| Description of good practice: |
Toyonaka City in Japan is located in Osaka Prefecture. It is one of the cabinet order designated core cities with a population close to 400,000 people and public health centers.
Toyonaka City has implemented innovative educational approaches toward “collaborative
learning and collaborative growth”, expanding the activities of the parents of children with disabilities, groups supporting such children, community residents, and teachers since 1978, when Toyonaka City’s Basic Policy on Education for Children with Disabilities was established. “Collaborative learning and collaborative growth” is also one of the principles of education adopted by Osaka Prefecture.
Toyonaka City’s Basic Policy on Education for Children with Disabilities was revised in 2016. Based on this revised version, the city is currently supporting the enrollment of children requiring medical care in general schools. It also established Toyonaka City’s Basic Policy on Early Childhood Education and Care for Children with Disabilities in the area of preschool education, which was revised in 2015. Integrated early childhood education and care is currently being provided based on the revised version in the city.
Adopting the “collaborative learning and collaborative growth” principle, Toyonaka City respects children’s and their parents’ desires as a prerequisite to decide schools. As of 1998, there were children requiring tube feeding who attended general elementary schools with support from their parents and supporters (rather than medical professionals, such as nurses, at that time). Around 2001, caregivers with a teaching license began to provide daily life support for children with emotional disorders and intellectual disabilities. Today, these children’s and their parents’ reasons for desiring general school enrollment are diversified from “to grow with healthy children at the same age” to “to learn at a general school close to home” and “to belong to the same school as their siblings”.
In Toyonaka City and all other areas in Osaka Prefecture, human rights education has been
a background factor of inclusive education and care for children requiring medical care. In these areas, human rights education has been provided to eliminate discrimination against children with disabilities at school, while addressing human rights issues due to social discrimination against specific communities (“Dowa” problem), people of other nationalities living in Japan, and newcomers. In such educational and social environments, with public opinions represented by the “equality is the major premise” policy, the city has examined practical measures to promote the enrollment of children requiring medical care in general schools.
Toyonaka City’s Basic Policy on Education for Children with Disabilities pursues inclusive
education, with the goals of “establishing a collaborative society” and “maximizing the capabilities of children with disabilities”. This policy expects that children growing up under the inclusive education will lead to a more collaborative society. To promote inclusive education, as specified in this policy, the city has adopted a number of basic measures listed below, in addition to numerous commitments to schools, communities, society, children with disabilities, and their parents. The details of these basic measures are as follows:
(1) Education/enrollment counseling:
Establishing systems to provide specialized education counseling and support for children with disabilities from infancy through liaison with related institutions. Providing information regarding pre-enrollment processes, systems to determine schools, and counseling after the determination in the early stages.
(2) Determination of schools:
Providing sufficient information regarding elementary/junior high schools and special support schools within the school district of the community, with attentive enrollment counseling. Enrolling children with disabilities in elementary/junior high schools within the school district of the community while respecting their and their parents’ desires as much as possible, selecting the optimal schools for them, adopting opinions from experts, and considering the situation of the school/community.
(3) Fundamental environmental arrangements/reasonable accommodation—making fundamental:
a. Environmental arrangements for school-age children/students with disabilities to receive
high-quality education.
b. Ensuring that reasonable accommodations for individual children are provided according to their conditions and educational needs, and based on equal opportunities for education.
(4) Personalized guidance to fulfill individual children’s needs:
Clarifying an individual child’s educational needs, and providing personalized guidance to fulfill such needs by utilizing individualized educational support and teaching plans.
Providing guidance that fulfills an individual child’s educational needs by flexibly providing
education, adopting varying teaching styles, and promoting appropriate support.
(5) School-wide expertise acquisition:
Enhancing teachers’ expertise in support and education through training programs.
Effectively using external human resources to accommodate the diverse educational needs
of school-age children/students with disabilities, and creating opportunities for school-wide
expertise acquisition.
(6) Liaison with related institutions and seamless support:
Promoting liaison between schools and external institutions providing medical/welfare services to support the community lives of school-age children/students with disabilities.
Sharing the details of support with children and their parents, and promoting liaison within related institutions from nursery schools, kindergartens, and certified preschools to
elementary/junior high schools, developmental support centers, and support schools for
school-age children to provide seamless, comprehensive support covering pre-enrollment
processes to the determination of a career path after the completion of compulsory education. |
