Services and support
How the special education system works and the range of services and support available through the Ministry of Education and schools / kura.
In this section
- How Special Education works
- A summary of the services and support available to children through the Ministry of Education and through their school / kura.
- What if I think my child needs help?
- Information for parents if you think your child needs extra support.
- Assistive technology
- Technology support for children with special education needs.
- Behaviour
- Support for individual children experiencing behaviour difficulties. Support for schools to manage crisis situations related to behaviour. Programmes available to schools, teachers and parents to promote positive behaviour in children.
- Support for a child who is blind or has low vision
- Support for children at school / kura who are blind or have a vision impairment.
- Communication
- Support available to children at school / kura who have speech and/or language difficulties.
- Support for child who is Deaf or hearing impaired
- Support for children at school/kura who are deaf or have a hearing impairment.
- Early Intervention service
- Support available to children who have a developmental or learning delay, a disability, a behaviour difficulty or a communication difficulty and haven’t yet started school.
- Individual Education Plans (IEP)
- Successfully using Individual Education Plans (IEP) to support children with special education needs.
- The Physical Disability service
- Support for children at school / kura with physical disabilities.
- Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS)
- Support available to children at school / kura who have high, very high or complex special education needs.
- Regional health schools
- Support for children in hospital or who are unable to go to school / kura because they’re sick.
- Intensive Wraparound Service
- The IWS is a mixed model of intensive support for a small number of children with highly complex learning and behaviour needs.
- Resource Teacher: Learning and Behaviour
- Resource Teacher: Learning and Behaviour (RTLB) provides support within schools, for children with learning and behaviour needs.
- School High Health Needs Fund
- Support available to children at school / kura who have a significant health condition.
- School property modifications
- Schools can apply for funding from the Ministry of Education to change school property to cater for a child’s physical needs.
- Specialist service providers
- Contact details for specialist service providers and lists of the schools who receive services from them.
- School transport
- Support for children who need assistance to get to and from the nearest school / kura able to meet their needs.
- Special schools
- List of special and residential schools available in New Zealand.
- Teacher’s aide
- How a teacher’s aide work.
- Traumatic incidents
- Support for schools in preparing for and managing traumatic incidents.
- What help is there for young offenders to get back into education?
- This page has information on education assessments and the Youth Offending Strategy.
- Where else can I get information?
- This page provides links to organisations that may be able to provide information and support for families of children with special education needs
- Specialist Teacher Outreach Service
- Support available to students who are enrolled in their local school and funded through the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme.
- School attendance Section 9 Agreement - Parents
- Section 9 agreements, for special education, allows a child or young person to receive special education services and enrol into a school. This covers what they are, when it's needed, and what needs to be considered.
- School attendance Section 9 Agreement - schools
- Section 9 agreement, for special education, for schools that enables a child or young person to enrol at a school.