Rotokawa School principal and Rotorua Principals Association president Briar Stewart. Photo/File
Rotokawa School principal and Rotorua Principals Association president Briar Stewart. Photo/File
Rotorua principals have welcomed the Government's commitment to fully funding 600 new learning support staff in the next two years.
However, the question remained on where the Government would find them.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Sunday the Government would fund 600 learning support co-ordinator positions, with the first to be employed from as early as 2020. The four-year project is expected to cost $217 million.
Horohoro school principal Eden Chapman said the extra external funding would bring a lot of relief.
"I understand some people think it's not enough but I don't subscribe to that belief at all. I think this is a very positive step by the Government, and it comes with a promise that this will be the first phase in a rollout.
"Though I am not sure how they are going to find all these extra teachers."
In big schools, he could see the sense of having a full-time specialist person in the role in-house. He saw the options for smaller schools as being either one specialist who travelled between a few schools, or schools being able to appoint a staff member to fill the role.
He said he preferred the second option, provided the funding was set aside specifically for that role. It would provide local employment as well as avoid spending the money on someone's travel costs and time.
With a roll of 60 children at his school, Chapman said the job of providing support for students with special learning and behavioural needs at his school mostly fell to him, but it was difficult for him to fit it in around other responsibilities, and to find the money - about $25,000 a year - in the school's tight operations budget.
Rotokawa School principal and Rotorua Principals Association president Briar Stewart. Photo/File
Rotokawa School principal and Rotorua Principals' Association president Briar Stewart was pleased with the announcement.
"It will be something that is good for the future thinking and future pathways we need for our SENCOs and specialist teachers," she said.
Stewart believed the Bay of Plenty would be allocated at least 150 of the 600 co-ordinators to be employed in 2020.
"The numbers are growing in every school in terms of children with learning and behaviour needs. It is a really positive outcome."
The Government aimed to at least double the 600 new roles in order to have one in every urban school and access to one for every rural school.
The Government has yet to work out which schools will be the first to get the 600 co-ordinators. That will be the subject of discussion with the sector.
The boost to learning support in the 2018 Budget had funded about 1000 extra places for students with complex needs so they could get specialist support such as speech therapy.
Teacher aide funding received an extra $59.3 million.
About 2900 deaf and hard-of-hearing students and about 1500 low-vision students got more help, and around 1900 more children with high needs in early childhood education would now receive support each year.
New Zealand Education Institute president Lynda Stuart said the announcement was a "big win" for teachers and principals.
"It is a constructive response from the government to the fact that the number of children with complex needs is growing," she said.
"While the learning support co-ordinator/SENCO job is currently being done on top of or squeezed in around the day job of principals, deputy principals and classroom teachers."
What is a learning support co-ordinator?
- Dedicated staff in primary and secondary schools to support children with special learning needs such as dyslexia, autism, physical disabilities and behavioural problems. - They will work alongside teachers, parents and other professionals to give students individualised support. - Currently schools have special education needs co-ordinators but in many cases the role is just a few hours a week for an existing teacher and funding is allocated by the board of trustees.
