Integrating Special Education Service Provision

1. Integrating Special Education Service Provision The Journey so far: A Project in the Taihape/Waimarino Dr Garth Bennie

2. Background �Lets Talk Special Education� report in 2005: A service system characterised by significant scope, but also complexity and fragmentation Service delivery takes place within a complex web of intersecting programmes and initiatives that many participants are hard pressed to understand The need to develop more robust, collaborative and integrated networks of learning support

3. The Taihape/Waimarino Network of Learning Support Goals: A multidisciplinary team of co-located special education personnel who provide a single point of contact for a seamless service across the area A more accessible and responsive service in a rural area that has historically not been well served Local �ownership and operation� of services Better outcomes for students with special education needs

4. Where we started 14 employers of approximately 6 fulltime equivalent special education roles The loss of a full time RTLB position An emerging Itinerating Service where ORRS additional teachers and Supplementary Learning Support Teachers (SLS) were being employed by Arahunga Special School MOE � Special Education looking to base staff in the area

5. Where we are now A single team of Special Education professionals with their own manager A single employer � through contracting and secondment arrangements (3 �host� employers) Referral and case allocation on the basis of best staff/client match rather than traditional workforce territories/student status The possibility of seamless service provision and improved access/timeliness

6. A National Demonstration Project Operates within the current resourcing and policy framework All students currently eligible for services under the SE2000 framework remain eligible The project is being evaluated in the context of student outcomes: presence, participation and learning/achievement

7. Essential Features Governance: through an expanded RTLB host school arrangement Management: via a .5 manager funded by MOE and thereafter by host employers Staffing : via existing employment arrangements and secondment agreements Referrals: a single point of access through the integrated team A transdisciplinary approach based on student/staff best match

8. Essential Features (cont.) Quality Standards: via existing RTLB policy and toolkit, MOE specialist Service Standards and SEIT Quality Standards Location of Staff: in Taihape and Ohakune with team meetings in Waiouru Project evaluation: through MOE national office covering data on service levels, access, client satisfaction and student outcomes A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) sets out accountabilities, obligations and contributions of all participants.

9. Why are we doing this? More localised and integrated service provision will reduce fragmentation and lead to improvements in service access and quality Localised services will mean practitioners with a deeper knowledge of local education settings and community context and foster more productive professional relationships and partnerships By improving the alignment and effectiveness of our workforce we can increase the likelihood of better outcomes for children and young people with special education needs.

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