Inclusive education project sponsorship renewed

HSBC Cares for Children Fund (HCCF) has donated Lm3,000 to Maria Assumpta Girls Secondary School in Hamrun for an inclusive education project that caters for the individual educational requirements of a number of students with disabilities at the school.

Besides catering for the disabled students' requirements, the project assistance sometimes extends to their families. The project fosters an inclusive ethos within the school through meetings with teachers and other students.

Training is also provided to facilitators to implement and evaluate inclusive education projects by carrying out self-assessments, developing research skills and techniques related to the inclusion of students with individual educational needs, and how to disseminate information on services and benefits available for persons with disabilities and their families.

The sponsorship will allow the project, which has now entered its third year, to be extended for a further three years.

This is the second time that HCCF is sponsoring this project, having already donated an initial Lm3,000 to the school three years ago.

The extension of the sponsorship will enable the school to continue the co-ordination of this project, to support all school staff, and to build on what has already been achieved.

Catherine Gonzi, the Fund's chairman, commented that "the HSBC Cares for Children Fund is always attentive to the needs of particular groups of students. This particular sponsorship will be supporting students with disabilities by providing them with important tools to facilitate their school life."