Special research focuses on for special education
By Tim O?Connell
How well are our schools equipped to cope with special needs students? One local principal is using his time away from Alicetown to ponder such a notion. As the school holidays approached, Tony Horsfall was no doubt counting down the days until his sabbatical began. But while Marlin fishing and a few rounds of golf are on the agenda for the Hutt Central School Principal during his 10-week leave of absence, the research he plans to undertake during term two may provide some important information for the future of special education in New Zealand. Mr Horsfall plans to spend his time at schools in Wellington and in the Waikato/Bay of Plenty region to gauge the overall impact of special needs students on teaching resources, budgeting and on their fellow students. Mr Horsfall believes that most schools in New Zealand are ?nowhere near as resourced as they should be? to provide the appropriate level of support required for special needs students. The Alicetown primary is no different, especially with a comparatively large number of special needs children on their books. ?A lot of schools have at least one special needs student on their roll at any one time-we have four at present.? While the school receives special education grants to help with providing resources, as a decile eight school Hutt Central lacks the funding that others receive. ?The lower decile you are, the more money you get,? he said. Mr Horsfall is also concerned that the proposed introduction of national standards into the nation?s primary and intermediate schools will place extra strain on teaching resources. He believes the scheme has the potential to impact heavily on schools with special needs students on their rolls, given the extra effort required to bring students up to speed in the classroom. ?It?s also linked to how much teachers will get paid-soon teachers won?t want to put the time in,? he added. While he said there has not been any added enthusiasm from the Ministry of Education regarding his research project, Mr Horsfall hopes that his findings will end up on the desks of Ministry hierarchy later in the year.
