FURTHER SPECIAL EDUCATION 2000 INITIATIVES ANNOUNCED

Education Minister Wyatt Creech today announced further components to the Government's Special Education 2000 Policy.

"The initiatives will help students who need support from time to time to help them with their schooling, and to give them equal access to resources wherever they attend school," said Mr Creech.

The components are:

Nationwide extension of the Severe Behaviour Initiative.

National contracts to provide services to support students with moderate sensory impairments and moderate physical disabilities.

Closer alignment of Special Education 2000 policy with:

services provided by residential special schools,
services for students with high health needs.

Transitional funding for special schools and units for students with physical disabilities and for resource teachers of students with intellectual disabilities in mainstream classrooms.

Mr Creech said a prototype of the Severe Behaviour Initiative running in Waikato for the past year had been successful. It involved the establishment of Behaviour Education Support Teams and the Centre for Extra Support.

"During 1999, this programme will be extended nationwide to seventeen Behaviour Education Support Teams delivering in-school support and thirty off-site centres.

"Staff in these teams and centres will work closely with schools to help them to be more proactive and effective in supporting students with severe behaviour difficulties. The staff will also coordinate with other agencies that may be involved with the students.

"The extension of the Behaviour Initiative should make a big difference for those schools and teachers, students and families with children with severe behaviour problems."

Mr Creech said the national contracts were for students with moderate sensory and/or physical needs in two systems.

"One system will provide service contracts for students with hearing and/or vision impairment or physical disability. The other will support students who are absent from school for an extensive period of time because of their health needs."

The Minister said another initiative involved the current six residential schools, which support up to 466 students.

"These schools will maintain their current role," said Mr Creech, "But their services will be brought into line with Special Education 2000 policy - including residential services, itinerant support services to mainstreamed students, and resource centres."

Schools and units for students with physical disabilities will be provided with transition assistance for 1999. Ministry of Education officials will be meeting with the 28 schools and units to discuss resourcing options.

"This should significantly relieve current concerns being aired from parents and schools with attached units for children with physical disabilities," Mr Creech said.

There are 25 resource teachers providing itinerant support for students with an intellectual disability in a mainstream setting. The new staffing system was unlikely to guarantee tenure for these teachers in 1999, said Mr Creech.

"The Ministry of Education will fund the shortfall in salary of teachers who provide itinerant support for students with intellectual disabilities and who are in the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme. This will provide these teachers with time to market their services and to enter into new contract arrangements during 1999," he said.

The Minister also dismissed the New Zealand Herald's speculation on hospital schools as absolute nonsense. There will be an improvement in the provision of services for sick children, by ensuring they get the services they need regardless of where they are.

"I will continue to monitor the introduction of Special Education 2000 and where necessary fine tune elements to make sure they deliver better services to young people with special educational needs," Mr Creech concluded.