Louise Hoggart, Ōtautahi - Early intervention teacher at the Ministry of Education and parent | Kaiako wawaonga moata i Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga, he matua hoki
Image description: Early intervention teacher Louise Hoggart faces the camera smiling in a head and shoulders portrait photo. She is wearing a blue top and a black lanyard. The background is blurred.
In my role I support children and their whānau in the early childhood sector. As a parent of a son with additional needs, I enjoy being an advocate and support person for families who are struggling to help others understand the unique qualities their child possesses, and to pursue their aspirations for their child’s success.
However, there is just not enough investment to provide adequate support to children who need it.
Teachers reach out for specialist learning support from the Ministry of Education but the demand is high and the waitlists are long, despite the best efforts of MoE personnel to provide a support service. In a nutshell, our learning support funding doesn’t come close to meeting the needs of children with moderate and severe needs.
My own son is aged 15 years with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Anxiety Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. He is not ORS funded. Without funding and support, his teachers and school specialists have been unable to make the necessary adaptations to his learning so that he feels he has a sense of belonging within his school. He spends his day in the office of the Learning Support Manager, playing on his Chromebook and sometimes drawing. He has no school education, no qualifications and no employment prospects. There is no support available to him or our family to design a transition plan that sets him up to function as an adult with a job or ongoing learning opportunities within his community. We are now isolated from support and uncertain of how we can support him to be successful in the real world.
My ask for Ngā Aukaha All in for Tamariki is that all children in Aotearoa have equitable access to quality education that is welcoming, supportive and adequately adapted and funded to meet the individual needs of each child.
I taku tūranga ka tautoko au i ngā tamariki me ō rātou whānau i te rāngai ako kōhungahunga. Hei matua o tētahi tama me ngā matea tāpiri, he pai ki ahau te tū hei kaitaunaki, hei kaitautoko hoki mā ngā whānau e okeoke ana ki te āwhina i ētahi atu kia mārama ki ngā āhuatanga ahurei kei tā rātou tamaiti, ā, me te whai i ō rātou wawata e angitu ai tā rātou tamaiti.
Heoi anō, kāore i nui rawa te haumitanga ki te whakarato i te tautoko tika ki ngā tamariki e hiahia ana.
Ka toro atu ngā kaiako mō te tautokotanga akoranga motuhake mai i Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga engari he nui rawa te hiahia, ā, he roa ngā rārangi tatari, ahakoa ngā whakapaunga kaha a ngā kaimahi Tāhuhu ki te whakarato i tētahi ratonga tautoko. Kia iti te kupu, kāore nei i tata te pūtea tautoko akoranga ki te whakatutuki i ngā hiahia o ngā tamariki whai matea waenga, taumaha hoki.
Ko taku tama ake he 15 tau te pakeke e pāngia ana ki te Mate Takiwātanga, te Mate Manawarū me te Mate Obsessive Compulsive. Kāore ia i te whiwhi pūtea ORS. Nā te kore pūtea me te kore tautoko, kāore i tareka e ōna kaiako me ōna mātanga kura ngā urutaunga e tika ana ki tana ako e noho tangata whenua ia ki tana kura. Ka pau tana rā i roto i te tari o te Kaiwhakahaere Tautoko Akoranga, e tākaro ana i runga i tana Chromebook, ā, he wā anō ka tā pikitia. Kāore ōna mātauranga kura, ōna tohu, ōna huarahi whiwhi mahi. Kāore e wātea ana ētahi tautoko mōna me tō mātou whānau ki te hoahoa i tētahi mahere whakawhiti hei whakarite i a ia ki te tū hei pakeke whai mahi, ngā āheinga ako moroki rānei ki tana hapori. Kua wehe kē mātou ināianei mai i ngā tautoko, ā, e ngākaurua ana me pēhea tā mātou tautoko i a ia kia angitu i roto i te ao tūturu.
Ko taku hiahia mā Ngā aukaha All in for Tamariki, kia whiwhi āheinga ōrite ngā tamariki katoa o Aotearoa ki te mātauranga pai rawa, ā, e rāhiri ana, e tautoko ana, e urutau tika ana, ā, ka tukuna tikatia te pūtea kia whakatutuki ai ngā matea takitahi o ia tamaiti.
Tracy Bishop, Rotorua - Teacher | Kaiako
Image description: Kaiako Tracy Bishop is facing the camera smiling in a portrait photo with her son Kamareira. She is wearing a floral top and a grey coat. He is wearing a button up shirt. They are standing in front of a blurred field.
Ko tēnei taha o tōku Pāpā.
Ko Haumingi te Maunga
Ko te Rotoiti-i-kitea- ai-e-Ihenga i Ariki ai Kahu te Moana
Ko te Whakaruru me te Korokoro o Ngaki ngā Awa
Ko Te Arawa te Waka
Ko Ngāti Rongomai te Iwi
Ko Ngā Pumanawa e waru o Te Arawa te Wharenui
Ko Te Awa-i-Takapuwhaia te Wharekai
Ko Te Hiukura te Marae.
Ko Pirongia te Maunga
Ko Waipaa te Awa
Ko Tainui te Waka
Ko Ngāti Mahanga te hapū
Ko te Papa o Rotu te Wharenui
Ko Pakuru a Te Rangikataua te Wharekai
Ko Te Oneparepare te Marae
As a teacher I love that I have the ability to provide the necessary tools, education, life skills and values the students need to build the knowledge to carve their pathways in life. I especially love it when a student is unable to grasp a concept but then at some point 'THAT COIN DROPS'. It is all so rewarding because kids try so hard and when I see that excitement overcome them it does the same for me.
I love exposing our kids to speak simple sentences in te reo Māori, mihimihi and waiata. This builds their own kete of knowledge because our kids crave and want it.
Although our understanding of how tamariki learn has developed, we do not have the adequate resources, for example teacher aides or specialists, to provide both the students and teachers with the support we need. We are missing the tools we need to support the child. As teachers, we are trying our best to access all the support that a child should receive, but it never gets easier. It becomes exhausting.
One student at our school needed extra support, but they were declined funding from the Ministry as he did not fit the criteria. This led to ongoing problems and issues for that child. As a result the school had to support that children with their own pūtea. To this day, the school still are.
i te taha o tōku Māmā
Ko Kahuwera te Maunga
Ko Mokau te Awa
Ko Tainui te Waka
Ko Ngāti Waiora te Hapū
Ko Tama Tane te Wharenui
Ko Te Aroha te Wharekai
Ko Mokau Kohunui te Marae
Ko te tino rawe o taku mahi hei kaiako ka taea e au te whāngai ngā tikanga, te mātauranga, ngā pūkenga noho me ngā uara e hiahiatia ana e ngā akonga kia tipu ō rātau mōhio hei whai i ngā ara o tō rātau ao. Ka rawe hoki ki ahau ngā wā kāore e mārama ki tētahi ākonga tētahi whakaaro engari he wā tōna 'KUA TAKA TE KAPA'. Nōku te whiwhi i te mea ka tino whakapau kaha ngā ākonga, ā, ina kite ahau i tērā wairua whakaongaonga i roto i a rātau ka uru mai anō tērā ki ahau.
He rawe ki ahau te tuku i ngā tamariki kia kōrero i te reo Māori māmā nei, te mihimihi me te waiata. Ka whakakīkī tēnei i ā rātau kete kōrero i te mea kei te hiakai ā mātau tamariki ki tēnei.
Ahakoa kua mōhio haere ake tātau ki te āhua o te ako a te tamariki, he iti rawa ā mātau rauemi, he tauira, ko ngā kaiāwhina, ngā mātanga rānei, hei tuku i ngā tautoko ki ngā ākonga me ngā kaiako e hiahiatia ana e mātau. Kāore i a mātau ngā āhuatanga e hiahiatia ana hei tautoko i te tamaiti. Hei kaiako, kei te tino ngana mātau ki te totoro atu ki ngā tautoko katoa me whiwhi te tamaiti, engari kāore i te māmā haere. Kei te ngenge.
I te hiahia tētahi ākonga i tō mātau kura i ētahi tautoko atu anō, engari i whakahētia ngā pūtea mai i te Tāhuhu i te mea kāore ia i ū ki ngā paearu. Nā tēnei i raruraru haere tonu te tamaiti. Ā, ka mate te kura ki te tautoko i taua tamaiti mā āna ake pūtea. Me te aha, kei te utu tonu te kura.
Lynda Stuart, Auckland - Principal | Tumuaki
Image description: Principal Lynda Stuart is facing the camera smiling in a head and shoulders portrait photo. She is wearing a multi-coloured jacket and blue top. She is standing in front of a grey wall.
My mum would say that I always wanted to be a teacher. I guess I just wanted to make a difference for children and as time has gone by I have also wanted to make a difference for those who work closest to the child.
When talking with parents, principal colleagues, teachers and support staff it is the issues in the learning support sector which are constantly raised.
The sector simply does not have enough skilled specialists to work with our children. The chronic lack of mental health support for our young children in primary schools is tragic. Everyday we see examples of need through trauma and yet there is nowhere to turn.
Schools are working relentlessly to try to meet the needs of our young people; to foster a sense of belonging, love, hope and optimism for a better future. When children do not receive the specialist support that they need alongside a warm and nurturing learning environment then it is hard for them to reach their potential. Teachers try to be all things to their children but they are not trained as mental health workers, social workers or psychologists so it is a soul-destroying battle.
A child aged 6 came to us from two other schools with severe and challenging behavioural needs. Although all evidence pointed to him having Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) he was unable to access formal assessment due to the high cost of this and the inability of Oranga Tamariki to fund this. At first he was mainstreamed into the school. After a year the decision was made to put him into our bilingual Samoan unit. Through a strong transition and genuine partnership between the school and the parents of the child gains began to be made. The work that the school did in supporting the parents in their interactions with outside agencies helped to build trust. Through the support of the school wrapping around this child and his family, little by little change was seen in the child’s behaviour, their joy in being at school was evident and a love for learning began. This child left our school at the end of last year ready to begin his journey at Intermediate school.
He rite te kōrero a taku māmā ko taku hiahia kia tū hei kaiako. Ki ōku whakaaro i hiahia noa au kia whai hua ngā tamariki, ā, i te hipanga o te wā i hiahia hoki au kia whai hua te hunga e mahi tino tata ana ki te tamaiti.
I te wā e kōrero ana ki ngā mātua, ngā hoa tumuaki, ngā kaiako me ngā kaimahi tautoko, ko ngā take ka pupū auau mai ko ngā take i te rāngai tautoko akoranga.
I roto i te rāngai kāore i nui rawa ngā mātanga pūkenga hei mahi i te taha o ā tātou tamariki. He aituā nui te korekore rawa o te tautoko hauora hinengaro mā ā tātou tamariki i ngā kura tuatahi. Ia rā ka kite tātou i ngā tauira matea nā te whētuki, engari kāore he wāhi hei anga atu.
He nui te whakapau kaha o ngā kura ki te ngana ki te whakatutuki i ngā hiahia o ā tātou tamariki; ki te poipoi i te aronga toiwhenuatanga, te aroha, te tūmanako me te whakaaro nui kia pai ake te wā e heke mai ana. I te wā kāore ngā tamariki e whiwhi ana i ngā tautoko mātanga e hiahiatia ana i te taha o tētahi taiao mahana, awhiawhi hoki, he uaua mō rātou ki te eke ki te taumata ka taea e rātou. Ka ngana ngā kaiako ki te mau i ngā pōtae maha mā ā rātou tamariki engari kāore rātou i whakangungua hei kaimahi hauora hinengaro, kaitauwhiro, kaimātai hinengaro rānei, nō reira he pakanga patu wairua tēnei.
Ka tae mai tētahi tamaiti, e 6 tau te pakeke, ki a mātou mai i ētahi atu kura e rua me ngā mate whanonga taumaha, wero hoki. Ahakoa ngā taunakitanga e tohu ana e pāngia ana ia ki te Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), kāore ia i āhei atu ki tētahi aromatawai ōkawa nā te nui o te utu o tēnei, ā, me te āheinga-kore o Oranga Tamariki ki te tautoko ā-pūtea i tēnei. I te tuatahi ka uru auraki ia ki te kura. I muri mai o te tau kotahi ka puta te whakatau kia noho ia ki te peka reo-rua Hāmoa. Nā te whitinga kaha me te rangapū tūturu i waenga i te kura me ngā mātua, i tīmata te tamaiti ki te koke whakamua. Nā ngā mahi a te kura ki te tautoko i ngā mātua i ā rātou pāhekohekotanga ki ngā tari o waho, ka tipu te whakapono. Nā ngā tautoko a te kura ki te awhe i taua tamaiti me tana whānau, ka āta koke whakamua te panonitanga whanonga a te tamaiti, i kitea te koa o tana noho ki te kura, ā, ka tipu te aroha ki te ako. Ka wehe te tamaiti rā i tō mātou kura i te mutunga o tērā tau, kua rite ki te haere ki te kura Takawaenga.
Giovanni Tiso, Wellington - Advocate and parent | Kaihāpai, matua hoki
Image description: Parent and advocate Giovanni Tiso is facing the camera smiling in a head and shoulders portrait photo. He is wearing a black and white polo shirt. He stands in front of a bright multi-coloured mural.
That we talk about learning support as separate from the whole of education is a problem in itself. Perhaps the question we need to ask is, to what extent do you think that the right to education and social inclusion of disabled children is being met? To which my answer would have to be, very poorly.
We have two children with autism, one of whom gets targeted support through the Ongoing Resources Scheme (ORS), while the other is not considered ‘disabled enough’. Exclusion is still the norm, as is the rationing of supports. Our thinking is deficit-based, antiquated and will not lead to solutions.
We were fortunate that our local primary school recognised and met their individual needs, irrespective of how the Ministry of Education ‘rated’ or labelled them. It looked to how the school environment and the teaching could be altered so that it caters for everybody. Although we know it can be done, this should be norm, not the exception.
I feel tired and exasperated. I want our education system to be one in which all children can learn and grow together with their peers. All schools should have the funding to ensure they can serve the needs of their local children.
He raru ake te wehenga o tā tātou kōrero mō te tautoko akoranga i te mātauranga whānui. Ko te pātai pea hei whiu, ki ōu whakaaro e pēhea nei te nui o te whakatutuki i te motika o ngā tamariki hauā ki te mātauranga me te whakaurunga ā-pāpori? Ko taku whakautu ki te pātai nei ko tēnei pea, tino korekore ana.
E rua ā mātou tamariki mate takiwātanga, ko tētahi ka whiwhi tautoko hāngai mā te Ongoing Resources Scheme (ORS), ko tētahi i whakatauhia kāore i 'nui rawa tana hauātanga'. Ko te whakakorenga tonu te tikanga whānui, pērā anō hoki te āta tuku i ngā tautoko. He whakaaro takarepa tonu, he whakaaro tawhito hoki ō tātou whakaaro, ā, e kore e puta he otinga pai.
I waimaria mātou i kite tā mātou kura tuatahi tata i ngā matea nei, ā, i whakatutukihia e rātou, ahakoa te 'aromatawai', te tapa rānei a Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga i a rātou. I tiro rātou ki ngā urutaunga o te āhua o te taiao kura me ngā mahi whakaako kia pai te aro ki te katoa. Ahakoa e mōhio ana mātou ka taea, me noho tēnei hei tikanga whānui, ehara i te tikanga rerekē.
Kua ngenge au, ā, kua hēmanawa hoki. Ko taku hiahia ake, kia noho tō tātou pūnaha mātauranga e taea ai e ā tātou tamariki katoa te ako me te tipu ngātahi ki ō rātou hoa. E tika ana kia whai pūtea ngā kura katoa ki te whakatutuki i ngā hiahia o ā rātou tamariki noho tata.
Te Aroha Wihapi, Rotorua - Learning Support Co-ordinator Rotorua Kāhui Ako | Kaiwhakarite Tautoko Akoranga Te Kāhui Ako o Rotorua
Image description: Learning Support Co-ordinator Te Aroha Wihapi is facing the camera and hokding her moko Wani in a portrait photo. She is wearing a white and black polka dot top and a beret, hee moko is wearing a grey and blue hoodie. They stand in front of a blurred field.
Ki te taha o tōku māmā
Ko Ngāti Kurī te iwi
Ko Kohuroa te maunga
Ko Rehua me Whitirea ngā moana
Ko Te Hiku o te Ika te Kaitiaki o te wāhi o Te Rerenga Wairua
Nō Ngāti Kurī ahau
I have been a learning support co-ordinator for Rotorua East Kahui Ako since early this year. Prior to this role I was a teacher for 29 years however, I felt it was time to step down and hand over to the next teaching generation.
My favourite part of being an educator is teaching and immersing in Kaupapa Māori in a Rumaki environment and conversing with tamariki and their whānau i te reo Māori.
I had an experience in my childhood that made me want to become a teacher. I knew from that point that I wanted better opportunities in education for tamariki who were going through a lot in their own homes and were not getting the most out of school.
Today, there is more support in our schools for our tamariki but it's not necessarily the right support. Our tamariki are coming to kura with a lot more emotional damage and behavioural issues that our kaiako are dealing with on a daily basis.
My role as a Learning Support Co-ordinator is about helping those tamariki and their kaiako get the right support they need in Rumaki and auraki. With the right support, you notice a change in behaviour and their learning when their needs are met.
I’ve experienced a lot with students who have embraced learning over time. One child I had taught in Rumaki had no reo and couldn't settle in an auraki environment. He found school to be a challenge. But with Kaiarahi support and a change towards a normal classroom program, l implemented more hands on for him with 1 to 1 support, got him and his whānau involved in noho marae and made an effort to record his stories. With daily consistency, he had a willingness to korero Māori, interacted with others and was present each day at kura.
Ki te taha o tōku pāpā
Ko Te Tao U te hapū
Ko Mahuhu-ki- te-rangi te waka
Ko Tauwhare te maunga
Ko Waipatukahu me Te Awaroa ngā awa
Ko Te Onepū o Rangatira, ko Kaipara, me Te Waitematā ngā moana
Ko Whiti te Rā o Rēweti, Ko Ngā Tai i Tūria ki te Marowhara, me Marowhara ngā marae
Ko Tuperiri te tupuna
Ko Uruamo te whānau
Ko Te Keti o Te Onepū o Rangatira te kāinga tūturu
He kaiwhakarite tautoko akoranga ahau mō te Kāhui Ako Te Rāwhiti o Rotorua mai i te tīmatanga o tērā tau. I mua o tērā he kaiako ahau mō te 29 tau, engari ka uru mai te whakaaro ki ahau kia heke mai i tēnei tūranga ka tuku ai ki te reanga whakaako o muri mai.
Ko te tino wāhanga ki ahau o te kaiako ko te whakaako me te noho i roto i te Kaupapa Māori i roto i te taiao rumaki me te whakawhitiwhiti kōrero ki ngā tamariki me ō rātau whānau i roto i te reo Māori.
I pā mai tētahi āhuatanga i ahau e tamariki ana i uru mai te hiahia ki ahau kia haere hei kaiako. I mōhio ahau mai i taua wā ki nāianei ko taku hiahia kia pai ake ngā whai wāhitanga mātauranga mō ngā tamariki e pēhia ana e ngā taumahatanga i roto i ō rātau ake kāinga, ā, kāore i te tino whai hua i te kura.
I tēnei rā, he nui ake ngā tautoko kei roto i ō tātau kura mā ā tātau tamariki engari ehara pea i te tautoko tika. Kei te tae mai ā tātau tamariki ki te kura me ngā raruraru ā-whatumanawa, ā-whanonga e whakaritea ana e ā mātau kaiako i ia rā.
Ko tāku mahi hei Kaiwhakarite Tautoko Akoranga he āwhina i aua tamariki me ō rātau kaiako kia whiwhi i ngā tautoko e hiahiatia ana e rātau i te taha rumaki me te auraki. Mā ngā tautoko tika, ka kite koe i te huri o ō rātau whanonga me ā rātau akoranga ina tutuki ō rātau hiahia.
He maha ngā ākonga kua kite ahau kua ngākaunui mai ki ngā akoranga i roto i te wā. Ko tētahi tamaiti i te ako ahau i roto i te Rumaki kāore ōna reo, ā, kāore ia i tau i roto i te taha auraki. He uaua ki a ia te kura. Engari nā ngā tautoko a te Kaiārahi me te neke ki tētahi hōtaka akomanga noa, i whakaurua atu ia e au ki ngā mahi ā-ringa me ngā tautoko takitahi, te whakauru mai i a rātau ko tana whānau ki ngā noho marae me te hopu i ana kōrero. Nā te ū ki ēnei ritenga i ia rā, i ngākau tapatahi ia ki te kōrero Māori, te whakawhanaunga ki ētahi atu, ā, i tae atu ki te kura i ia rā.
Hilary Stace, Wellington - Advocate and parent | Kaihāpai, matua hoki
Image description: Advocate and parent Hilary Stace is facing the camera smiling in a portrait photo. She is wearing a black jacket with a green and black patterned top underneath. She stands in front of a bright multi-coloured mural.
The 1989 Education Act’s Section 8 was a huge milestone for disabled children and families in that disabled children could finally go to school with their peers. But a major barrier to implementing that right was the neo-liberal tool of rationing which came in with the 1996 policy of Special Education 2000. Someone randomly decided that only a tiny proportion of children required targeted funding for extra learning needs. The ideal of realising potential had long disappeared.
32 years after the 1989 Education Act, barriers are still preventing many disabled children realise their educational potential.
So much of parents’ lives appear to be taken up with meetings at school to ensure their child is included. Many neurodiverse children (who for example have autism or ADHD) are only allowed to attend in certain circumstances or parents are rung and asked to take children home. If schools had adequate support they would be able to deal with these situations. Instead you get standdowns and suspensions of young children for things related to their condition such as anxiety, or meltdowns from sensory overload. This is bad for the children as they take on the assumption that they are at fault.
My son started school in 1991. He went to a school where families and children were welcomed unconditionally, all children were included in all activities, including school camps and swimming sports. They all belonged there. More confident kids acted as role models for younger less able ones. The principal (who could also calmy defuse situations of anger, anxiety and fear) employed brilliant teacher aides and support staff who worked across the whole school as part of the team. It can be done.
There is still much stigmatising and whakamā around disability. I would love to see everyone in the education system address systemic and individual ableism. Our prejudices and fears about disability are holding disabled children back from realising their potential and enjoying school. Listen to the children, they know.
He ekenga nui te Wāhanga 8 o te Education Act 1989 mō ngā tamariki hauā me ō rātou whānau, i te mea i āhei rawa ai ngā tamariki haua ki te haere ki te kura i te taha o ō rātou hoa. Engari ko tētahi āraitanga nui ki te whakatinanatanga o taua mōtika, ko te taputapu angahao herekore o te tohatoha i uru mai i raro i te kaupapahere 1996 o te Mātauranga Motuhake 2000. I whakatau ohorere tētahi, he wehenga tino iti noa o ngā tamariki e tika ana kia whiwhi i te pūtea mō ngā matea akoranga tāpiri. Ko te whakaaro o te whakatinana i te pito mata, kua mōnenehu noa atu.
E 32 tau i muri mai i te Education Act 1989, e aukati tonu ana ngā ārai i ngā tini tamariki hauā ki te whakatutuki i tō rātou pito mata mātauranga.
Ko te āhua nei he nui te tauoranga o ngā mātua e riro kē atu ana i ngā hui i te kura ki te whakarite i te whakaurunga o tā rātou tamaiti. He nui ngā tamariki roro kanorau (arā, hei tauira e pāngia ana e te takiwātanga, te ADHD rānei) e āhei ana ki te haere ki te kura i ētahi wā anake, ka waeahia atu rānei ngā mātua ki te whakahoki i ā rātou tamariki ki te kāinga. Mēnā i whai tautokotanga tōtika ngā kura, ka taea e rātou te whakahaere i ēnei āhuatanga. Engari ko te hua kē ko ngā whakatahinga me ngā whakatārewatanga o ngā tamariki mō ngā mea e hua mai ana i tā rātou mate pēnei i te manawa pā, te hanganga nā te taumaha o ngā tairongo rānei. He kino tēnei mā ngā tamariki i te mea ka mahara rātou nō rātou te hē.
I tīmata taku tama i te kura i te tau 1991. I haere ia ki tētahi kura i rāhiritia herekoretia ai ngā whānau me ngā tamariki, i whakaurua ngā tamariki katoa ki ngā mahi katoa, tae atu ki ngā noho puni kura me ngā hākinakina kaukau. I whai wāhi rātou katoa ki reira. I tū mai ngā tamariki māia hei tauira mā ngā mea iti iho te pakeke, iti ake te kaha. Nā te tumuaki (i taea hoki e ia te whakararata i ngā take riri, manawa pā, wehi hoki) i tuku mahi ki ngā kaiāwhina me ngā kaitautoko mīharo i mahi puta noa i te kura katoa hei wāhanga hoki o te tira. Ka taea.
He nui tonu hoki te poapoataunu me te whakamā o te hauātanga. Ko taku hiahia ki te kite i ngā tāngata katoa o te pūnaha mātauranga e aro ana ki te whakaāheinga ā-pūnaha, ā-takitahi hoki. Ko ō tātou whakatoiharatanga me ngā mataku mō te hauātanga te mea e here ana i ā tātou tamariki hauā mai i te whakatinanatanga o ō rātou pito mata me te pārekareka i te kura. Whakarongo ki ngā tamariki, ko rātou ngā mea mōhio.
Margie Askin-Jarden, Christchurch - Primary teacher and parent | kaiako kura tuatahi, matua hoki
Image description: Primary school teacher and parent Margie Askin-Jarden is facing the camera smiling in a head and shoulders portrait photo. She is wearing a black jacket and top. She stands in a classroom that is blurred in the background.
We are lucky in Aotearoa to have some well-informed thinking and policies underpinning our learning support provision. What we are not so fortunate in, is having access to appropriate resourcing to support these.
My sons are both autistic and they both required speech language therapy in their early childhood years. They were no longer able to access this on entering primary school. Their needs had not gone away, or been met, merely the criteria for accessing support had risen.
I cannot fathom how an inclusive education system excludes some children from accessing what they need because their needs may fall outside current criteria for service. I cannot fathom why some disabilities attract support where others do not.
The consultation model most commonly used in learning support, whereby teachers are upskilled by specialists to provide for learners with specific and complex needs, while in theory is a great idea, in practice is highly demanding on teachers. Many teachers have multiple learners, oftentimes requiring quite different supports. For them to deliver these with integrity whilst also being able to maintain rich authentic personalised learning programmes for classes of culturally and linguistically diverse learners, can become logistically impossible!
Neither of my boys are on track to leave high school with any NCEA qualifications. Learning support has not been flexible or responsive enough along the way to be able to provide their schools with anything other than well-meaning advice.
When children’s needs are not being met either in or outside the classroom, these children can become deeply disengaged, unhappy and very often disruptive to their own and other’s wellbeing and learning. This in turn can have a devastating impact on their future trajectory for learning and life. We need to be able to give all children what they need to be able to develop, learn and become happy and well-connected citizens.
He waimarie tātou i Aotearoa nei kei a tātou ētahi whakaaro whai mōhiotanga, me ngā kaupapa here hei tūāpapa o ā tātou whakaratonga tautoko akoranga. Ko te mea kāore i tino waimarie, ko te āheinga ki ngā rauemi tika hei tautoko i ēnei.
He whai takiwātanga aku tama e rua, ā, i mate rāua ki te haere ki ngā haumanutanga oro reo i a rāua e nohinohi ana. Kāore rāua i āhei atu ki tēnei i te kuhunga ki te kura tuatahi. Ehara i te mea i kore atu ō rātou matea, i tutuki rānei, engari i piki kē ngā paerewa mō te whakauru atu ki aua tautoko.
Tē mārama i ahau kua pēhea te aukati a tētahi pūnaha mātauranga whakauru i ētahi tamariki mai i te āhei atu ki ngā mea e matea ana rātou nā te mea i taka ō rātou matea ki waho o ngā paerewa o nāianei mō taua ratonga. Tē aro i ahau he aha ka tōia te tautoko e ētahi hauātanga engari kaua ko ētahi atu.
Ko te tauira akoako ka whakamahia nuitia i te tautoko akoranga, arā i whakawhanakehia ngā pūkenga o ngā kaiako e ngā mātanga ki te whakaako i ngā ākonga whai matea motuhake, matatini rānei, ā, ahakoa he whakaaro pai tēnei, ina whakatinanahia, he taumaha rawa mā ngā kaiako. He nui ngā kaiako, he matatini hoki ngā ākonga, e hiahia ana ki ngā tautoko rerekē. E kore rawa atu e taea ā-tinana e rātou te tuku i ēnei i runga anō i te pono, i te wā e puritia ana hoki ngā hōtaka ako motuhake, motuhenga hoki mā ngā akomanga o ngā ākonga ahurea maha, reo maha hoki!
Kāore tētahi o aku tama i runga i te ara tika kia whiwhi i tētahi tohu NCEA i te wehenga i te kura tuarua. Kāore i urutau te āhua o ngā tautoko akoranga, kāore rānei i pai te urupare ki te tuku ki ō rāua kura ngā āhuatanga i tua atu i ngā kupu tohutohu i runga i te aroha.
I te wā kāore ngā matea tamariki i te whakatutukihia i roto, i waho rānei o te akomanga, ka tino whakatahi atu ēnei tamariki, ka ngākau pōuri, ā, ka whakararu pea i tō rātou ake oranga me te ako, i ētahi atu hoki. Ko te utu o tēnei ko te pānga kino rawa ki te ahunga whakamua o te ako me te tauoranga. Me āhei tātou ki te tuku ki ngā tamariki ngā āhuatanga katoa e matea ana rātou ki te whakawhanake, te ako me te tū hei kirirarau hākoakoa, tūhonohono hoki.
Ally Kemplen, Auckland - Teacher aide | Kaiāwhina tautoko
Image description: Teacher aide Ally Kemplen is facing the camera smiling in a head and shoulders portrait photo. She is wearing a grey top and a multi-coloured necklace around her neck. She stands in front of a white wall.
The thing I love most about being a teacher aide is the privilege of being able to form relationships with tamariki mokopuna that mean they can feel a sense of belonging at school.
Like many of us, I fell into teacher aiding and then fell in love with it. The first student I worked with was an amazingly complex character, and their quirkiness was so appealing to me, though it presented as 'antisocial' to others. I guess I recognised a fellow rebel spirit, and from then on have loved showing our school community the strengths our students have.
The impact that the lack of learning support has on students is heartbreaking. Schools are having to make 'putting out fires' decisions daily, which means the support is for those in immediate crisis, rather than a coordinated approach that best supports all learners. The competition for funding is deplorable. We know that many more tamariki need ORS (Ongoing Resource Scheme) funding than is available. Children are missing out every day and this will only impact more on them, and wider society, as they get older. As a student said to me recently "When I have my buddy helper in my class, I can do my learning, when they go to another class, I can't.”
In recent years, we have experienced eight month waits for Ministry of Education educational psychologists to respond to referrals for children with a range of challenging behaviours and diagnoses.
When learning support goes well, it goes really well. When the learning support system is funded to let all educators work their magic we can make real changes for tamariki. We can make a safe space for them, a haven of predictability, where relationships are strong and trustworthy. We can help them feel like they count, like they belong, like they are important and have gifts to offer the world.
Ko te mea pai katoa ki ahau o te mahi hei kaiāwhina ko te whakawhanaunga atu ki ngā tamariki mokopuna e rongo ai rātou i te toiwhenuatanga i te kura.
Pērā ki te nuinga o tātou, i taka noa au ki roto i te mahi kaiāwhina, hua noa, ka arohatia e au tēnei mahi. Ko te ākonga tuatahi i mahi ai ahau, he kiripuaki tino matatini, ā, i manawareka au ki ōna rerekētanga, ahakoa ki ētahi atu he 'mōrihariha' kē te whakaatutanga. Ākene pea i kite au i te wairua hikaka, ā, mai i reira i rawe ki ahau te whakaatu ki tō mātou hapori kura ngā pakaritanga o ā tātou ākonga.
Ka taka a roto i te pānga o te kore whai tautoko akoranga i runga i ā tātou ākonga. Ia rā e mate ana ngā kura ki te whakatau i ngā take 'whakaweto ahi', ko te tikanga o tēnei, e wātea ana ngā tautoko mō te hunga e raru ohorere ana, taihoa tētahi whāinga ruruku e tautoko pai rawa ana i ngā ākonga katoa. He take whakamā te whakataetae mō ngā pūtea. E mōhio ana tātou he nui ake ngā tamariki e matea ana i te pūtea ORS (Ongoing Resource Scheme) i ngā pūtea e wātea ana. Kāore ngā tamariki i te whai i ngā mea e tika ana ia rā, ā, ka nui ake te pānga o tēnei ki runga i a rātou me te porihanga whānui ina pakeke haere rātou. E ai ki ngā kōrero a tētahi ākonga ki ahau inā tata nei, "I te wā kei te akomanga nei taku hoa āwhina, ka taea e au te ako, ina haere ia ki tētahi atu akomanga, kua kore e taea."
I ngā tau tata nei, i wheako mātou i ngā tatarihanga waru marama te roa mō ngā kaimātai hinengaro a Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga ki te whakautu i ngā tukunga o ngā tamariki e whai ana i ngā whanonga uaua whānui me ngā whakataunga.
I te wā e pai ana te haere o te tautoko akoranga, kātahi ka tino pai rawa atu. I te wā ka tika te tautoko ā-pūtea o te pūnaha tautoko akoranga kia āhei ai ngā kaiako katoa ki te mahi tūmatarau, hei reira ka kitea ngā panonitanga tūturu mā ngā tamariki. Ka taea e mātou te hanga wāhi haumaru mā rātou, he āhurutanga kawatau, he wāhi e pakari ana, e pono ana hoki ngā hononga. Mā mātou rātou e āwhina kia rongo rātou i tō rātou uara, anō nei e whai wāhi ana rātou, he whai take rātou, ā, he taonga ō rātou hei tuku ki te ao.
Sandie Burn, Nelson - Kindergarten teacher | kaiako kōhungahunga
Image description: Kindergarten teacher Sandie Burn facing the camera smiling in a portrait photo. She is wearing a black top and pink and white jacket. She stands in front of a grey concrete background.
I worry so much for the tamariki who need learning support and professional help. There is a lack of professional support for tamariki and learning support are only really able to help the most severe or serious cases. As a teacher I can do many things but I don’t have the skills or clinical strategies to truly make a meaningful difference for them as much as I try my very best.
I find it very difficult to advise parents that there may be a need for their tamaiti to see a learning support professional such as a speech language therapist to overcome difficulties. We submit referrals, always knowing that there is a long waitlist and that unless it is really serious they will be given next to no help or support, with the advice that it will get better when they get to school.
I feel angry and deeply distressed that tamariki are not receiving the services they are entitled to. Many whānau do their best to help their tamariki but they are also struggling. And there are teachers all over this motu desperately trying to make learning happen for everyone including those who have needs and disabilities beyond their skills, abilities, and professional knowledge. This is just all sorts of wrong.
My vision for learning support is a system that meets the needs of all to ensure each child in Aotearoa receives world class education to become the very best they can be.
He nui aku māharahara mō ngā tamariki e matea ana i te tautoko akoranga me te āwhina ngaio. He iti noa ana ngā tautoko ngaio mā ngā tamariki, ā, ko tā te tautoko akoranga e taea ai, ko te āwhina i ngā kēhi tino kino, taumaha rānei. Hei kaiako, he nui ngā mea e taea ana e au, engari kāore i ahau ngā pūkenga, ngā rautaki haumanu rānei e tino whai hua ai rātou ahakoa te kaha o taku ngana.
He tino uaua ki ahau te tohutohu i ngā mātua tērā pea he matea kia haere tā rātou tamaiti ki tētahi mātanga tautoko akoranga pēnei i te kaihaumanu oro reo, hei puta i ngā uauatanga. Ka tuku tono mātou, i runga anō i te mōhio he roa te rārangi tatari, ā, e kore rātou e whiwhi āwhina, tautoko rānei, māna he take tino nui, me ngā kōrero anō ka pai ake i te wā ka tae rātou ki te kura.
E riri ana ahau, e nui ana hoki taku auhitanga kāore ngā tamariki i te whiwhi i ngā ratonga e tika ana. He nui ngā whānau e whakapau kaha ana ki te āwhina i ā rātou tamariki engari e whawhai ana hoki rātou. Ā, tērā anō ngā kaiako puta noa i te motu e whakapau kaha ana kia ako te katoa tae atu ki a rātou me ngā matea me ngā hauātanga kei kō atu i ō rātou pūkenga, āheinga me ngā mōhiotanga ngaio. Kātahi te āhuatanga hē ko tēnei.
Ko taku wawata mō te tautoko akoranga, ko tētahi pūnaha e whakatutuki ana i ngā matea o te katoa, e whiwhi ai ia tamaiti o Aotearoa i te akoranga ikeike o te ao, kia eke rātou ki tō rātou ake angitutanga.