In education, we all know that we are walking into a profession of haves and have nots. If you step foot into a decile one school, you will immediately see the differences to a decile 10 school. However what is not so obvious is another group of students who are distributed across deciles. Students with extra learning needs are present across all school demographics. The haves and have nots of this group are not so easily defined and come in many forms. Student that fit under this category include students with physical, mental, behavioural and learning difficulties. This is a wide range of conditions that are in no way homogeneous. This is a huge topic that is multifaceted but in terms of inequality I chose to look at how funding is distributed to these kids. It is extremely difficult to receive funding for these students. In many cases only the most severe students receive government funding. Leaving the care and access for these students up to the individual schools.
In New Zealand we have a commitment to education for all and have one of the most inclusive educational systems in the world (Ryan, 2004). But just because we are including these students doesn’t mean we are serving these students. It all comes back to the idea of equity and equality. Sure these kids are allowed to attend our mainstream schools and have the same opportunities to obtain an education like everyone else but the systems and supports put in place to make education equitable for these students is shameful.
In my own personal life I have experience with just how unequitable the New Zealand system is for students with disabilities. My brother has severe quadraplegic dystonic spastic cerebal palsy. In short, the part of his brain that controls motor skills and movement is damaged. This means that as a result he is entirely wheelchair dependant, he can not sit unsupported, he can not hold a pen, and he cannot type independently. My brother is one of the lucky ones as he can speak, however most children who are as physically disabled as him are nonverbal. Despite all this he is just like any other 15 year old boy he is bright, funny, and loves rugby. My mum decided that he should attend mainstream school to provide him the best education and social interactions, and from the day he was enrolled it has been a fight to provide him with the support he needs to make his education equitable. Yes there are special schools set up for students with disabilities but they do not offer the same level of education as physical and mental disabilities are often catered for in the same schools and do not go above curriculum level 1. (Wilson School, 2019)
My brother qualifies for extra high ORS funding. For those who are unfamiliar, ORS stands for Ongoing Resourcing Scheme. This is how schools fund supports such as teacher aids and resources for students with disabilities in the classroom. For example, in my brothers case they drew on his ORS funding to ramp his school so he could have access to classrooms, but it can be things as simple as books with enlarged text for students with vision or language difficulties(Ministry of Education, 2019). ORS funding is not just for students with physical disabilities. It is also for students with learning, behavioural/social and vision/hearing needs. However, many students who need ORS funding are excluded as the criteria to receive any form of assistance are extremely high.
On the ministry of education website (Ministry of Education, 2019) they provide profiles of students who meet the criteria for funding. Under physical disability The profile for the lowest criteria for support is as follows “They usually have poor hand control and cannot independently dress, eat, hold a cup or maintain their stability when sitting on the toilet. These students need considerable personal support for mobility, positioning, changing direction in their wheelchairs or walkers and for meeting personal care needs.” This is example is taken from the lowest level of difficultly required to receive funding meaning a child with anything slightly less severe is left to their own devices. Even with ORS funding this child would only receive around 1-2 hours a day teacher aide support everything else is up to the school or the classroom teacher. (Matt, 2018)
ORS funding in New Zealand is extremely lacking. Students like my brother who attend full time mainstream school with extra high physical needs ORS funding will only receive approx 15 hours a week teacher aide time. That means that my brother who can not even hold a pen, under the ministry would be left alone in a classroom with no support other than the main teacher for 3 hours a day. Luckily my brother attends a college that has a pooling system for funding, meaning they take on may students like my brother with ORS funding and pool the funding together so that no student is left without a teacher aide through essentially a buddy system of one teacher aide between two or more kids.
In schools that cannot pool ORS funding, students with needs become the problem of the school in the times that they do not have a teacher aide. If the student is unmanageable by the class teacher, it is not uncommon that the student is asked to only attend school during funded hours or the parents have to pay extra teacher aide hours (Matt, 2018). How is this equitable? How is this inclusive? These students are barely supported enough to be allowed to attend class let alone learn anything. If it wasn’t for schools taking ownership of these students and providing systems like at my brothers school, these kids would be entirely excluded from education, how inclusive is that?
References:
Matt, S. (2018). School takes on debt for its special pupils. Manawatu Standard, 6.
Ministry of Education. (2019). Criteria for ongoing resourcing scheme (ORS). Retrieved from https://minedu.cwp.govt.nz/school/student-support/special-education/ors/criteria-for-ors/
Ryan, E.J. (2004). Failing the system? Enforcing the right to education in New Zealand. Victoria University of wellington Law Review. 35(3). 735-768.
Wilson School. (2019). Our Learning. Retrieved from https://wilson.school.nz/our-learning/
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