LCQ15: Special education
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Question:
Although the Government has substantially increased its expenditure on special education in recent years, there are views that when special school students leave the school upon graduation, the support provided for them and their carers is significantly reduced immediately, which is not conducive to school leavers adapting to social life. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has conducted surveys on the post-graduation status of special school students in each of the past five years, including whether they are currently in employment, pursuing further studies, or receiving vocational rehabilitation services or day training, together with a breakdown of the number of students by status; if not, how the Government obtains information on these special school graduates so as to render appropriate support;
(2) how it strengthens support for special school graduates in transitioning to post-school social life, for example, whether arrangements will be made for students to experience and adapt to social life at an earlier stage of their education, or whether the collaboration between the Education Bureau, the Labour and Welfare Bureau, and the Social Welfare Department will be enhanced, so as to ensure that these graduates and their carers can access adequate support; and
(3) whether it has plans to combine Hong Kong's software such as talents and experience in special education, etc, with the hardware of other Mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area such as land and facilities, etc, and collaborate with the Mainland authorities in establishing pilot special education schools in the Mainland, with a view to concurrently admit students in need from Hong Kong and the Mainland?
Reply:
President,
The Government has all along been providing resources and support for special schools, among others, through the multi-disciplinary teams to formulate learning and support plans (including life planning education) for students, to help them unleash their potential during the developmental stages so that they can gradually become independent persons with adaptability and self-learning abilities to embrace the challenges of life. Through cross-departmental collaboration, the Government also co-ordinates relevant organisations to assist special schools in providing more appropriate post-school arrangements for students. In recent years, the Government has introduced new measures to enhance the support for special school leavers and their carers by providing post-school support services.
In response to the Hon Lai Tung-kwok's questions, having consulted the Social Welfare Department (SWD), our reply is as follows:
(1) and (2) Students in special schools generally graduate and leave school after completing Secondary Six. Based on annual data collected by the Education Bureau (EDB) from various types of special schools, information on the exit-pathways of Secondary Six students in the year of graduation from the 2019/20 to 2023/24 school years are set out in Annex.
Special schools established multi-disciplinary teams comprising teachers, nurses, speech therapists, educational psychologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, social workers, etc, who work collaboratively to support students' physical and psychological development. To ensure that students can transit to adult life smoothly after leaving school, the multi-disciplinary teams in special schools systematically formulate and implement individualised education programmes for students in different domains (such as learning, emotional, social, etc) according to their special educational needs, and timely review students' progress in each domain to help them achieve the goals step by step. Additionally, schools assist students in early life planning from the perspective of whole-person development, and develop distinctive school-based curriculum such as community training, workplace practice, pre-vocational training, etc, to cultivate students' independent living skills, develop their potential and foster their contribution to the society. Schools will provide extra training, such as interview skills, assessment on vocational skills, social etiquette, work attitude, etc, according to the abilities and aptitudes of individual students. Schools will also arrange practicum and visits to adult service centres to help students adapt to work environments and social life, and prepare for future pathways.
On the other hand, in order to strengthen the support to special schools in applying for services appropriate for their school leavers, the Government holds cross-departmental meeting every year among the EDB, the SWD and the Vocational Training Council (VTC) and discuss with the Hong Kong Special Schools Council matters relating to post-school placement and share with them the development of various related services. When students approach senior secondary levels, schools will discuss with parents their children's exit-pathways and assist them to apply for appropriate post-school services. Each year, the EDB collaborates with the Labour Department, the VTC, and the SWD to organise a briefing session for special school teachers and staff, which enable them to have a deeper understanding on the exit-pathways of special school leavers, and facilitate them to further assist parents in applying for appropriate services for their children.
Special schools generally arrange for school social workers to follow up with the school leavers for two years through various means. To enhance the support for special school leavers and their carers, the SWD set up a designated team in each of the 21 District Support Centres for Persons with Disabilities across the territory in April 2024. The designated teams proactively contact the carers of day students six months before graduation or boarders 12 months before graduation to provide them with case counselling, care and interaction skills training, etc. They also formulate care plans and refer appropriate community support services for graduates who have left school for no more than 18 months and are in need. Through regular meetings, seminars, exhibitions, sharing sessions, visits, etc, the designated teams introduce their work, exchange service information, and share progress to enhance collaboration with the EDB, special schools, and stakeholders, facilitate early identification of high-risk cases and deliver appropriate support to the graduates and carers in need. As of the end of March 2025, the designated teams have handled a total of 782 cases of special school leavers.
(3) All along, the EDB provides full subvention to public sector schools in Hong Kong so as to offer 12-year free primary and secondary education to all eligible children (including those with special educational needs), with a view to meeting the educational needs of local children. Students in special schools have different complex conditions and support needs. In addition to basic education, they require multi-faceted support services and measures, including boarding services, medical services, social welfare services, carer and family support, etc. Considering the principle of prudent use of public resources, the interests of students, and the overall needs of their families, the Government currently has no plan to establish a pilot special school outside Hong Kong that would admit both Hong Kong and Mainland students.
Ends/Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Issued at HKT 16:10
Issued at HKT 16:10
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