INCLUSIVE EDUCATION POLICY An Easy Read Version for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities and their Parents
The Disability Rights Fund (DRF) is a collaboration between donors and the disability community that supports Disabled Persons Organizations in the developing world to take the lead in advocating for the human rights of persons with disabilities at local and national levels, utilizing the mechanism of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Disclaimer: This Easy Read version of Ghana s Inclusive Education Policy was produced with funding from the Disability Rights Fund. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of Inclusion Ghana and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Disability Rights Fund. DRF does not make any representation, express or implied, in respect of the accuracy of the material in this document and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any assumptions, errors or omissions that may be made. 2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Contributors Acknowledgement is due to Auberon Jeleel Odoom, the National Co-ordinator - Inclusion Ghana for offering his support, leadership and guidance. Without his dedication, support and expertise, this Easy Read Version of Ghana s Inclusive Education Policy would not have been possible. Inclusion Ghana is especially indebted to Jane Abraham and Joseph Enchill for their efforts in all aspects of the development of the Easy Read. Timothy Odametey s feedback and enthusiastic support in designing and branding of the easy read is invaluable. We would like to offer thanks to him. We also thank the Board of Directors and staff of Inclusion Ghana for their support in the development of this easy read. Finally, we would like to register our recognition of Disability Rights Fund for their financial and technical support. Many Thanks. Compiled, Edited & Designed by: Auberon Jeleel Odoom Jane Abraham Joseph Enchill 3
This document is an Easy Read version of the full Inclusive Education Policy. You need to look at the full Policy if you want to know what exactly the policy says. You can find the full policy on the Inclusion Ghana website at: http://www.inclusion-ghana.org/advocacytoolkits.php A list of difficult words in the policy is explained on page 5-6. 4
WORD LIST Intellectual Disability is when a person has difficulty learning and socialising. Stigma is when someone is considered less of a person by other people. Discrimination is when someone is treated unfairly by other people. Exclusion is when someone is rejected by other people in his community or society. Learners means a female or male of any age pursuing education in a formal, nonformal or informal education setting. Special Schools are schools where only children with disabilities attend. 5
Inclusive Classrooms are classrooms that have many and different levels of learning tasks and materials. The 1992 Constitution protects persons with disabilities against unfair treatment and says persons with disabilities have the right to enjoy education too. The Persons with Disability Act (2006) gives persons with disabilities the right to go to school, to get a job, to be fairly treated in society, and have free medical care. Disability Act (2006) 6
(A) WHO IS INCLUSION GHANA? a. We are a member of Inclusion International, Down Syndrome International and Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFD) b. We are formed in Ghana in 2009 c. We want to reduce unfair treatment against persons with intellectual disability d. This is what we do: i. Educate people about intellectual disability ii. Train people to provide good care services to persons with intellectual disability and their families iii. Research how to help persons with intellectual disability 7
iv. Promote the rights of persons with intellectual disability Rights of Persons with Intellectual Disability e. We aim to help all persons with intellectual disability and their families fully participate in society (B) WHAT IS INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY? Intellectual Disability is when a person has difficulty learning and socialising. Persons with Intellectual Disability may: a. Find it difficult to talk to other people, b. Learn more slowly, c. Take a longer time to fit into society, I m not ready 8
d. May need help to take care of themselves Please help Different people have different levels of disability The level of disability must be properly assessed so that people can be effectively helped. (C) COUNTRY CONTEXT OF THE INCLUSIVE EDUCATION POLICY Since independence, Ghana s governments see that education is very important. There have been several Education policies over the years. Primary and high school education should be free and compulsory for all children Education Act (1962) Education Act (2008) However many children have not been attending school especially children with disabilities. Ghana Government s Education Strategic plan 2010-2020 wants to provide education for all within mainstream wherever possible 9
This is an all inclusive approach. This has been tried out in a pilot in a few districts in all 10 regions and now needs to happen across the country on a full scale. (D) THE POLICY AND GOVERNANCE CONTEXT This policy uses national and international promises to provide education for all. For example in the 1992 Ghana Constitution it says Ensure that every Ghanaian is afforded equitable opportunity in terms of access to quality education. International promises like the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) was an inspiration for the policy. CRPD 10
(E) THE POLICY DEVELOPMENT PROCESS (HOW THE POLICY WAS WRITTEN) Lots of different people and organisations were involved in developing the policy. There were workshops at national, regional and district level to ask people s views and to agree on the direction of thepolicy. We found out what was working well in other countries. We involved political, administrative and traditional leaders. (F) POLICY GOAL The main goal of the Inclusive Education (IE) policy is to meet the needs of all children (learners) within the framework of Universal Design for Learning and Child Friendly School Concept. (G) INCLUSION Inclusion means making sure all children are able to learn. So it is about access to education and also to the wider community. (H) SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS The policy includes all children with special needs. 11
(I) LEARNER DIVERSITY The policy recognizes there are different groups of learners (children) who have special educational needs Or say persons with Intellectual disability, persons with physical disability, persons with autism, persons with multiple disabilities, nomadic children (J) GUIDING PRINCIPLES (THESE ARE THE IDEAS THAT GUIDED WHAT THE POLICY SAYS) Every child has the right to quality education All children can learn and benefit from education No child should be excluded from education. No child should be discriminated against within education. The education system needs to change to meet each child s needs rather than expect the child to fit in the existing system 12
All aspects of education give chances to do things in an inclusive way. Differences among learners are enriching/ good rather than a problem We need to use lots of different ways to meet learners needs. Regular inclusive schools are the best way to achieve the aims of the policy. (K) OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES (WHAT WE WANT TO DO AND HOW WE WILL DO IT We want to change systems Policy Objective 1 to make sure inclusion happens. 13
Strategies (How?) Change existing Special Education institutions into Resource Centers to help schools. Make Assessment Centers in all regions and districts. Make existing and new schools more accessible. Make sure the information collected on students helps with planning inclusion. Work together Get enough money to make sure excluded groups are included. Talk to people across the whole country to make national standards. Devise systems (monitor) to check that Inclusive Education is really working. 14
Policy Objective 2 We want to encourage all schools to adopt the Child Friendly School concept Strategies (How?) We will: Look at the national curricula content (what is taught in schools) to make sure it is good for all children Make sure the systems we use to check how children are learning are fair for everyone. Make sure the teaching/ learning material is accessible to all learners. Make sure all teachers are able to deal with the range of needs in their classroom Make sure the right equipment is available to help children to have a good education. Make sure schools are safe and friendly for all children Make sure schools are supported by Inclusive Resource Officers. 15
Strategies (How?) We will: Encourage all schools to have Special Educational Needs Coordinators who have clear job roles. Make sure that teachers can recognize disabilities as soon as possible Make sure that referrals to support services work smoothly. Make sure there is training available for professionals in different therapies. Support Services Make sure there is early recognizing of and stimulation of children with disabilities. Make sure parents and communities are encouraged and supported in changing attitudes to promote inclusion. Promote school health programmes. They can help inclusion. Work with other school protection programmes. 16
Policy Objective 3 Strategies (How?) We will: Make sure the people who are delivering on the Inclusive Education policy are well informed and trained. Make sure all teacher training for new teachers includes training on Inclusive Education. We will encourage people with disabilities to train as teachers. Have in-service training on inclusion for existing teachers. Make sure all education personnel (e.g. head teachers, administrators) are aware of and trained on diverse educational needs. Build the support services to be able to provide more services. Train, and have, more Special Education Needs resource teachers in schools. Train teachers and others to detect and refer children with special educational needs early. 17
Strategies (How?) We will: Train professionals on transitional programmes to work with learners with SEN. Make sure teaching practice and internships focus on Inclusive Education practices. Make sure all educational personnel know about Inclusion. Help parents and community to find ways to help children s learning. Engage Traditional leaders in the community to support and promote inclusive attitudes and behavior. Engage the media to promote awareness. Policy Objective 4 Make sure the ways that IE policy work are sustainable (can keep going). 18
Strategies (How?) We will: Make sure teachers/schools get up to date information and support to implement Inclusive Education. Develop standards and guidelines for how to implement IE policy. Make sure child protection programmes and services are inclusive and able to keep children with disabilities safe (L) INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK Making this policy happen is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education and its Agencies They will work with lots of other groups to make this happen This part of the policy says what different organisations should do to make the policy work. 19
(M) STAKEHOLDERS ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES The Ministry of Education shall provide overall leadership MINISTRY OF EDUCATION It shall have responsibility of: Overseeing checking its happening and how well it is working. Leading in asking government for the money to do Inclusive Education Education Policy. Working closely with Ministry of Finance on this. Assessing progress against targets. Coordinating reporting to stakeholders. The annual budget allocation will provide money to pay. Overseeing review of how professionals are trained. Activities to make IE policy happen. Training of key staff 20
Buy Equipment for schools Buy relevant materials MINISTRY OF EDUCATION The annual budget allocation will provide money to pay: Make educational facilities (new and existing) accessible. Financially support those at risk of exclusion. Do supervision, monitoring and evaluation of policy Do Data collection including management and analysis. Talk to other Ministries, Departments and Agencies to make IE happen. 21
CURRICULUM (WHAT IS TAUGHT) The national curriculum shall be reviewed. It has four key ideas, these include Setting suitable learning targets Focus on diversity. Responding to children s (learners) different needs Overcoming barriers to learning. TRAINING, CAPACITY BUILDING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Professional development Teachers gain skills and knowledge to meet needs of children with SEN using child centered approaches Pre- service training realigned to Inclusive Education Practices. Increase intake at Colleges of Education so more and better people are IE experts. 22
TRAINING, CAPACITY BUILDING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Professional development In- Service training to train teachers on how to do inclusion. All teachers trained to make classroom environment friendlier and also to be role models for the children in dealing with diversity. Teaching practice/ internships focused on IE practices and ideals. All trainees shall experience teaching that promote Inclusion. Teachers trained in initial assessment. All other school personnel should know about Inclusive Education 23
TRAINING, CAPACITY BUILDING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT Professional development This is the processes of checking children with special needs so they are supported to do as well as they can to learn and to live within their communities. To do this we will need: All communities and parents should support each other to nurture children with special needs. All districts shall provide space to make resource and assessment centers. Assessment Centers and tools for assessment Every child in primary school to undergo assessment twice a year Assessment results to be shared with parents. Parents can ask for review 24
ASSESSMENT This is the processes of checking children with special needs so they are supported to do as well as they can to learn and to live within their communities. To do this we will need: Parent must bring child s weighing card to school on first day. Assessment procedures at all levels of education must involve all the different professionals (Multi-disciplinary) Use different Assessment procedures for different needs All schools should regularly check if there are children with special needs. Monitoring and assessment of identified children should aim to make things better for the individual child. Make the way children are tested (the examinations) accessible to children with disabilities (e.g. by having sign language, extra time, scribes). 25
THE GHANA EDUCATION SERVICE The Ghana Education Service has the job of making sure that the policy is happening. How? Provide all schools with the teaching and learning materials they need. Make sure school authorities follow the Universal Design Principle and Child Friendly School Model. Work with Ghana Health service to train Health Staff in IE. Work with communities, parents and PTAs to check how IE is working. All school-age children should get 11 years quality basic education. 26
All basic schools should be inclusive. All schools should make sure their classrooms are friendly, safe and productive for all learners. All schools should make sure they are ready for IE (N) REGULAR SCHOOLS Regular schools shall provide education for all children. They shall work with other MDAs (Ministries, Departments and Agencies) to make sure schools are accessible and that teachers are trained to do IE. They shall work with special schools so children can move from regular to special school, or the other way, as necessary. 27
(O) SPECIAL SCHOOLS Special schools shall work with regular schools to have children with SEN in inclusive settings This may be a special unit within the regular school. Every Special school shall be connected to an assessment center. Staff from Special schools shall be part of the group (DIET) who check IE is working in schools Special schools should help train staff at assessment centers in assessment and counseling. (P) SECONDARY, VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION Secondary Education shall include Senior High Schools, Technical and Vocational Institutes and Apprenticeship Programs. 28
Everyone is allowed to attend even if they have special needs. This is in the Disability Law 2006. Second cycle schools shall overtime change to make them accessible to all. All second cycle schools shall make their curriculum inclusive and working for a wide range of needs. Designated second cycle schools for SEN shall have well equipped resource centers. Eventually all schools will have these. (Q) TERTIARY EDUCATION This includes public universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and private institutions. Admission should be possible if you meet the minimum admission requirements. The National Accreditation Board should check all tertiary institutions work to universal design for learning. 29
All tertiary institutions should have well equipped resource centers and people to help students with SEN. All tertiary institutions should check their premises and everyone is ready for Inclusive Education. (R) MINISTRY OF HEALTH/HEALTH SERVICE. Ministry of Education should work with Ministry of Health on Pupil/student early assessment processes. Providing facilities for early detection and work with 0-6 year olds Making sure there is the right health care for all children. The Ministry of Health shall also make sure money is allocated to help the early detection of disabilities. 30
(S) MINISTRY OF FINANCE Ministry of Finance shall work with Ministry of Education to: Make sure enough money is allocated to implement Inclusive Education. Make sure the money is paid out at the right time. (T) MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT Ministry of Education shall work with Ministry of Transport to set aside 5% of road sector fund each year to help implement the IE policy. The Ministry of transport shall work with Ghana Education Service to: Provide buses or bussing service to all pupils at basic school level Create speed ramps especially near schools Create access roads to and within communities. 31
Provide some disability friendly buses for the physically challenged Create zebra crossings and accessible pavements especially near schools Provide soundambers to guide blind people to cross roads Provide foot bridges over highways (U) MINISTRY FOR GENDER, CHILDREN AND SOCIAL PROTECTION Ministry of Education shall work with Ministry for Gender, Children and Social Protection to: Make sure there is equal educational opportunity for girls 32
Make sure plans are gender and child specific. Make sure all schools work under child protection policies. Make sure Social Protection programmes happen and include vulnerable children. (V) MINISTRY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT Ministry of Education shall work with Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to set aside money to: Promote access to and participation of learners to schools. Make sure all public schools are accessible and learner friendly 33
Make sure classrooms well organized and age appropriate furniture Make sure school infrastructure is OK for people with disabilities. NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITY The National Council for Persons with Disabilities shall: Play advocacy role to check IE is implemented Advocate for enough money for Special educational needs of all people. 34
(W) METROPOLITAN, MUNICIPAL AND DISTRICT ASSEMBLIES MMDAs play a really important role. They are responsible for: Making the IE policy part of their development plans. Inclusive Education The Ongoing Challenges Facing Educators in Accra Schools. Allocating resources from DACF and disability fund towards education of people with disability. Ensuring IE happens at local levels Monitoring Sharing experiences and identifying good practices. 35
(X) PTAS/SCHOOL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES PTAs/School Management Committees have role: To do advocacy for rights of all children with SEN Work with community groups to create awareness on disability issues. (Y) COMMUNITIES, FAMILIES AND PARENTS Parents shall be involved by: Giving information about child health Taking part in decisions made in schools. 36
Fulfilling home-school obligations Being advocates for the rights of all children. Forming associations. Parents Self Help Nyame Bekyere Group (Z) NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS/PHILANTHROPISTS The NGO sector shall: Support communities to help them support their children Supporting children with Intellectual Disabilities Create awareness to change negative attitudes. 37
Offer scholarships to keep children in education Help find money for Inclusive Education Provide equipment - assistive devices Provide adapted teaching/ learning materials Help tell people about Inclusive Education Help build accessible schools. 38
Help develop research, monitoring and evaluation. TRADITIONAL AUTHORITIES Traditional leadership shall be responsible for/ make sure: Promoting IE at local level Educating community members about IE Getting more money from district assemblies Taking part in planning and making sure IE happens well at local levels. 39
DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS Development Partners shall provide support to: Develop adapted teaching/ learning materials and resources Provide basic screening materials and equipment Make the human resource capacity stronger Help with monitoring and evaluation Find out about best practices in other countries and share information. 40
PRIVATE SECTOR Private sector will be asked to help implement IE policy by: Providing scholarships Providing basic screening materials and equipment Providing adapted teaching/ learning materials Helping to build capacity of teachers on IE. Construction of accessible schools 41
MONITORING AND EVALUATION Monitoring and Evaluation will help Ghana Education Services in its planning and support. Implementation plan of policy shall have an in-built results framework for easy monitoring Research will be carried out. Progress of IE policy will be monitored routinely Institutions should have their own plans for making Inclusive Education happen 42
The issues of persons with SEN will be included in current monitoring and evaluation. Checking needs to happen at different levels: Central Level Monitoring Regional And District Level Monitoring School Level Monitoring The tools used now (to check how good education is) will be made stronger and include IE District Inclusive Education Team shall include people from special schools. The DIET shall do monthly checking that schools are implementing the policy. The Inclusive Education Monitoring Tool will be changed to make sure it takes account of the diversity. It will be included in the School Performance Improvement Plans (SPIPs) and School Performance Appraisal Meetings (SPAM). District Inclusive Education Team Committed to the full inclusion of people with Special Needs 43
Community Level Monitoring Communities will be encouraged to form Inclusive Education Committees. These will be made up of members from different community groups. The issues of persons with SEN will be included in current monitoring and evaluation. Checking needs to happen at different levels: Data Collection and Research There needs to be ongoing data collection and research. This is to make sure all children have access to quality education. The standard Inclusive Education Monitoring Tool (IEMT) can be used to collect the information. Data will be collected using the 15 itemized data collection format. Baseline research will also be carried out. Teachers will keep records. These will help with planning and provision of services. 44
The issues of persons with SEN will be included in current monitoring and evaluation. Checking needs to happen at different levels: Financing Review of the Policy The Government will be the principal funder of programmes to implement IE policy. This policy document will be reviewed every 5 years Government of Ghana 45
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