SCHS integrated 527 students with disabilities between 1995 and 2020
Throughout February 2021, the Inclusive Education Unit in Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services is organizing the activities of Inclusive Education Month. It aims at making the community, educational and administrative bodies and students aware of the concept of inclusive education and developing comprehensive school practices in this field. It provides quality education to a diverse group of students, including persons with intellectual disabilities, as well as provide teachers, students and parents with the opportunity to share ideas about strategies for promoting inclusion and successful school experiences.
Ms. Doaa Al-Duraidi, Supervisor of the Unit, has confirmed that the activities of the month include many lectures, workshops and discussion panels (remotely) that support inclusive education. It includes (pre-writing skills), (intervention and organization techniques within the classroom environment) and (curriculum modification and alignment). It targets teachers, educational and administrative bodies in schools. a group of city specialists working within the field are going to offer and supervise the activities.
The unit also organizes activities during the month to relieve the psychological stress of the families of the integrated students and to promote mental health. In addition to awareness-raising activities about bullying for inclusive school students, and interactive activities for children with disabilities who are candidates for integration in kindergarten and school within the partial and reverse integration activities.
At the end of the month, the city would organize an informative seminar on invisible disabilities. It aims at supporting students with disabilities by offering best practices on how to deal with the psychological disorders associated with these disabilities.
The Inclusive Education Unit at the city recently launched an initiative (Together we complete the road) with the aim of providing support to city's students and will continue until the end of the current academic year. About 30 families would benefit from the initiative in the areas of speech, language and academic skills.
Al-Dridi explained that the integration unit, which the city established in 2017, did not stop its services during the Corona pandemic. The city has integrated 20 students with disabilities in many schools, taking into account all the controls and regulations for safety and security procedures.
In conclusion, she explained that the Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services had integrated 527 students with disabilities into public schools during the period from 1995 to 2020. During the past academic year, 87 students nominated for integration received (1827) school preparation sessions. The unit also organized 154 field follow-ups and 181 virtual follow-ups for 141 students in 69 schools and nurseries. 48 families and 40 trainees from the administrative and educational staff in 14 schools benefited from the training program for inclusive education in the past academic year. The city offered 189 support-counseling sessions to 116 families.