Education – Disability Connect

Ministry of Education is the government department for Education in New Zealand.

All New Zealand children have the right to attend and participate in schooling.

https://tikatangata.org.nz/human-rights-in-aotearoa/right-to-education

To find out about New Zealand’s education system click here

Children and adolescents with disabilities have a variety of options for early learning and intervention, the school years and post-secondary education.

Early Learning support

Supporting the learning needs of all children is part of Te Whāriki, the early learning curriculum. Te Whāriki sets the foundation for all children, including those with diverse needs. Early learning support may be given in the home, at kindergarten, early childhood education centres, through child development teams or in other early learning settings.

Prioritising inclusion – with a focus on education for all – Tāhūrangi

Sometimes children need additional support with:

learning
communication
social-emotional development
sensory needs.

They may need help with some or all of these.

You can access specialist support services for children in an early learning setting. Learning support in the early years can be for an individual or for a group of children.

Support is provided by the school or by contracted providers and can include:

early intervention teachers
speech-language therapists
kaitakawaenga (Māori cultural advisors)
advisers on Deaf children
psychologists
education support workers (ESW).
Who this will involve will depend on the identified needs of the children and kaiako | teacher.

Guide to Early Intervention Service for families and whānau

Early Intervention Service Journey – An infographic guide 20206

https://www.education.govt.nz/education-professionals/early-learning/learning-support/learning-support-early-years#about-learning-support-in-the-early-years-1

Find an early childhood learning centre here https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/directories/early-childhood-services

Find out about types of schools here

Schools – Year 0-13

Your child can begin school at 5 years old, but no later than 6 years old.

Your child will transition from early learning services and/or child development and/or existing therapy providers when they start school.

All children with all disabilities are eligible to attend mainstream schools. Mainstream schools offer an inclusive environment and if your child is eligible, they may be able to receive additional support. Types of mainstream school are listed here

You may also choose a Specialist School to meet your child’s needs. Specialist schools offer learning against an adapted national curriculum. They offer a variety of teaching and learning methods, which should assist your child’s progress. Special schools are bulk funded, including your child’s ORS allocation. From time to time, high health needs funding is used in place of ORS funding if the need for a specialist school is primarily health related.

Please note that when high health needs funding is utilised this will affect the long-term funding post school as Very High Needs funding is determined during the school years. Your specialist school should be able to provide you with the information regarding these types of funding.

Special schools usually have a dedicated team of therapists on site – including Speech Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists. Some special schools also have either Psychologists and/or social workers who work closely with the school. Other specialist programmes may be available at the schools such as drama, music or art therapy.

Within Auckland there are several Specialist Schools (known as Base schools). Each base school has Satellite Classes in mainstream schools. These classes are run by the base school and give your child specialist classroom learning opportunities in a mainstream school. Many mainstream schools give opportunity for inclusion in sport, assemblies, special events or mainstream class activities.

Funding for Schooling

For children needing additional learning support you will need to make an application via the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) Ongoing Resource Scheme – known as ORS. Your early intervention team can support you to do this along with the school your child will be attending.

The MOE will assess and determine whether your child receives:

Very High Needs funding (VHN)

High Needs funding (HN)

No ORS funding

If your child is not eligible for ORS funding they may be eligible for other services such as those provided by the Resource Teacher Learning Behaviour (RTLB), Resource Teachers of Vision (RTVs) or Resource Teachers of the Deaf (RTD).