Ministry hosts Learning Support Programme

The Ministry of Education’s Learning Support Programme, which will see 100 teachers taking part in an eighteen-month mixed mode training course was launched on July 3rd 2007 at the Thomas Saunders Secondary School.

The programme, which is being implemented with the help of the European Union (EU) was developed to ensure that children with learning disabilities do not “fall through the cracks”.{{more}}

According to Stephen Boyce, EU representative, teachers sometimes measure their school’s progress based on the performance of their brightest students, while the others tend to be ignored. He said he hopes that after this course, the teachers will be able to better identify the links between literacy and numeracy and problems of comprehension.

Minister of Education, Girlyn Miguel relayed her happiness at the launching of the programme. She said that it has become increasingly clear that it is simply not enough to expand education systems in the traditional manner, and she hopes that the teachers will give their all after the programme has ended.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education Laura Browne, urged the teachers to seek out the children who are struggling, because it is the teacher’s responsibility to draw out and support those students. She said that she hopes that they go back into their classrooms and put the skills that they have learnt into practice, and ensure that the training received impacts the children that they serve.

The teachers, who are currently involved in a three-week intensive face-to-face introductory module will receive a certificate in Learning Support on successful completion. (VM)