Boost to inclusive education funding applauded

Boost to inclusive education funding applauded

31 August 2017 - NZEI Te Riu Roa welcomes a commitment by the Green Party to provide the funding to ensure every child, regardless of ability, deserves the best education in the world.

A more inclusive education system is not only good for children with special needs but for all children, says NZEI Te Riu Roa President Lynda Stuart.

“You can judge a society by how it treats its most vulnerable and this policy would make a huge difference to those children with additional learning needs and help the educators and whanau who support and teach those children.”

Educators have been very concerned for some time about the thousands of children who are missing out on a quality education, because of a lack of support for those with additional learning needs.

“Our members would particularly welcome three key initiatives announced by the party today. These include funding for a special needs coordinator for every 400 children, the centralising of funding for support staff, and a doubling of funding for the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme and early intervention - which would go a long way to ending the arbitrary cap on funding for those with high additional needs.

“Thousands of support staff, including teacher aides, librarians, and administration staff have very little job security and children can sometimes lose support from these professionals when funding is tight. Centralised funding would give them certainty in their jobs and show they’re valued for the important work that they do.

“We encourage all parties to commit to ensuring every child has access to the best education in the world.”

ENDS

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