THE OECS ANNOUNCES EFFORTS TO SUPPORT STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

Friday, September 16, 2022 — The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Program for Educational Advancement and Relevant Learning (OECS PEARL) announces the launch of the Special Education Needs (SEN) Survey on September 19th, 2022 in OECS countries. The overarching goal of the SEN Survey is to support enhancements to the education of students with special education needs and disabilities across the OECS so that “Every Learner Succeeds”. ​

The OECS PEARL is a comprehensive four-year program of improvements to education. It builds upon the significant progress that has been made in Special Education across the Caribbean and the OECS. However, more improvements are required to ensure that all children have learning opportunities to reach their full potential. The purpose of the SEN Survey is to collect information from multiple stakeholders to inform the development of an action plan of interventions to support students with special needs, a professional development plan to support their teachers and to inform the purchase of assistive devices to increase access to learning. 

The OECS Commission calls on members of the public to be more conscientious and sensitive to people with special needs and to share in the data gathering effort. People who love and care about children are encouraged to reach out to their local Ministry of Education to determine how they can contribute. Very importantly, some children with special needs are not in school. Let us know how to reach them to provide the support for learning that they need. 

The survey will be available for completion online from September 19, 2022. The OECS Commission invites Students, Parents, Educators, Healthcare Professionals and Community Members to participate in the survey. All information shared will be treated with confidentiality.

About the OECS PEARL

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Program for Educational Advancement and Relevant Learning (OECS PEARL) is a four-year program that seeks to advance progress towards the goals of the OECS Education Sector Strategy (OESS) through increased access and improved student learning in basic education. ​ 

It is funded by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). With its vision of “A quality education for every child”, the GPE will help optimise education systems so that all children can learn, including those marginalised by poverty, ethnicity, disability and displacement, and puts gender equality at the heart of what the partnership does and how it operates (GPE 2025).The OECS PEARL is primarily being implemented in four Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Member States: Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, whilst the other five English-speaking Member States of the OECS ​ are involved in some aspect of implementation the OECS PEARL consists of four main components: (1) Enhanced quality and equity of access for Early Childhood Education (ECE); (2) Enhanced Curriculum and Assessment; (3) Strengthened Leadership and Management; and (4) Program Management, Institutional Strengthening, Monitoring and Evaluation.