Ministry To Help Parents Get Involved In Children’s Education

The Ministry of Education and Youth will be launching a public education series aimed at helping parents to get actively involved in their children’s education, particularly at the early-childhood level.

Dubbed, ‘What Should My Child Know and Do?’, the series will allow parents to track how their children are doing, give them the knowledge about what their children should know and do, and by what age they should know and do these things.

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams, made the announcement during her contribution to the 2022/23 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives, on April 13.

“This will allow more timely intervention and a closer working relationship with the practitioners and the parents,” Mrs. Williams said.

The education campaign will focus on four area – reading development, language development, physical development, and emotional development.

The Minister said that more information will be provided about the new intervention in the coming days.

Turning to the area of special education, Mrs. Williams noted that the Ministry has been placing increased focus on this area, stressing that catering for the special needs of the children/youth within the sector is at the heart of the Ministry.

She pointed out that when the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit, “we prioritised our special education students and continued to develop a curriculum for them”.

“We expanded the number of shadows, did modification of material, created material for adaptation, and with [the] Primary Exit Profile (PEP) approaching, we are providing our special education students with support in the administration of PEP. They would’ve taken the first part of it,” she said.

Mrs. Williams noted that while the Ministry’s recovery plan is for all students, those who are disadvantaged will need tailored and sustained support to help them readjust and catch up on lost learning,

“During the year, 18 institutions were funded to the tune of $52 million to provide educational, rehabilitation and therapeutic services for children with diverse disabling conditions. We also continue to provide caregivers to the system,” she said.

The Minister further informed that the Ministry also initiated the development and implementation of a national School to Work Transition Programme for students with disabilities as well as the National Standards for Special Education Schools.