Educators exposed to improved teaching tactics-in quest to improve delivery of special needs education

Mar 17, 2019 News

A number of educators were recently the participants of a strategic conference aimed at helping to boost the delivery of special needs education. The event was in fact the Second Annual SEN conference held in Bartica, Region Seven.

Some of the SEN Officers who participated in the Conference

The recent two-day conference, which was spearheaded by the Ministry’s SEN Unit, was designed to amplify the need to improve SEN performance and quality of work produced by SEN Officers.
National SEN Officer, Ms. Savvie Hopkinson, said that the two-day conference detailed the expected outcome of the event. “Officers would be expected to improve their performance and improve the quality of their work.
“Participants must leave with a fuller understanding of their roles and responsibilities as part of the SEN Unit and as Officers assigned to Departments of Education,” Hopkinson said.
Some of the issues that were slated to be addressed at the forum were the reviewing, strategizing, identification of challenges and the sharing of experiences. The conference also saw discussions on the SEN Work Programme for 2019 and the need for employing a structured approach for realising the objectives.
Hopkinson said that participants will be introduced to the functions of the Regional SEN Centre for Treatment and Diagnosis that is located at the Cyril Potter College of Education situated at the Turkeyen Campus.
She said, “This centre is a welcomed addition to the architecture of special education and will impact the national efforts that are already in progress in this field.”
Hopkinson explained that the evolution of the education system is plainly visible in the changed perception of students who learn differently; those that face formidable cognitive challenges; those who were formerly abandoned or left behind; students who stood on the periphery and notably the blind, the hearing impaired and those with other disabilities.

National SEN Officer, Ms. Savvie Hopkinson.

She noted, too, that the establishment of the SEN Unit and the embrace of a new paradigm shift in respect to curriculum and teaching methodologies, with all their ramifications, is testimony to an inclusive and accessible approach to education by the Government.
Deputy Chief Education Officer [Administration], Ms. Ingrid Trotman, addressed the officers and explained to them her expectations of them. She said that they should embrace punctuality and have a competitive spirit.
She said being in competition mode will encourage each officer to want to work hard to ensure that the region that they are responsible for does well.
Trotman added that the SEN Officers need to be fast learners, work smarter, think outside the box, must be able to adjust, need to be accountable and must have respect for self and others. She said that with these qualities, the officers will ensure that they represent the Ministry of Education and its values as they ought to.
Welcoming the SEN Officers to the township of Bartica was its Mayor, Mr. Gifford Marshall. He urged the officers to work towards improving the quality of education delivered to students in the town and the region at large.

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