Inclusive Education must be shared responsibility – Headmistress

 Mrs. Selina Twum-Ampofo, Headmistress of the Madina Demonstration Basic and Special School says Inclusive Education must be shared responsibility and all stakeholders must be on board.

She thus called on the La-Nkwantanang Municipal Assembly to pay their part and ensure the smooth implementation of the Inclusive Education policy within the school.

 

“As a school, we lack some basic things like tables, chairs among others and I believe the municipal assembly can support us in that direction,” she added.

Mrs. Twum-Ampofo made the remarks when the Special Mothers Project, a non-governmental organization, handed over a two seater toilet facility with a bio digester to the Special Unit of the Madina Demonstration School.

The Headmistress said the provision of the toilet facility for the Special Unit was timely, it will be easier to toilet train the children and the children with special needs do not have to walk across the school compound to access the toilet.

Mrs. Twum-Ampofo expressed her gratitude to the Special Mothers Project for their continuous support to the Special unit of the school

Mr. Eric Brown Mingle, Organizing Secretary of the School Management Committee, added his voice to the call for the Municipal Assembly to provide basic things like tables, chairs and other learning and teaching equipment to the school

Ms. Sylvia Kuagbenu, the Municipal Special Needs and Inclusive Education Coordinator, expressing her gratitude said it was important that as a country we pay more attention to children with special educational needs.

She said giving more attention to special education automatically enhanced Inclusive education.

Mr. Joseph Baidoo, the School Improvement and Support Officer (SISO) expressed the wish that the Special Mothers project could replicate the support to other schools across the municipal and even across Ghana.

Mr Nicholas Owusu, in charge of Finance and Administration at the La-Nkwantanang Municipal Education who represented the Municipal Director, lauded the Special Mothers Project for the support.

He called on philanthropists to consider adding a bathroom to the toilet facilities, saying "we know that children with special educational needs might also need a bathroom attached to their unit. 

Mr. Anthony Obour Ofori, Assistant Planning Officer at the Municipal Assembly said he will relay their schools request to the Assembly and promised to follow up for the school

Ms. Patience Puplampu, Project Officer at the Special Mothers Project, said the project hopes that Government will dedicate one classroom in every cluster of school for children with special educational needs.

She said putting in place and implementing such a policy will enhance the lives of families nurturing children with special needs.

Ms. Puplampu expressed gratitude to Mrs. Eugenia Enam Aku Gakogo and Mr. Kwadwo Boateng Ntim for their support during the fundraising for the project.

 

Department of Social Welfare encourages foster care system, trains 514 foster parents

The Department of Social Welfare is encouraging the use of foster parents to care for children who or abandoned due to disability and other factors.

Mr Fred Sakyi Boafo, Deputy Director, Child and Family Welfare Division, said the Department has so far trained 514 foster parents in various communities and have 171 children in foster care.

Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into the private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family member approved by the state.

Mr Sakyi Boafo said evidence shows that nurturing family environments are associated with positive outcomes for children’s development.

He said this at a Training of Trainers workshop on a Manual for Caregivers of Children with Disabilities for Residential Homes for Children.

He said formal foster care is typically authorized and arranged by an administrative or judicial authority which also provides oversight to ensure the best interest of the child is being met.

Mr Sakyi Boafo said the foster care system in Ghana is backed by the Foster Care Regulations, 2018 (Li 2361)

He said the Department of Social Welfare has developed the foster care operational manual (2018), a foster parent training manual (2018) to help strengthen formal foster care in Ghana.

The Department is also carrying our recruitment drives to train and retain a pool of foster parents, he added.

Mr Sakyi Boafo said the foster parent training programmes will also include how to manage children with disabilities and called for intensified social educational.

Beating a child does not correct behavior – Psychiatrist

 Dr. Selassie Adom, a Psychiatrist at the Pantang Hospital on Tuesday said beating a child as punishment for wrong doing does not correct the behavior.

She said beating a child rather teaches the child to be violent, cautioning caregivers to find alternative ways of correcting unwanted behavior other than beating.

Dr Adom was responding to a question by a participant at Training programme for caregivers of children with disabilities.

 

The training of trainers on a training manual for caregivers of children with disability workshop was organized by the Care Reform Initiative/ Residential Homes Management Unit of the Department of Social Welfare.

The Department of Social Welfare with the support of UNICEF has developed a training manual for caregivers of children with disability especially those working in residential facilities.

Dr Adom took participants through the various stages of children’s growth and development, pointing out that children at their various stages of development need opportunities to interact with the world around them as well as learning the rules and boundaries.

Dr Amma Ampomaa Boadu, a Mental Health Advocate, taking participants through the different forms of disabilities in children, said “I don’t believe there is any child that cannot be taught…if you do not have the skills to handle children with disabilities, training them becomes very stressful.”

She said about 15 per cent of the world population lives with a form of disability and said with the right information, children with disability can be able to help themselves and even help society.

Mrs Hannah Awadzi, Executive Director of the Special Mothers Project, an advocacy and awareness creation programme on cerebral palsy issues and issues affecting families raising children with disability, said care-giving was a noble profession and called on the Department of Social Welfare to have a pool of trained caregivers, fit for purpose, where parents can go to for help.

Mr Fred Sakyi Boafo, Deputy Director, Child and Family Welfare Division at the Department of Social Welfare, said the burden of taking care of children with disability has been on government.

“Most private care providers or homes do not accept children with disability in their facilities, we want to close the gap so that a time will come where every care home or residential facility will say I am ready to accept a child with disability.”

Mr Boafo said as it is now, most children with disability deserving residential care are either placed at the Osu children’s home or the Kumasi children’s home. We want private facilities to join in caring for children with disabilities.

Mrs Florence Ayisi Quartey, Director at the Department of Children who represented the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, urged participants to use the knowledge they gained from the training to support parents and children in their care.

 Mrs Abena Dufie Akonu Atta, Head, Care Reform Initiative/Residential Homes Management Unit of the Department of Social Welfare, took participants through the training manual.