Region One’s first Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) school has opened in Mabaruma, with an initial enrolment of two learners and capacity for up to 30, the Ministry of Education has announced.

The ministry said the school has four staff members trained in SEND and will provide specialised support closer to home for children who would otherwise have to travel outside their communities to access services.

It described the facility as the 57th of its kind nationally and said similar initiatives are planned for Region One’s other two sub-districts, Moruca and Matarkai.

According to the ministry, the Mabaruma school will provide personalised support, resources and learning opportunities for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

The announcement did not specify the age range catered for, admission procedures, the cost of establishing the school or when the proposed facilities in Moruca and Matarkai would open.

The opening forms part of a wider expansion of special education services.

Stabroek News reported on March 4 this year that the ministry had opened the YAS School of Inspiration, describing it as the country’s 49th SEND space, with capacity for approximately 50 children. 

Although the ministry identifies the new Mabaruma facility as Region One’s first SEND school, efforts to provide special education in the area predate its establishment.

In June 2011, Stabroek News reported that ten children with disabilities had been enrolled in the Mabaruma sub-region and that a small number of teachers had been trained to teach them. That initiative formed part of ministry efforts to enroll children with disabilities who had previously been outside the school system.