Grant Robertson
MP for Wellington Central
Acting Education Spokesperson

MEDIA STATEMENT

21 October 2016

73 days wait for special education support

Children are having to wait 73 days for support from the Ministry of Education because it is not resourced to support special education, says Labour’s Acting Education Spokesperson Grant Robertson.

“The Ministry for Education’s annual report shows the Government is failing to deliver on special education support.

“The number of parents satisfied with the services their children are receiving from the ministry has been given a ‘not achieved’ mark in the annual report, and satisfaction levels are actually going backwards as parents wait anxiously for their kids to get support.

“With reports about the use of seclusion rooms and special education students being unlawfully suspended, it’s clear our schools are completely under resourced to cope with growing demand for special education services

“This Government has done nothing do deal with the issue; in fact they’re now signalling they will cut funding for older children and reallocate it to younger children as part of a special education review.

“Parents and children deserve better than what this government is offering and it starts with properly resourcing our schools,” says Grant Robertson.

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