Special Education Network Provision
National, regional and local provision is based in greater Christchurch.
National:
Regional:
- BLENNZ Visual Resource Centre @ Elmwood Normal School
- Southern Regional Health School
- Van Asch Deaf Education Centre
Greater Christchurch:
- Allenvale Special School & Resource Centre
- Allenvale Special School & Resource Centre Satellite @ Westburn School
- Ferndale School
- Ferndale School Satellite @ Bromley School
- Ferndale School Satellite @ Glenmoor School
- Ferndale School Satellite @ Northcote School
- Ferndale School Satellite @ Wairakei School
- Ferndale School Satellite @ Hammersley Park School
- Ferndale School Satellite @ Beckenham School
- Van Asch Deaf Education Centre Satellite @ Hagley Community College
- Van Asch Deaf Education Centre Satellite @ Wharenui School
- Waitaha School
School governance
Special Schools are state schools and while government funded, are managed by boards of trustees. Day to day management of all schools is the responsibility of the principal.
School boards are required to develop individual charters and annual plans and report their performance against these. You will be able to access the school charter from your school or on Find a school.
Education Review Office (ERO) reports on school and early childhood performance are publicly available.
Special school ERO review cycle
Allenvale Special School & Resource Centre | 3 years |
Ferndale School | 3 years |
Halswell Residential College | In progress |
McKenzie Residential School | 3 years |
Southern Regional Health School | In progress |
Star of the Sea School (Christchurch) | 3 years |
Van Asch Deaf Education Centre | In progress |
Waitaha School | 3 years |
Education achievement
The majority of learners with special education needs progress and achieve against the National Standards. For others the achievement expectations will be set in relation to more finely graded progressions related to The New Zealand Curriculum or Te Mātauranga o Aotearoa and linked to the National Standards or Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori. Some of these learners may be working within level one of The New Zealand Curriculum or Te Matauranga o Aotearoa for the duration of their schooling. Boards of Trustees should ensure progress and achievement of these learners is reported.
You will be able to access National Standards data for your school from the Find a school section of theEducation Counts website as soon as this information is available.
Special Education specialist provision
Across greater Christchurch the majority of learners with special education needs/disabilities attend the local school in their local community supported by specialist staff/teams. Others may choose to attend a special school, or a satellite class located at a local school. A satellite class is staffed by a special school and enables learners to attend and participate in a regular school setting. Special schools (day and residential) provide the option of specialist teaching for high and very high needs learners and those with complex disabilities in settings which may or may not be local to where the students live.
In addition, the Specialist Teacher Outreach Service is delivered across greater Christchurch by the special schools. This itinerant teaching service provides specialist teaching knowledge to support learners and their teachers in any school community. 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. The Southern Regional Health School provides teachers for children in hospital or at home where they are too unwell to attend school.
Land – State schools only
School sites sit outside the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) land classification process and will not be given any Technical Category foundation rankings, though the land in the surrounding residential area of this cluster has been classified TC2 and TC3. Geotechnical assessments on the state school sites in this cluster indicate land issues are unlikely to compromise continued education provision. Further ministry commissioned assessments may be required at a later date, should any of these sites be further developed. The Ministry has not undertaken any geotechnical investigations at Southern Regional Health School.
Buildings – State schools only
There are 68 teaching spaces included in the 13,665 square metres (of useable space) of teaching and learning and administration areas, across this network of special schools.The teaching, learning and administrative space is incorporated into 109 actual buildings. All of these buildings have suffered damage during the earthquakes. Repairs have yet to be made to the building stock. Condition assessments confirm earthquake strengthening will be required, over time, across 28 buildings and there are weather tightness issues in a further 12 buildings. Extensive assessments and engineering investigations have confirmed all buildings remain fit to occupy – unless already isolated.
Building condition information– State schools only
Number of buildings |
Number of buildings with EQ damage |
Number of buildings with strengthening required |
Number of buildings with weather tightness repairs required |
Number of buildings with both strengthening and weather tightness repairs |
|
Allenvale Special School & Res. Centre |
9 |
9 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
Ferndale |
10 |
10 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
Halswell Residential College |
40 |
40 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
McKenzie Residential |
12 |
12 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
Southern Regional Health School |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
Van Asch Deaf Education Centre |
33 |
33 |
11 |
1 |
1 |
Waitaha Learning Centre |
5 |
5 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
Cluster |
109 |
109 |
28 |
12 |
4 |
School rolls and classroom numbers – State schools only
March 2010 roll |
Classroom (no.) current (July 2012) |
March 2012 roll |
Estimated classrooms required at March 2012 |
|
Allenvale Special School & Res. Centre |
124 |
11 |
127 |
n/a |
Ferndale |
89 |
6 |
96 |
n/a |
Halswell Residential College |
66 |
36 |
32 |
n/a |
McKenzie Residential |
29 |
5 |
24 |
n/a |
Southern Regional Health School |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
Van Asch Deaf Education Centre |
28 |
3 |
20 |
n/a |
Waitaha Learning Centre |
20 |
5 |
30 |
n/a |
Cluster |
356 |
68 |
329 |
n/a |
The way forward
Extensive condition assessments and engineering investigations have confirmed all buildings in this cluster currently remain fit to occupy – unless already isolated. A number of the buildings across this cluster will, however, require remediation and strengthening over the longer-term. One is not considered cost effective to repair. This includes six teaching spaces.
Future planning
The earthquakes provide an opportunity, as outlined in the Education Renewal Recovery Programme [PDF; 881kb], to consider options for revitalising the greater Christchurch education network that go beyond simply replacing what was there. Discussions with schools, communities and providers will be key to informing decisions around the future shape of education for the Special Education community. Ways to enhance infrastructure and address existing property issues, improve education outcomes, and consider future governance will form part of these discussions. Future planning for special school provision will take place in the context of planning for all education provision. Check out the engagement schedule (link to schedule) for further details.
Community engagement
Cluster support groups will be established to lead community engagement across the special education network. The Ministry of Education will support these groups in providing information to their communities and gathering feedback to identify the preferred way forward. Boards will formally consult with their communities where closures or mergers are indicated.
Check out the engagement schedule for further details.