Plea to retain parents' choice

KIRK HARGREAVES/The Press

SOON TO MOVE? Tobias 6, a pupil at Allenvale Special School, enjoys playing with jelly yesterday. The Government is considering closing all such schools and sending pupils to mainstream schools.

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Parents must retain choice in deciding where their special-needs children go to school, parents and educators say.

A review of special education, released by Associate Education Minister Heather Roy, proposes four options for delivering special education, including closing all special schools and enrolling all children in mainstream schools.

Christchurch parent Pam Hamilton-Currey said it was imperative that parents were able to choose the type of education that best suited their children.

"In the end, parents know their children the best. They know what is best for them and the school that is best for them," she said.

Her son Ethan, 11, has attended a small mainstream school in Christchurch, but she said that as Ethan got older he would need a specialist school. He was enrolled this year in one of the three Christchurch schools for children with special needs.

Hamilton-Currey said Ethan could not cope at a mainstream intermediate school, so it was important she and other parents had the choice.

Some educators say the review fell short because it did not propose more funding for special education.

The Government spends more than $450 million a year on special-education programmes, and another $51m will be spent during the next four years for pupils with the highest needs.

Roy said no more money was available, and the review would look at making better use of current spending.

The principal of Glenmoor School in St Albans, Peter Mitchell, said if there was no extra funding, he hoped bureaucracy costs would be cut.

Any extra money should be channelled into supporting children who needed help but did not get it because their needs were not deemed serious enough, he said.

He hoped the review meant the Government would start listening to people "at the chalk-face".

"It's always seen as rebellion if we voice our opinion, but it's not rebellion at all," he said. "I hope this is the opportunity to look carefully and listen to people."

The review also looked at ways to improve the way agencies work together.

Hamilton-Currey said she had lost count of the how many times she had had to repeat herself to different government agencies to get help for Ethan.

Parents often had to deal with the Education Ministry, the ACC and the ministries of social development and health, she said.

The review proposes a single assessment or eligibility process for children with special needs, with each agency providing the support as it does now. Another option was a single support agency that would provide more consistency and make the process easier for parents, their children and schools.

Allenvale Special School principal Graeme Daniel said he did not think the Government would close special schools because it appeared to support parents having options.

"Parental choice is critical," he said.

Daniel wanted to see teachers getting specialist training to teach pupils with special needs.

Teachers used to be able to do postgraduate courses, but they no longer existed, he said.

Submissions on the review close on March 19.

- © Fairfax NZ News