EDEN SCHOOL

Eden School (formerly named Singapore Autism School) was initially formed under Autism Association (Singapore) to provide students with moderate to severe autism with an education that focused primarily on life skills, functional literacy and numeracy.
The school commenced operations in September 2005 in a refurbished primary school building along Yuan Ching Road with an initial enrolment of 10 students. This grew to 60 students by the end of December 2007, supported by a staff strength of 20 teaching and 5 support staff.

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Changes since 2008

In February 2008, Mrs Jenny Lai, a mainstream primary school vice principal, was seconded by the Ministry of Education to helm the school. She was joined by Ms Denise Phua who accepted the invitation by AAS President, Mr Ho Swee Huat, to take on the role of School Supervisor in the School Board. Ms Denise Phua, a Member of Parliament and a passionate advocate for special education, is also the President of the Autism Resource Centre (Singapore) and co-founder of Pathlight School; the first autism-focused school in Singapore that offers a unique blend of mainstream academics and life readiness skills.

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This unique symbiotic relationship soon brought about a transformation to Eden School, as like-minded professionals with a common passion and vision, worked together tirelessly to provide a high quality education for all students; regardless of intellectual capability and severity of autism. The united team believed in delivering a dignified and quality education for all its students to maximize their given potential.

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From May to November 2008, an internal systemic review was carried out. Supported by Pathlight’s autism consultants, major changes with regards to class placement criteria, intake assessment processes, and change of school name, vision and mission were made. A new school website was launched in October 2008 to inform the public of the school’s new directions and programmes. A new uniform was introduced in January 2009. Expectations were raised of both students and professionals and key performance standards developed.

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The name ’Eden School’ was aptly chosen to replace ’Singapore Autism School’. It embodies the aspiration of the school; to provide a quality education in a nurturing environment so as to bring out the best in every student who walks through its grounds.
A comprehensive and stringent selection and recruitment process to ensure as many quality staff with the right attitude and aptitude join the team. New staff undergo an intensive induction programme and are mentored by senior staff in the school. Both new and experienced staff receive regular coaching to hone their skills to deliver effective autism-friendly lessons. 		  Artist Impression

Re-launching and Re-Positioning

On 3 April 2009, the school was officially re-launched by Ms Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State (Education and National Development) with 2 important key messages:

1. Eden School, together with its sister school, Pathlight School, now deliver a full spectrum of education offerings from mainstream education to vocational training. 2. Their parent charities, Autism Association (Singapore) and Autism Resource Centre (Singapore) have successfully joined forces to serve the autism community.

Eden School is now re-positioned to offer a quality education for students with autism who require more time in building foundational skills and/or are assessed to be more suitable for a vocational route. It now offers a unique blend of Functional Academics, Pre-Vocational and other important Life Skills.
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Besides its key focus on the 6 key domains, the school also engages professional expertise to teach Art, Music, IT and PE lessons, and to run its CCA programme comprising sports (inline skating, athletics, swimming) and arts (drumming, art & crafts) activities. The school has since increased its student enrolment to almost 100 students and a teaching staff strength of 45 teachers as at November 2009. With a waitlist building up, this will increase significantly in the coming years.

For more information on Eden School and its programmes, visit www.edenschool.edu.sg