The Ministry of Education provides specialist services across the education sector to early childhood education services, schools, learners, families and whānau.

These include Early Intervention and, in schools, communication, behaviour, and specialist support for high and very high needs learners through the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS).

Success for All – Every School, Every Child also underpins other initiatives including the Resource Teachers: Learning and Behaviour (RTLB) service, additional support for learners aged 5 – 8, work to develop more effective transitions from school, efficient use of specialist teaching resources and enhanced outreach services.

The Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) action plan has been developed to help schools encourage positive behaviour. PB4L was formed in collaboration with the wider education sector and includes a suite of whole-school and targeted programmes. School-Wide, which is part of PB4L, along with other programmes including Check and Connect, and the Friends for Life programme, form part of the Youth Mental Health package (the Ministry has a key role) which will, over the next four years, better equip schools to take responsibility for the well-being of their students.

You can read more in the Special Education overview [PDF; 243kb].

In addition, for greater Christchurch, the Ministry has developed the ‘Education Wellbeing Response‘ programme which is available to all schools. It enables educators to support children to build resilience, and enhances wellbeing for learners so that educators can focus on teaching, achievement and innovation.

Across the greater Christchurch network of special education provision, the majority of learners with special education needs/disabilities in the compulsory sector attend regular schools in their local community supported by specialist staff/teams. Others attend a Special School, or a satellite provision of a Special School.

Blind and Low Vision Network New Zealand (BLENNZ) and Van Asch Deaf Education Centre also contribute to the network of special education support available for learners with sensory needs.