
All students in the GEP in Primary 4 and 5 (ages 10 to 11 years) and Secondary 1, 2 and 3 (aged 12 to 15 years) carry out an Individual Research Study (IRS) project, which involves individualised research work, based on students' personal interests. This aims to develop library research skills , enquiry skills, and written, oral and visual communication skills.5
The Ministry of Education (MOE) does not stipulate optional/elective subjects for students in SPED schools.6
Some schools for students with HI (hearing impairment), VH (visual handicap) or cerebral palsy follow the mainstream primary school programme (Primary 1 to Primary 6), [see 4.5.2]. Consequently, the curriculum content in such schools is expressed in the same way as in mainstream primary schools, using the same terminology and concepts. See the mainstream Singapore Archive, section 5.2.4. In other schools, curriculum formulation and content is expressed in terms of outcomes and targets of attainment.6
For those SPED schools following the mainstream primary school programme (Primary 1 – Primary 6) [see 5.5.4 and 4.5.2], the key skills are the same as those in mainstream education, namely: literacy, numeracy, bilingualism, physical education and moral education. See section 5.2.5 of the mainstream Singapore Archive for further information. For other SPED schools, the key skills are basic literacy, numeracy, social skills and life skills for independent living.3
For SPED schools following the mainstream primary school programme (Primary 1 to Primary 6) [see 5.5.4 and 4.5.2], instructional materials and textbooks are the same as those used in mainstream education (see section 5.2.6 of the mainstream Singapore Archive), except that Braille texts are provided for visually handicapped students. For other schools and students there are no specific textbooks. Reading materials, assignment sheets etc. are teacher-made.6