New permanent campus for Pathlight school to support students with Special Educational Needs

Pathlight School will operate a second permanent campus in Tampines from January 2023 as part of the Ministry of Education’s continuing efforts to support students with Special Educational Needs (SEN).

Established by the Autism Resource Centre (Singapore), Pathlight is a government-funded Special Education (SPED) school, which offers the national curriculum to students with moderate-to-severe SEN, and students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

As announced by Second Minister for Education, Ms Indranee Rajah, during her visit to Pathlight Campus 1 today, where she also officiated the opening of its inclusive worksite, the new Campus 2 will provide about 500 additional primary level school places to address the growing demand from students with ASD who are able to access the national curriculum.

The new purpose-built campus will be located at the site of the former East View Primary School at Tampines Street 91, which was selected based on the geographical distribution of Pathlight’s current demand and the site’s close proximity to mainstream schools such as Junyuan Primary School and St Hilda’s Primary School.

Such physical proximity will enhance opportunities for interaction through joint activities, between Pathlight students and their peers in mainstream schools, the ministry noted.

To support learning for Pathlight students, the new Campus 2 will have infrastructure provisions similar to mainstream primary schools, plus specialised facilities to cater to the needs of students with ASD. These include an Indoor Sports Hall, a daily living skills room, and therapy rooms.

Currently, Pathlight has two campuses, with about 1,400 primary, secondary and vocational track students. The interim Campus 2 will continue to serve its students when the new Campus 2 starts operation in January 2023.

MOE stated that it will continue to monitor and review the demand for SPED school places, and will work with Social Service Agencies to provide sufficient capacity to cater to the needs of specific student profiles.