80% of early childhood centres say children with special learning needs suffer developmental delay because of inadequate government services

Parliament’s Education and Science Select Committee was told this afternoon (11 November) that children with special learning needs are suffering developmental delay as a result of delayed and inadequate government support services.

Early Childhood Council CEO Peter Reynolds told the Select Committee that for preschool children with special learning needs, a six-month delay in service was commonplace, and could mean a much longer developmental delay.

Mr Reynolds told the Select Committee, which is conducting an inquiry into support for students with dyslexia, dyspraxia and autism spectrum disorders, that 80% of surveyed early childhood centres believe government service failures were causing developmental delays in children.

He said: ‘Our survey doesn’t speak directly to the numbers of children whose development is delayed in this manner, but when this impact is indicated by more than 80% of centres asked, it suggests the possibility there are thousands.’

Fifty-nine per cent of surveyed centres were waiting, on average, more than three months for Ministry of Education-provided assistance with assessment and diagnosis of children, Mr Reynolds said.

Almost a quarter of centres were waiting more than six months. And 90% said they did not receive Education Support Workers (one-on-one helpers for children with special learning needs) for the amount of time they were needed.

Mr Reynolds described ‘pre-schoolers with special learning needs languishing month after month undiagnosed and sometimes creating mayhem in centres, suffering isolation and anxiety, falling further and further behind… then enduring transition to school processes that are hopelessly inadequate’.

Fifty-seven per cent of surveyed centres rated the quality of Ministry of Education assessment services as either ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’, Mr Reynolds said. More than half of centres said the quality of assessment services had fallen in the past three years, and only 3% said it was up.

Mr Reynolds said the survey uncovered concerning stories including a Ministry of Education ‘Early Intervention Teacher’ advising an early childhood centre to not enrol a child, because the centre was unlikely to receive help any time soon; teachers with ‘no idea what is wrong with children who are sometimes very violent, and no idea, therefore what to do about it’; other children hit and bitten as a consequence; and teachers seeking medical attention.

The Early Childhood Council was keen to work with the Ministry of Education on solutions to the many problems faced in early childhood centres by children with special learning needs, Mr Reynolds said.
The Early Childhood Council is the largest early childhood education membership body in New Zealand. It has more than 1100 member centres, employing more than 7000 staff, and caring for tens of thousands of children.

The survey was undertaken from 23 to 30 September, and had 153 respondent centres, some community owned, some privately owned, from cities, towns and rural areas.

ENDS

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