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THE light of hope flickered brighter for parents of special needs children on the island with the opening of The Children's Academy Bahrain.
The school, located in Hamala, is dedicated to the learning needs of children aged three to nine years with moderate learning difficulties. It will offer an academic programme based on the British National Curriculum to children who are struggling to achieve expected levels of attainment at school despite extra help.
The school is for pupils with specific learning needs associated with dyslexia, dyscalculia or dyspraxia and for children with speech and language delay or low levels of concentration and self-esteem.
The institution is affiliated to the reputed Alpha Plus Group of the UK and will be managed by Nicola Greer, who runs her own school, One World Montessori, a nursery and pre preparatory school in London.
Looking forward to her assignment as acting head Miss Greer, 28, said: "We are here to provide a nurturing and inclusive family environment that will help integrate special needs children with the regular conventional environments by offering academic and therapeutic support. We are here to create a positive environment and celebrate every positive experience.
"The Children's Academy will provide a specialised environment with a modified class tailored to meet the needs of an individual child enabling them to feel successful. There will be only nine children in one class. All our teachers are qualified special education needs teachers supported by a teaching assistant to facilitate one to one tuition.
"Our students will be taught in a visual manner. Learning is through various techniques such as play using classroom toys and Jolly phonics letter sounds. Every activity has a learning intention and children will be coached in personal, social, emotional and mathematical skills. Communication, language and literacy, knowledge and understanding of the world, creative and physical development are also part of the curriculum.
"All children according to need will have access to a full range of specialist therapy and physiotherapist support located on the Academy site. Every pupil will have an individual education plan with targets reviewed on a regular basis and progress reported to parents."
Annual fees for the full time students of the school is BD7,000 that covers tuition fees, individual and group therapy, books and other learning resources, access to specialised educational support equipment and extra individual therapy at discounted rates.
The academy was welcomed by most parents on the island and from Saudi Arabia. However, some expressed concern over the school fees. Osama Al Kobaisi, a visiting Saudi businessman said: "My son Saeed has Asberger syndrome. We have a major shortage of qualified staff in Saudi and in Bahrain. He is a student of Grade Five in an American School that offers special classes for such children. This new school, however, seems to be more specialised. We badly need such schools in this region ... even if we open 10 such schools we would still need many more."
Briton John O'Flaherty has been a resident of Bahrain for the last eight years. Father of three children, his six-year old son suffers from Autistic Spectrum Disorder. He said: "Currently my son attends Alia School for Early Intervention, which has done a lot for my son. However, it's good to look for alternatives especially as you never know what is best for your child.
"In my opinion Bahrain has a lack of policy on inclusion and some schools do not want to inconvenience themselves with children with difficulties and want to simply make a profit. While specialist teachers at The Children's Academy are definitely welcome it is unfortunate that the institution is so expensive."
Miss Greer explained the reason for the level of fees, saying: "We are offering the best facilities and employing experts. It's expensive to run a specialised school and what parents will be paying for is the services, advantages of a small school environment and the three-to-one student teacher ratio."
The Children's Academy will follow the National Curriculum for the Foundation Stage. This is planned under six areas of learning, with prescribed 'Early Learning Goals' for each area. Other facilities at the school, converted out of two villas in Hamala, will include a physiotherapy room, swimming pool, outside play area and library.
The school is also offering an afternoon therapy programme on social skills for children aged nine to 16 years who are dealing with various problems including anxiety, low self esteem and impulsivity.
