Education
Education is probably one of the most fraught and debated issues in the disability sector. From mainstreaming to special needs, inclusion to specialist services, there seems to be little agreement about the “right way” to ensure that, no matter their age, disabled learners get access to educational opportunities that suit their circumstances.
Perhaps the diverse nature of both learning and disability is what creates the complexity around resourcing teachers, schools and institutions to deliver education to meet a range of needs. If so, it could be that we need to keep the dialogue alive and dynamic in order to explore, make mistakes and learn what does and doesn’t work, rather than try and find the “right answers”.
Special Education in New Zealand is directed by policy set down by the Ministry of Education.
Support
No matter what stage of education you or your children are at, you have the right to access support to assist in the learning process. It may take a while to work out the best support for you and you should start the search for support early if you can. Support options range from “person based” support (teacher aides, note takers and learning support) to equipment and scholarships.
When you contact educational support providers (you can see a range of them here) let them know you are exploring possibilities and ask them for help in doing that.
There is more specific information about support in the sections below.
Rights
Two pieces of legislation govern rights to education in New Zealand – the Human Rights Act and the Education Act.
The Human Rights Act makes it “unlawful to refuse or fail to admit a person as a pupil or student; or to admit a person as a pupil or a student on less favourable terms and conditions than would otherwise be made available; or to deny or restrict access to any benefits or services provided by the establishment; or to exclude a person as a pupil or a student or subject him or her to any other detriment, by reason of disability”. However, there are exceptions relating to reasonableness, disruption and hardship.
The Education Act states that “people who have special educational needs (whether because of disability or otherwise) have the same rights to enrol and receive education at State schools as people who do not”.
Early Childhood
If your child is disabled you may be wondering which early childhood education option would best suit him or her. Here is a summary of the options – you may want to consider your child’s needs when making a decision.
Kindergarten is teacher-led with a one teacher to 15 children ratio. Children can attend from two and a half years old but expect waiting lists. Usually older children go in the morning and younger children in the afternoon. Kindergarten is funded by Government and donations. Parents and caregivers are often asked to volunteer.
Play Centre is parent-led but sessions are usually facilitated by a qualified pre-school teacher. Children can attend from birth until they of school age and they don’t need to have their own parents or caregivers present. To keep costs down parents are heavily involved in the running of play centres. It’s a great way to network with other families by meeting up outside of play centre time.
Day Care is available to pre-school children and whilst it follows the curriculum it can be more flexible e.g. longer opening hours. There is not as much parental or caregiver involvement required, but is funded by fees, which can make it quite costly. Subsidies are available for low income families.
Play Groups are a more flexible way of your children playing together and receiving less formal education. Playgroups are usually at someone’s home or at a park etc, so you could consider running one at your place if your child has particular access needs. Look on community notice boards at the library or supermarket for advertisements or contact your local city council for information about events for preschoolers run by libraries or sports centres. Your Plunket Nurse may also know about coffee mornings with other parents or caregivers.
Kohanga Reo provide sessions or all-day Mäori language immersion early childhood institutions. Their prime aim is the maintenance of New Zealand’s indigenous language. Centre’s are community based and are administered by local management groups affiliated to the Te Köhanga Reo National Trust.
More information specific to disability and early childhood education is available on the Kiwi Families website.
Find out more about subsidies for early childhood education and early childhood education support services.
School
First up, take some time to remember your days in the schoolyard!
Schooling in New Zealand is divided up into three sections – primary school, intermediate and secondary school. All children have the right to be enrolled at a state school between their fifth birthday and the first of January following their 19th birthday. Some students who are disabled are allowed (or have no choice but) to stay at school until they are 21.
You have the option to enroll your disabled child in either a local mainstream school, a mainstream school with a resource unit or a specialist school. Here is a list of specialist schools in New Zealand.
Specialist education services and funding are available through Group Special Education (GSE) district offices or schools approved as Accredited Special Education Service Providers (sometimes called “fundholders”). An example is the Ongoing and Reviewable Resourcing Schemes (ORRS), which provide resources for students with significant needs in the areas of learning, vision, hearing, mobility or language use and social communication. ORRS funding can be for extra teacher time, specialist programmes and therapies, and teacher aide support.
The Ministry of Education website lists the services and funding available for students with high special education needs in its extra support for children with special needs section.
All children have the right to attend school and if you discover that your child is not being supported well in their school the Carers Net website offers some good advice.
Tertiary
Usually students who wish to continue their formal education move on to University or Institutes of Technology etc at age 18. There exists an anomaly that students with certain levels of support needs cannot access funding for disability support at tertiary level until age 21. Thus many students sit at secondary school for three years, waiting to move on to tertiary studies.
“An ORRS funded student can stay at school and receive ORRS funding until 21 years of age, yet this fund is not transferable to any tertiary institution even if the candidate is under 21. It seems ludicrous to keep a person at school, when those funds could be well used by a tertiary institution in the education and support of that individual. It will be essential for tertiary institutions to work with government agencies to ensure that additional funding or resources can be accessed for students studying at the tertiary level.” (Coming Ready Or Not: Are New Zealand Tertiary Institutions Ready For Those With Significant Impairments?. Dr Stuart J. McLaren, Massey University, 2009)
Until things change, if you (or your son/daughter) are stuck at school beyond Year 13, how about talking to the school about studying at the Open Polytechnic, New Zealand’s specialist provider of open and distance learning at tertiary level. ‘Open’ means seeking to remove barriers to learning, such as restrictions on time or place of study. ‘Distance’ means the learner and tutor are physically separated from each other and teaching takes place via print, electronic and/or telecommunications media. If you are planning to enroll in tertiary education and require some extra support then contact the student services officer or Disability Resource Office – most tertiary providers have them to provide assistance for students with disabilities. This can include accessibility maps, note taking, sign language interpreters, audio aids, etc. For more information contact Achieve, the national network established to ensure equal opportunity and access to post-secondary education and training for people with impairments.
The Ministry of Education has a section on transition from school to tertiary education.
The government’s Tertiary Education Strategy assures equity of access and opportunity for all students. One of the Strategy’s objectives is that increasing numbers of people with impairments should be acquiring skills and qualifications.
Kia orite, Achieving equity, the New Zealand code of practice for an inclusive tertiary education environment for students with impairment, is designed to assist tertiary education providers to work towards equity of access and opportunity for their students with impairments.
The Tertiary Education Commission administers funding for students who go on to tertiary education. Their website includes information on Equity Funding.