Labour's Special Education Policy Announcement Due

Labour Party Special Education Policy Announcement Due

QPEC is hopeful that the Labour Party special education policy - shortly to be announced -will contain some major policy changes to improve special education services for New Zealand children.

Earlier this month Labour declined to respond to the special education questions in our QPEC election questionnaire – see www.qpec.org.nz - saying this was awaiting a policy announcement.

However more money thrown at the existing structure will have only a minimal effect unless there are changes in the funding mechanisms themselves.

QPEC is continuing to advocate for key policy changes which have been sought by parents and which would make a significant difference for children with special education needs.

These changes are –

Increase on the Ongoing and Reviewable Resourcing Scheme (ORRS) funding from 1% of the school age population to 2% as originally envisaged in the Special Education 2000 policy Pay the Special Education Grant (SEG) to schools on the basis of the actual number of children with moderate to high special education needs enrolled. (At the moment a school with 20 such children gets the same funding as a school with 2 such children!) Central provision of staffing for special education units within schools so they can remain a viable choice for parents of children with special education needs

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