Public Meeting: Ranui special needs unit facing closure

Special needs Unit at Ranui Primary school faces clousure. Cathrine Delahunty MP, John Minto (QPEC) and other MP's supporting parents. MOE officials from Wellington are attending. See below for background.

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Kia ora ,

Please encourage principals, teachers, support staff and parents to take action to ensure that special needs classes in regular schools are funded, so they can be kept open. If you are abl;e to it would be great if you can come and support the public meeting to save the special classes at Ranui School. Please display the attached flyer and talk with your staff and parents.

For the last 12 years parents from the Ranui School special classes have done a great deal of lobbying to keep the two special needs classes open. They believe their children need the support of a significantly adapted and protected environment to flourish at school.

Over the last 12 years such special classes have been funded by local schools through staffing and additional funding provided by the Resource Teachers: Learning and Behaviour (RTLB) Service because a minority of students’ learning and wellbeing needs are best met by special needs classes. However, this has been a stop-gap measure as the Ministry of Education stopped funding and staffing for special needs classes within regular schools in 1999.

Therefore over the last 12 years some special classes have been maintained as a result of parent pressure. However, currently the RTLB Service is being " Transformed" by the Ministry of Education. Again there is no provision for children whose learning and well-being is severely compromised in a mainstream class. These children do not meet the criteria for the high needs, Ongoing Resourcing. That resourcing would give them access a special school or some specially designated funding to provide a trained teacher.

Again special classes are threatened with closure. Please help to keep Ranui special needs classes open for the children who need them. Come along to the Public Meeting, at Ranui School at 6.00pm on Thursday 7th July.

Save-the-Ranui-Primary-Special-Needs-Unit

Many thanks,

Ka kite,

Anna Lee

The Special Needs Units at

Ranui School are Closing!

Check it out on Facebook

Save-the-Ranui-Primary-Special-Needs-Unit

Come to the Public Meeting … find out all about it and have your say.

What will happen to the children?

Why should we care?

What can we do about it?

What: Public Meeting

When:

Thursday 7 July

Time:

6 o’clock

Where:

Ranui School Hall

ENDS

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