Schools say Govt needs to address learning support gap amid changes

Primary principals say an increase in learning support is required to meet the growing number of students with higher learning needs.

Ebbett Park School principal Kate Medlicott called for the Government to review the funding formula so each school's learning support needs could be assessed.

"Please, I implore the Government to come in and see what we work with every day," she said.

"I know that we're not the only school.

"There are schools out there that are exactly the same, but you can't fund me on bums on seats when I've got a huge need... 50% of our kids have a need of some sort."

A school’s operation grant varies based on a range of factors.

Funding for students is based on the roll number, and the learning support component differs based on where the school sits on the equity index.

Equity funding is provided so schools can work to "reduce the impact socio-economic factors have on student achievement," the Ministry of Education's website states.

The Ministry of Education offers a range of learning supports, including a contribution to the hourly rate for a teacher aide for a set number of hours for students whose needs make them eligible.

Schools top-up funding for teacher aides from their operations grant, but this means less money for other costs, like property maintenance.

Ebbett Park School teacher Kana Tere-Taylor said she had students with a range of conditions requiring additional support in her classroom, including autism, global development delay, deafness and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

"That excludes all the different vast learning needs that I have," she said.

Tere-Taylor is supported by a teacher aide two days a week and a sign language communicator when possible. Four sign language communicators work with six children at the school.

Tere-Taylor said she's "super busy" throughout the day trying to meet the needs of her tamariki "as much as I can".

She said a full-time teacher aide is needed, and fewer children per classroom.

"So we can actually cater fully to all their needs regardless of what it is.

"I think if we have that and more support and funding and resourcing going into that, it would definitely make a huge difference," Tere-Taylor said.

She said teachers were leaving the sector.

"Kaiako (teacher) here in New Zealand, we work so hard, and we go the extra mile always, and I just really believe that we need to be uplifted and we need to be taken care of."

"The funding that's come through isn't coming to the classroom if that makes sense."

In a statement, Education Minister Erica Stanford told 1News she'd heard from the sector that the model was not "delivering the right service, to the right child, at the right time".

Stanford stated a work programme was being developed to improve learning support "so the education system could meet the needs of learners and their families".

"This will be going to Cabinet shortly."

Stanford said she was setting up a reference group to support the development of this work, as well as talking to groups from the education sector.

"I’m committed to continuing to work hand in hand with the sector so together we can lift student achievement and close the equity gap in our education system," she said.

Ebbett Park School Principal Kate Medlicott said that in Term One and Term Two of this year, ten neurodiverse students were taught in a class, with positive outcomes before the teacher left the school.

Medlicott said she had not been able to find a suitable teacher to replace her, so the children were moved into other classes with a "noticeable" impact.

"When you've got lots of noise and lots of activity and lots going on, that overstimulation can diversity affect our tamariki in terms of what they need and their behaviour."

"Quiet spaces, few and far between in a big classroom with lots of children, and that means that there's more behaviour management."

Tawa School Principal Barri Dullabh supported the Government's plans to introduce a structured approach to literacy and maths, having found success with the approach as a school.

But Dullabh said support needed to be addressed alongside the curriculum changes.

"We have a number of students arriving at school with significant needs whether they are neurodiversities, diagnosed or undiagnosed with high health needs and things like that which actually stop classes from being able to function to the best that they can because teachers are having to deal with high behaviours or children who are dysregulating and we want to be able to provide an environment where all kids can learn," he said.

Dullabh said ideally Government funding would provide one teacher aide per class for his school.

The Government's maths plan includes "small group interventions to support students who have fallen significantly behind", and the literacy overhaul includes "additional support for students that need it," according to press releases from the Education Minister.

Dullabh said schools were still awaiting the details of this, but the learning support needed in the classroom was separate.

"The funding that we may receive, that could support that, but sometimes it goes beyond the learning aspect and into just supporting students to have emotional regulation, to just be safe within the classroom."

The school provided as much learning support as possible to run targeted learning programmes for some students through funding from the Ministry of Education for support and $60,000 in funding from the school's operation grant each year.

This looked like a teacher aide in a class for at least one block of time per day.

"It's not enough to actually meet, fully meet all the needs," he said.

Tawa School Deputy Principal and learning support coordinator Olwyn Johnston told 1News that the number of students with additional learning needs had been increasing slowly but steadily.

Johnston said she'd noticed there had been fewer neurotypical students in the past five years, with more trauma, ADHD and autism diagnoses.

"We're (schools) a reflection of wider society, and society has all these issues."

The number of students requiring the greatest level of support through the Ministry of Education's Ongoing Resource Scheme had steadily increased overall, from 6664 students in 2005 to 11,849 students in 2024. That's approximately 1.4% of the total student population.

Johnston said schools are at capacity and need "on the ground help."

"The system is completely broken.

"You need a secure, safe environment to create a learning environment."

Johnston said Ministry of Education specialists often give staff suggestions for how to support a student, but this required stretched teachers to find time to learn and employ a strategy or train a teacher aide in an approach.

Principal Barri Dullabh said there were "amazing" educational psychologists and speech-language therapists, but the number of students they work with is so high they couldn't meet the additional demand.

"Our teachers are not trauma specialists or child psychologists or speech-language therapists.

"So increasing the ammount of people involved in the Ministry who can cover those roles and actually paying them accordingly to retain them over a long period of time so we can build long-term relationships," he said.

Dullabh said teachers should be able to teach and build strong relationships with students, and students with higher learning needs should be well supported.

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