Training and Support for Professionals in Special Needs Sector

The following question stood in the name of Ms Rahayu Mahzam –

2 To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the current total number of professionals, such as teachers and social workers, who are in the special needs sector; (b) what training and professional development programmes are available for the professionals in this sector; and (c) what are the support structures in place to ensure that these professionals do not suffer from burnout or are able to cope with the stresses of the job.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): Question No 2, Sir.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social and Family Development (Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim) (for the Minister for Social and Family Development): There are about 1,900 professionals working in the Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC) and in Special Education (SPED) schools today. These include teachers, social workers, psychologists and therapists.

These professionals play a key role in the development of special needs children, and we support them in several ways. Professionals working in the special needs sector must hold the relevant degrees or diplomas in their fields of practice. To complement this, the Social Service Institute (SSI) and the National Institute of Education (NIE) provide professionals in the disability sector with continuing education and training (CET) programmes. These range from broad-based courses to targeted ones focusing on the skills and knowledge required to work with special needs clients. For example, teachers working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can take up targeted courses that build specialised knowledge in autism. There are also courses that equip professionals with skills to cope with the demands of their work, such as mindfulness and self-care practices.

These courses are subsidised by the Government, through grants, such as the Local Training Grant from the voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs)-Charities Fund. To further upgrade themselves, in-service professionals can also apply for professional development sponsorships, such as the Ministry of Education (MOE) Scholarship for SPED teachers and SkillsFuture Study Awards. Promising social workers and Early Intervention (EI) teachers taking up managerial and leadership positions can also apply for the Professional Development and Management Programme and the Leadership Development Programme which fund leadership, management and other skills-based training.

Second, we also help professionals learn from one another’s experiences and expertise through practice networks. The National Council of Social Service (NCSS) organises annual sessions for social workers and psychologists in SPED schools to share resources and best practices. SPED schools have also put in place Professional Learning Teams (PLTs) where teachers and other professionals can discuss how to improve teaching practices.

Third, we have put in place measures to help social service professionals cope with the challenges of their jobs. Aside from self-care courses run by the SSI, NCSS also introduced the Sabbatical Leave Scheme in 2008 to help reduce burnout in professionals. Through this scheme, social service professionals nominated by their organisations receive funding from NCSS that provides them with 10 weeks of paid leave to recharge and refresh themselves, as well as sponsorship for professional development courses. To date, about 170 professionals have benefited from this scheme.

Mentoring and on-the-job coaching by senior practitioners also help to alleviate burnout by equipping younger teachers and social workers with skills and strategies to build up their confidence and resilience. For example, SPED schools have mentoring and coaching programmes for teachers and ensure that teachers have access to counselling services and enjoy protected time during school holidays. Some EIPIC centres have also structured the work week such that teachers have a one-day reprieve from direct intervention, to work on back-room administrative tasks, such as programme planning.

To complement these targeted efforts, NCSS has also been working with VWOs to improve their human resource management capabilities to ensure that all our professionals are well-deployed and cared for, as they give their best to help those in need.

Mr Speaker: Mr Dennis Tan.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong (Non-Constituency Member): Mr Speaker, I have just one supplementary question. Does the Government envisage that there is a need to increase the number of professionals working in the special needs sector and, if so, what are the plans in the next five years?

Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: Sir, I would like to thank the Member for the supplementary question. Indeed, it is not only now that we realise that there has been an increase. In fact, a few years ago, we had anticipated this and the number of professionals in the social service sector has increased significantly for some, depending on the sub-sector. And we are mindful that the numbers or the needs require this increase. As such, we recognise this and we have been doing that. I assure Members that we are keeping a close watch on how we can, one, care for people; and two, make sure that we provide the necessary framework, infrastructure as well as manpower to ensure that their needs are met sufficiently.

Mr Speaker: Mr Kok Heng Leun.

Mr Kok Heng Leun (Nominated Member): I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the answer. Mine is a follow-up to the question. Is there a desirable student-to-teacher ratio that the Ministry is trying to achieve? Secondly, usually in a day class, if you have many hours of working, it is actually very stressful for teachers, especially when you are working with students with special needs. Is there a maximum number of hours a teacher can teach within a day, so that they can have a reprieve and have breaks in between?

Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: The unique state of affairs of the disability sector is that the nature of work is complex and it varies from student to student. As such, we are very mindful of the needs of the students. For some who have high care needs, we will put more staff to be involved. We are also mindful that staff also need reprieve. As such, depending on the setting, NCSS and the Ministry of Social and Family Development work closely with the VWOs to see how we can provide the support, not only to the kids but also to the teachers. So, my answer is, it varies.