Glossary of Terms
Advisor. A specialist working alongside parents, caregivers and families, whānau and teachers to help a student with a particular disability.
Advocate. A person who will provide support and/or represent the interests of another person.
Application. Refers to an application for funding for a student with special needs for special education initiatives. Access to other services will be through a referral system.
Assessment. An evaluation of a child or young person in their learning environment, that outlines their skills and needs, and the level of support required.
Assistance. Another word for support. This can be in many forms, including teaching hours, therapy, funding or peer support.
Assistive Technology. Special education equipment.
Attached Units. Also known as special classes. They are classrooms that represent "home" or schooling rooms for some students with special education needs.
Beginning Teacher. A teacher straight out of teacher training at a college or school of education. They must teach in a classroom for two years to be fully registered.
Bilingual. Able to speak in two languages.
Caregiver. The adult taking responsibility for looking after a child or young person - not necessarily the legal guardian.
Charter. A formal document that outlines how a school is managed.*
* The Education Amendment Bill No.2 introduced a change to school charter requirements. School charters are required to have a section that sets out the school's strategic plan and an annually updated part that sets out the school's targets and activities for the current year, in addition to the current statements of mission and school values. Each year schools will prepare annual reports that will report on how they have exceeded, met or fallen short of meeting their annual targets. Schools lodge their annual plans and reports (along with their financial accounts) with the Ministry.
Cluster. A group of schools, typically in the same area, that work together and usually share funds, teachers and special education specialists to support their students.
Communication Difficulties. These are difficulties a student may have with speech, language and interaction with others.
Communication Initiative. Another term for the Speech-Language Initiative ie, support for students who are not in the Ongoing and Reviewable Resourcing Schemes (ORRS), but have a high need for speech-language therapy.
Consent. Informed agreement - verbally or in writing. Informed means families know exactly what they are agreeing to.
Consultation. Asking the advice, discussing issues and seeking opinions of people who are in contact with the student or who have an involvement with that student's education.
Criteria. Conditions that need to be fulfilled to access resources.
Curriculum. The national curriculum for all New Zealand schools is set out in the National Curriculum Statements. A school curriculum is each school's programmes of teaching and learning.
Decile. The rating given a school related to the economic and social factors of the local area. The Special Education Grant (SEG) for each school is worked out on this rating.
Direct Funding. Funding specifically for an individual student. These funds must be spent for the direct benefit of the particular student the funds were allocated for.
Educational Setting. Where the student is learning.
Education Review Office (ERO). The Government agency responsible for looking at and reporting on each public school at least every three years, and stating how they are managing the funds the Government provides them.
Enrolment Schemes. Some schools have enrolment schemes that limit the number of students who can enrol, because of overcrowding. Schemes must not be used to exclude students by virtue of their special education needs alone.
Entitlement Staffing. Full-time equivalent teachers that a school is entitled to given the number of students attending and their education needs.
Equipment. Additional or specialised equipment to help students achieve their educational goals.
Foundation Curriculum Policy Statements. Statements of policy concerning teaching, learning and assessment. A component of the National Education Guidelines. (Note: The New Zealand Curriculum Framework has not been gazetted as such a statement.)
FTTE. A full-time teacher equivalent. One full-time teacher equivalent is a teacher employed for a full working week. This may be varied, for example, by two teachers sharing a full-time teaching equivalent.
Fundholder. The organisation holding the funds provided by Government on behalf of individual students ie, the Ministry of Education, Special Education (GSE) or accredited fundholder schools.
Getting it Right, Together. The philosophy behind Special Education policy is that it will take everybody involved with a student with special education needs to make the policy work, parents, caregivers and families, whānau, students, the community, service providers, schools and the Ministry.
Goals. Often used in the context of a student's Individual Education Programme (IEP). These are targets set by the teacher, family, whānau, student and service providers that the student can achieve within a set timeframe.
Governance. The board of trustees has a governance role ie, responsibility for policy development and the overall management of the school.
Identification. Finding out what a student's particular support needs are so they will receive the right assistance.
IEP. Individual Education Programme (also known as Individual Education Plan). A programme developed for students with special education needs outlining goals, strategies, resources, support and monitoring and evaluation required to enable the student to meet those goals, over a defined period. It should be reviewed at least twice a year.
Inclusion. A principle and a set of processes which affirm the right of every student to learn in accordance with the principles and values of the National Education Guidelines, which include the National Education Goals, the Foundation Curriculum Policy Statements, the Curriculum Statements and the National Administration Guidelines.
Kohanga Reo. An early childhood education centre or kindergarten where all of the children learn in Te Reo Māori.
Kura Kaupapa. Schools where teaching and learning is in Te Reo Māori.
Learning Outcomes. The knowledge, skills, attitudes and values a student has achieved as a result of an education programme - learning, teaching and other forms of intervention.
Local School. The school closest to where the student lives, that they can attend.
Mainstream. A general school environment where a student with special education needs is taught within a general classroom.
Monitoring. Measuring student progress.
National Administration Guidelines. A statement of school operation requirements that are addressed to boards of trustees. A component of the National Education Guidelines. Amended in 1993, 1996 and again in 1999.
New Zealand Curriculum Framework. The policy document which sets out the policy direction for the New Zealand curriculum.
National Curriculum Statements. The statements are the documents which schools use to ensure that teaching and learning programmes enable all students to meet the requirements of the New Zealand Curriculum. The statements define in more detail the knowledge, understanding, skills, attitudes and values described in the New Zealand Curriculum Framework.
National Education Guidelines. Statements for education in New Zealand. Made up of four components: the National Education Goals, the Foundation Curriculum Policy Statements, the National Curriculum Statements and the National Administration Guidelines. First developed in 1990 and substantially revised in 1993.
New Zealand Disability Strategy. A Government-led strategy to promote a society more inclusive of disability and disabled people. Released in 2001.
Ongoing Needs. Special education needs that are expected to continue throughout a student's schooling.
Ongoing and Reviewable Resourcing Schemes (ORRS). Part of the Government's special education support package to provide funding for students with very high and high special education needs.
Outcomes. See "learning outcomes".
Partnership. A relationship between two or more people working towards mutually agreed goals.
Professional Supervision. Where an independent person with particular skills works with a teacher or specialist on their professional development.
Professional Development. Training for those involved with a student with special education needs - teachers, principals, boards of trustees, specialists, parents, caregivers and family, whānau.
Property Modifications. Capital works such as alterations or additions to school property to enable children and young people with special education needs to enter and carry out regular activities within state schools.
Regional Hospital Health Schools. Education provision for students who cannot attend their regular school because they have high health needs.
Regular Classes. Classes for students with and without disabilities ie, that are not special education classes.
Resource Teachers: Learning and Behaviour (RTLB). Specially trained teachers who support and work within schools to assist staff, parents and community members to meet the needs of students with moderate learning and/or behaviour difficulties.
Resource Teachers: Literacy (RT: Lit). Specially trained teachers who support and work in schools, assisting staff to meet the needs of students with reading and writing difficulties.
Resourcing. Refers to the level of funding and assistance provided to students according to the help they need. The funding is provided either to the school or to the "fundholder" to manage the funds for students with special education needs.
School High Health Needs Fund (SHHNF). Paraprofessional support for students with care and safety issues arising from health needs.
Section 9 Agreement. An agreement between a parent or caregiver and the Secretary for Education for a child or young person to enrol at a special education facility.
Severe Behaviour Difficulties. Students whose severe behaviour jeopardises their own physical safety or that of others and severely limits the student's access to the school curriculum.
Severe Behaviour Initiative. A resource for providing advice and specialist support for students with severe behaviour difficulties and their schools, parents, caregivers and families and whānau. For students with severe difficulties there is intensive help either on or off the school site.
Special Education Grant (SEG). A grant provided to all schools to assist students with moderate special education needs. The amount is based on the school's decile rating and roll size.
Special Education Policy Guidelines. Guidelines developed by the National Advisory Committee on Special Education to assist early childhood education services and schools with achieving the National Education Guidelines.
Special School. A school providing specialist education or support for students with specific physical, sensory or intellectual support needs.
Specialist Service Provider. Includes Ministry of Education, Special Education (GSE) staff and other disability, rehabilitation and special education services.
Specialist Teacher. A teacher with particular training and expertise in assessment and teaching strategies for students with special education needs.
Speech-Language Initiative. Support for students who are not in the Ongoing and Reviewable Resourcing Schemes (ORRS), but have a high need for speech-language therapy.
Teacher Aides. People employed by the school to assist classroom teachers with implementing learning programmes for students who have special education needs.
Therapy. A treatment or programme to support a student with a particular disability.
Therapist. Specialist who works to help a student with a particular disability. Includes speech-language therapist, occupational therapist, and physiotherapist.
Transition. Usually refers to the time when the child or young person is changing their educational environment for example from an early childhood education centre to school, between schools, or from primary to secondary school.
Verifiers. A panel of experienced special educators who decide which particular students are eligible to be funded under the Ongoing and Reviewable Resourcing Schemes (ORRS) and the School High Health Needs Fund (SHHNF).
Years. Class levels for the first 13 years of schooling:
- Year 1-8 (5-11 or 12 years of age) = primary schooling
- Year 9-13 (11 or 12 to 18 years of age) = secondary schooling.
These terms must be used for resourcing purposes within the Ministry of Education, but schools may designate classes by other terms currently in use.