Ensuring the inclusive education of children with disabilities in Guyana and Jamaica

About the project

In Guyana, the lack of a special education needs (SEN) policy, which is pending approval, has a particular impact on children who have a disability and are not able to attend mainstream schools, such as those with mild autism. Drawing on the experiences of the development and enactment of a successful SEN policy in Jamaica, this project will work with child focussed civil society organisations (CSOs), parents, teachers and children with autism to contribute to adoption of the SEN policy in Guyana.

Despite Jamaica’s well-established SEN policy, and plans to develop a framework to track the development of children with special needs from birth, challenges still remain, including in the areas of assessments, referrals, and support for parents. The project will thus also focus on developing the skills of parents, teachers and civil society organisations in Jamaica to engage the education system and continue to hold it accountable to the act’s provisions.

It is expected that by the end of the project SEN will be mainstreamed into Guyanese government schools. The project also has a strong potential for replication and region wide engagement. In addition to the above activities, ChildLink and its partners will seek out CSOs addressing SEN in the Caribbean with a view to developing a regional network for shared learning on SEN models and approaches. Barbados and Trinidad have been identified as the first two countries for potential replication.