The Special Educational Needs (SEN) Unit based at Aukland House in The Quarter, held its first exhibition on Friday 28th April, 2023.
Launched in 2019 with a group of three students, the SEN Unit was meant to accommodate students who might otherwise get lost in a larger group with the traditional programming offered at Campus A of the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School (ALHCS).
The SEN Unit offers a smaller cohort of students the opportunity to have more individualised attention from their teachers, targeting opportunities for paced academic and social skills development for the Third to Fifth Form age group. Currently, there are ten students registered at the SEN Unit and going forward, an additional two years will be offered post 5th Form, in line with the duration offered for students at Campus A.
The exhibition put students work on show, including special projects in areas ranging from current events to history and language. Each student chose to represent a different Caribbean island and prepared a dish representing that island. Also, on display and for sale were various craft items created by the students.
The day to day operation of the SEN Unit is managed by a team of three persons; Lead Teacher, Mrs. Susan Gumbs, Teacher Karisa Lake and Teaching Assistant Ms. Griffin.
Mrs. Gumbs was very excited about the exhibition. “The exhibition gives parents an opportunity to see their children’s work. It is an opportunity for the children to show off their skills and interests and it is an opportunity to learn,” she said. “They are making sales, have to account for money, are answering questions and interacting with people they do not know. These are all important skills that we may take for granted but are learnt.”
She also noted that the SEN Unit was impactful for academic development as well. She gave an example of the progress made by a student who would have entered the SEN Unit barely speaking, but in 2022 achieved a pass grade of ‘Master’ at CCSLC English which is the highest pass grade possible for that examination. This year, the student is tackling another subject while two other students are also registered for CCSLC this year.
Children at the SEN Unit also take cooking and art. They participate in and learn from issues arising in real life, for example, learning to manage conflict over the phone as well as face-to-face without resorting to inapposite language or behavior, something that many adults still struggle with!
The School to Employment pathway which seeks to expose students to volunteer positions in various organisations and businesses was put on hold due to COVID, but the SEN Unit hopes to revive this with the new school year.
Mrs. Gumbs also thanked her team for their dedicated work. She thanked the public for attending the exhibition, encouraged others to support the SEN Unit and hoped that the exhibition would serve to raise awareness and encourage the community to be open to the integration of differently abled youth.
The Department of Education has congratulated the Special Educational Needs Unit, the students, parents and teachers for staging their first exhibition.
The Department of Education’s Mission is “Raising Standards for Sustainable Development”. The contact details are (264) 497-2874 or education.mailbox@gov.ai.
