ECE special needs funding shouldn’t rob Peter to pay Paul

ECE special needs funding shouldn’t rob Peter to pay Paul

23 August 2016
For immediate release.

The Government’s pledge to invest more special needs/learning support funding in the early years is well overdue and welcomed by Te Rito Maioha Early Childhood New Zealand (ECNZ), however the Association is concerned about older children, young adults and families missing out.

The recent release of a Cabinet Paper reviewing Special Education argues for increased funding for under 5 years old, but states ‘no change to overall funding is proposed.’ This means funding will be lowered for those in older age groups.

‘The ECE sector is absolutely crying out for more funding for special education’, said Kathy Wolfe, Chief Executive of ECNZ. ‘However, potentially moving funding away from older children and young adults, isn’t the right approach.’

‘It’s correct that high quality early intervention for children with special needs is critical and there’s no shortage of research to prove this. Nevertheless, this group within our society deserve high quality support throughout their lives.’

We stand together with our peers in the compulsory sector and call on the Government to not only boost funding in the early years, but to ensure that the current funding model for older children and young people transitions in a robust and meaningful way. This needs to be done whilst implementing the additional funding to support children in their early years.

ENDS

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