CHOOSING A SCHOOL In NZ we have a National Curriculum that all schools are legally bound to teach. This applies to whether or not the school is state funded, private or an independent school, or families are homeschooling. Special Character schools, often associated with Churches, are required to teach their Special Character curriculum alongside or as part of the National Curriculum. The Education Review Office’s (ERO) role is to ensure that “schools” (including homeschoolers) are carrying out this legal responsibility, through regular routine visits. You can read ERO reports on individual schools on www.ero.govt.nz All children have automatic entry into their local school from the age of 5, although they are not legally required to attend school until they turn 6. To attend a school outside your zone, you need to apply to the school. Making application also applies to private, independent and special character schools. It is a good idea to make contact with the school of your choice when your child turns 4 as this assists the school to project their upcoming enrollments and you will receive necessary information as your entry date draws near. If your child is older than five, it is important that you contact the school and you will probably want to initiate a transitioning strategy for when your child will begin school. It is important when choosing a school that you do visit the school prior to enrollment. Meet with the Principal and ask to visit the classrooms (most primary schools will offer this to you). Get a feel for the school and a make sure you and your child feel comfortable. If there are special need areas to consider talk about this with the Principal and ask how your child will be supported. Most schools will offer a transition programme to introduce children to the school environment. ENTRY TO SCHOOL Once your child begins school they will be assessed on some form of School Entry Assessment. There is an assessment programme available to schools from the Ministry of Education, but many schools have added in their own assessments as well. At any time you are entitled to ask to see your child’s assessment data and discuss the results with the teacher. Many schools will offer you an interview after the first six weeks to discuss the Entry Assessment. National Standards are designed to show minimum acceptable levels for reading, writing and maths after one year at school, two years at school, three years at school and then at each year level after that to Year 8. There are a variety of assessment programmes available in schools and teachers can explain the areas of strength and the next steps for your child. Schools are required by law to provide feedback to parents at least three times a year. This may be in a formal interview situation, a three way interview with the child involved, or a written report. Many schools have developed these ideas into creative feedback sessions. SUPPORT AVAILABLE AT SCHOOL If your child is not making the learning gains expected or is not settling well into the school environment, the school have a number of support structures they can access. If a referral to an outside person is made on behalf of your child, you will be involved, as you are required to sign the referral. LEARNING NEEDS Usually during the first year at school, teachers keep a close eye on the children and their progress. At this stage, parents are quite often in the classroom for school drop offs and pickups and generally parents of younger children have a good rapport with the teachers and concerns are easily expressed. Many schools offer specialised programmes to support new entrant learning. A couple of really good programmes schools offer are the Perceptual Motor Programme (PMP) which is a physical activity programme designed to strengthen children’s brain connections. This is a very successful programme, although costly to run. Some schools have it operating for all children, while others select the most needy children. Some schools offer it for part of the year only. Unfortunately not all schools have it running. Talk to Learn is a small group oral language programme that targets vocabulary development, listening and speaking skills, and social skill development. As with PMP, it is not available in all schools as it requires extra resourcing. Phonological Awareness and Phonics programmes are now readily available in most junior classrooms. Usually this is incorporated into the daily class programme, but maybe also available as an extra mural programme. These programmes are designed to support reading and spelling. (A useful interactive website for children, to support literacy learning is www.starfall.com) As they turn six, schools do a battery of assessments on each child called the SIX YEAR OBSERVATION SURVEY. This is usually the first formal standardised assessment done and its focus is literacy. This can be the first opportunity for children to gain learning support from the Reading Recovery Programme. Reading Recovery is a one on one programme designed for use with six year old children to provide skills development for those children who are not working at the expected levels in literacy. It is an intense daily 30 minute programme, available in most schools, resourced by the Ministry of Education and the school Board of Trustees, for a 10 –15 week duration. The Reading Recovery teacher is either a classroom teacher or a teacher employed into that role. Older children having literacy difficulty may be referred to the Resource Teacher of Literacy (RT Lit). This person works in a cluster of schools at any one time. Children are assessed through a referral from the school. The RTLit may work in an advisory role with the teacher, or work with children one on one or in a small group. At present there is no state funded support for numeracy needs support. Schools also may offer a specialised programme for Gifted and Talented children. If offered, this is usually available for children aged 8 upwards. In many schools, these children’s needs are met within the class programme. Many schools are now receiving specialised training for supporting Dyslexia, and this a developing area in NZ education. Schools may also refer children at any time to the Speech Language Therapist who like the RTLit, works within a cluster of schools. Usually the Speech Therapist will come in and assess a particular child, and then advise the teacher and parents on ways to support the child. They will then reassess them at a later date. Another area of need may be English Second Language or the ESOL/ESL teacher. This is usually a person within the school who has some training in this area. Not all schools have this role. Young children beginning school with limited English will usually be supported within the classroom by their class teacher. Older children (7 upwards) can assess extra funding support which the school will determine how to use to meet the needs in the school. This may involve a specialised ESOL teacher. Specific learning needs like hearing and vision needs are met by specialist teachers, through the Group Special Education (GSE) office. Likewise with children who have severe learning needs or disabilities. The Principal will be able to provide the necessary information. Schools may offer a variety of their own school based programmes for children with needs. These may involve working with Teacher Aides in or out of the classroom, individually or in small groups. Teacher Aides are often parents in the school. They are not trained Teachers but they do receive training for the areas they are supporting. They work under the guidance of a teacher. Specialised computer based support programmes for children needing extra help may also be available in a particular school. BEHAVIOURAL NEEDS Some children have great difficulty in settling into the behavioural expectations of a formal classroom. Teachers are trained in ways to encourage participation and therefore learning, and for most children good communication between the teacher and the parents eventually helps these children to settle in to acceptable behaviours. If the school decides that some extra support is required they will refer the child to the Resource Teacher of Learning and Behaviour (RTLB). (A child can also be referred for extra learning support without there being a behavioural concern.) The RTLB also works amongst a cluster of schools. Their role is usually to observe the concerns over time and advise the teacher. They may also provide advice to the parent, or may refer the child onto another agency for more support (e.g. GSE (see below). RTLB’s will sometimes work alongside the teacher and/ or parent, and the child, over time to put in a support structure. Their role is varied according the need they are dealing with, and they have in-depth knowledge of outside school agency that can provide support. For many teachers the RTLB will be the first person they will call on for extra support. The RTLB is specifically trained for this role and has been a classroom teacher. GROUP SPECIAL EDUCATION (GSE) is an umbrella agency consisting of a variety of specialist advisors. They include Speech Therapists, Psychologists, and Occupational Therapists who provide ongoing support for a range of specific needs in schools. They have a central base and work around a variety of institutions in a variety of roles. Access to GSE advisors is usually done through another avenue. This may be the school or the RTLB. COMMERCIAL SUPPORT AGENCIES Outside the schools structure there are a plethora of commercially based support groups. These are generally programmes that are funded through user pays. However from time to time, the RTLB or another educational support programme may be able to access extra ordinary funding to allow specific needs children to access a relevant support programme. This is not very common! Sometimes schools may suggest seeking help from some of these programmes, but this is at the families’ expense. Schools may support this by allowing the child time during the school day to attend a programme. Generally these groups work on their own programmes and they are not aligned to the work the child is doing in school. Usually they are specific skill based programmes. They will assess the children in the specific areas they are focused on and will then provide a prescribed programme to develop and practise new skills. Commercial Support Agencies are not governed by any educational laws. OTHER SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS IN SCHOOLS Finally, all children will be screened by a couple of health based agencies. DENTAL THERAPISTS work between a group of schools and your child will be seen by them on a rotation based system. They can also be contacted, through the school, for emergency treatment. During their first year at school and at a couple of later times, children will be assessed for HEARING AND VISION. This assessment is very generally in nature but does highlight major problems with hearing and vision. If you have concerns about these areas in your child it is recommended that you seek out help from your Doctor, rather than wait for this general assessment. Each school does have a HEALTH NURSE assigned to them. Health Nurses work in school cluster groups. A Health Nurse will check your child’s Health Card during their first year at school and will provide assistance to the school if there is any specific health issue i.e. Type 1 Diabetes. They are also called upon by schools if there are particular health concerns, and from time to time they are asked to carry out inoculation programmes by the Government. The Class Room teacher and the Principal are the people who can assist you to connect with any of these support networks and it is important that if you do have needs or concerns they need to shared with these people. At the end of the day, you are the expert on your child and therefore you are your child’s greatest advocate. (This article is designed to give a general overview of the support available in NZ schools. As mentioned in the article, each school will have differing programmes available depending in the needs of the school) Tracey Jongens (April 2010)