Special education department opens advice line for daycare staff

The Special Education Department within the Education Directorate is offering daycare centres an open telephone advice service on Fridays from 10am to noon, KVF reports.

The service follows a project involving schools, daycare centres and government authorities. The project, which included a child-focused initiative, found a strong need for easier access to professional advice and guidance in day-to-day work.

The service is intended as a preventive measure. Daycare staff can contact special education professionals with questions or concerns arising in their work with children and young people. Weekly advice will cover speech and communication, psychology and special education. Guidance on sign-supported speech and occupational therapy will be available once a month.

The department says the service is intended to strengthen cooperation with daycare centres and provide staff with timely, relevant professional support. It is anonymous and does not include case processing or formal assessment.