BPW NZ Callthe Ministry of Education to Account

The New Zealand Federation ofBusiness and Professional Women (BPW NZ) calls upon the Minister ofEducation to explain why she is trying to close Salisbury School when this will adversely affectthe future of girls and young school aged women with all forms ofdisabilities.

“The Minister failed to close it through the legal process, so her Ministry is changing the rules, and setting up barriersso the school’s resources and facilities are denied to some of New Zealand’s most vulnerable young women."

“Changing the rules by the Ministry to force closure is in effect, constructive closure and is unacceptable,” says Carolyn Savage, BPWNZ President.

“The removal of Board members and staff from the primary selection/interviewing process has put the power into the hands of the Ministry of Education without there being an independent voice for these vulnerable young women and their parents.”

“Salisbury’s own solution, consolidating resources to have two independent and separate schools on the one site would ensure that both girls and boys could continue to be educated and cared for in environments best suited to their specialist requirements.”

“There appears to be a real lack of understanding about the education of vulnerable children with special needs, particularly the negative effect main-stream schools have had on young women in this group to date.”

“It is yet another step made by the Ministry to save costs in the first instance whilst not looking at the long term costs to society and these young women’s futures.”

“Vulnerable young women with special needs will be forced on to already high waiting lists or be forced to fit into main stream schools that are not set up to meettheir needs,” says Mrs Savage.

“The impact on the main-stream school system will be three-fold, these vulnerable young women who will not have the emotional skills, the children already attending the schools will have time diverted from them and the additional impact on teaching staff, says President Carolyn Savage.

“Educationis for all New Zealanders, so why is the Government stealing the rights of a portion of our society to make them fit in, or lose out, only so their selfish financial plans can be met?

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