ESF Jockey Club Sarah Roe School opens new library for special needs children

 

The English Schools Foundation (ESF) is delighted to announce the official opening of a new resource library at Jockey Club Sarah Roe School (JCSRS). This will offer the pupils at the school the opportunity to access an excellent reading and resource facility to support their learning.

 

ESF Centre and the school community has worked extremely hard through the “Adopt-A-Book” Campaign to raise funds to provide many new reading books and sensory resources to compliment the total refurbishment of the existing library which was funded by ESF Centre last summer. To date over HK$240,000 has been raised through the “Adopt-A-Book” Campaign which was an initiative started in December 2010.  The funds have been donated by over 130 donors which has enabled the school to purchase a wide range of sensory books and early years reading books suitable for pupils with special needs.

 

There has been a great need for this new facility to be developed to enable our students to access state of the art provision to support their learning which they would quite likely not be able to access in the local community due to their special needs.

 

“I am thrilled with the success of the “Adopt-A-Book” Campaign and have total admiration for those who have worked so hard and committed so much to enable us to resource our new library,” said Alan Howells, Principal of JCSRS.  “Through the campaign, we have developed great links and friendships with other schools and partners. This has enabled us to raise the profile and community awareness of children with special needs but also increased the integration opportunities of our pupils. Our next step is to set up a story listening centre in the library for students to use computers and headphones to listen to stories.”

 

Major donors of the “Adopt-A-Book” Campaign include the Society for the Relief of Disabled Children, Rotary Club of Hong Kong City North, Clearwater Bay School PTA, Clearwater Bay School Student Council 2010-11, Shun Hing Education and Charity Fund and JCSRS parents.

 

The campaign is still calling for donations. From now until end of June 2011, for every donation of $600 or more, donors will receive four discount coupons worth $10 each sponsored by the Commercial Press (H.K.) Ltd.

 

The Jockey Club Sarah Roe School (JCSRS) is an all through (age 5-19) school for students with severe and multiple learning disabilities in Hong Kong.

 

JCSRS was founded by an Occupational Therapist called Sarah Roe who was working in Hong Kong 24 years ago and, realising the demands of special needs children in Hong Kong, began running sessions for groups of students initially from her home and eventually from a small building which still remains on the current campus today.  At that time the school was operating on a much smaller scale (only six students), and as demand increased for such a provision, Hong Kong Jockey Club joined together with the English Schools Foundation in 1996 to build the current premises through a one-off charity donation. The school is now serving a community of 62 students.

 

The multi-disciplinary staff consists of highly qualified and experienced teachers, speech therapists, occupational therapists, a physiotherapist, school nurse and a team of educational assistants. The school has a range of facilities which are unique to Hong Kong. These include a hydrotherapy pool, specially designed changing and toileting areas, a light and sound room, a medical room, sensory motor and therapy rooms.

 

The school is situated in a very pleasant area of Kowloon and shares the facilities with King George V School and is close to Kowloon Junior School (under construction now) enabling a wide range of opportunities for integration.

 

The catchment area for the school is the whole of Hong Kong and special attention is made to providing a reliable and efficient bus service for students. The school has three buses, each equipped with a hydraulic lift and telephone.