MOU Signed For Expansion Of Savanna-La-Mar Inclusive Infant School

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information has signed the second part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Rockhouse Foundation to facilitate  expansion of the Savanna-la-Mar Inclusive Infant Academy in Westmoreland to a full inclusive secondary school.

Architectural planning for the expansion is now under way. It is anticipated that the Ministry and the Rockhouse Foundation will jointly fund the expansion costs.

The project is being facilitated under the first MOU signed between the Ministry and Rockhouse Foundation in 2016.

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams, in her remarks at the signing ceremony  at the Ministry on July 13,  said establishment of the Savanna-la-Mar Inclusive Infant Academy as a Government educational institution is the result of an ongoing partnership between the Foundation and the Ministry over several years.

“We note that the plan is for the Rockhouse Foundation to support the expansion of the Infant Academy to a full inclusive school up to the secondary level,” the Minister said.

“The Ministry will ensure that the property remains open as an Inclusive Infant School in the first instance and gradually transition into a full inclusive school from the early-childhood level to the secondary level,” she added.

Meanwhile, President of Rockhouse Foundation, Peter Rose, pledged continued support of the special needs education sector.

“The vision is to continue on through high school, so every child that enters Sav Inclusive will graduate from the same kind of institution with the same kind of support, and allow them to live their fullest life and make their highest contributions to the Jamaican society,” he said.

The Ministry will provide teachers for the institution with access to in-service training and support materials that are made available by the Ministry to teachers in early-childhood-level public educational institutions.

In addition, the Ministry will ensure that a balanced meal is provided for all the students of the institution, as well as provide funds for the maintenance, security and operation of the school.

The Ministry and Rockhouse Foundation will jointly undertake to provide furniture, teaching-learning resources and playground equipment for the school.

Established in 2017, the Savanna-la-Mar Inclusive Infant Academy caters to children with learning disabilities.

It is located on the campus of the Sir Clifford Campbell Primary School.