Gaining access to professional help for our tamariki who need extra support is nigh on impossible.

What is the issue that is most important for you? What does your issue mean for you as a teacher, and the tamariki you teach?

Gaining access to professional help for our tamariki who need extra support is nigh on impossible. And it’s not just support for our tamariki who have additional learning needs, it is for our children who require speech language or behaviour support.

We are having to apply for grants so that we can employ an extra teacher so that we may be able to run language groups. It doesn’t seem right that for us to be able to have time and space to support these learners requires us to seek funding outside of what is available. There is NO funding to support early intervention unless you have VERY high learning needs.

What will it take to fix the issue you have identified?

We need more funding into early intervention. This, combined with lower ratios will allow teachers to have time and space to support these tamariki better.

When we fix your issue, what impact will that change have on you as a teacher, and the tamariki you teach?

Over the years we have seen an increase on the need for tamariki to have increased oral language opportunities. Teachers need to spend time with these tamariki to help raise their language and learning. Early intervention is necessary in these early years and can make all the difference before they move in to a formal education setting.