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“The Government’s objective, broadly expressed, is that every person, whatever his level of academic ability, whether he be rich or poor, whether he live in town or country, has a right, as a citizen, to a free education of the kind for which he is best fitted and to the fullest extent of his powers. So far is this from being a mere pious platitude that the full acceptance of the principle will involve the reorientation of the education system.”
1939 Annual report of the Dept of Education

Disregarding the gendered language, these words of Director-General Dr Beeby for the Minister of Education Peter Fraser in 1939, are as relevant now as they were 68 years ago. To achieve a fully inclusive education system – one where every child is welcomed, is educated with their peers in regular settings and whose achievement is both expected and celebrated – may require a reorientation of the current education system. The 1989 Education Act legislates for the right of all children aged 5-19 to attend their local state school but this is not the reality for many children. We have a system full of special schools and segregated classrooms and units where children are separated out from normal classroom settings and their age peers. Many of these are autistic children. Yet international research shows that all children achieve best in inclusive settings with their age peers in regular classrooms.

One of the most problematic and stressful issues for parents of children with autism is education. We want all our children (whether autistic or not) to access great, appropriate and safe education. But for autistic children it may be suggested that another school down the road ‘has more experience’ and all sorts of subtle pressures deter the family from enrolling. Those who do enrol may have a variety of illegal conditions put on them such as the child can attend only when a teacher aide is present, or the parent has to come and supervise at break times, or the parents have to pay for, or top up payment for, a teacher aide. Some children are asked to leave after ‘incidents’. So children are withdrawn for home schooling, or parents search out special schools, units or satellite classes, hoping that their children will be safer and happier in an environment alone, or with other disabled children, and with possibly untrained teachers.

The recently launched Inclusive Education Action Group (IEAG) wants to challenge these ways of thinking. It does not blame parents for choosing segregated education but aims to challenge the education system to develop the ‘resources, understandings, values and commitment to teach all children well in non-discriminatory settings’. It is a group ‘committed to ensuring all disabled children, young people and adults participate fully in their local, regular educational setting’.

The IEAG was launched at parliament on 22 August by Minister for Disability Issues Ruth Dyson and Green MP Meteria Turei. Australian inclusive education academic Dr Roger Slee, currently at Canada’s McGill University , spoke of the importance of inclusion for all children and society. A children’s mixed ability drama group gave an impressive performance, and seeing such inclusion in action proved an emotional experience for many of those present.

The IEAG developed out of a series of education seminars IHC Advocacy held in Wellington. A Code for NZ Schools, based on a human rights model for children, was launched as part of this process (www.ihc.org.nz). But an ongoing lobby group was needed to fight for an inclusive education system and the IEAG was formed.

The IEAG believes that

- Children have a right to an inclusive education ‘based on the principle that all people are equal and should be valued’.

- Barriers to inclusion (ethnicity, culture, disability) need to be removed.

- Inclusive education works, is both cost effective and cost efficient, and produces students who are better able to participate and contribute as members of their communities and society.

A credit card sized Guide to Inclusive Education by IEAG quotes the following sources:

United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (1948) Article 26 ‘Everyone has the right to education’.

New Zealand Disability Strategy (2001) Objective 3 ‘Provide the best education for disabled people’…‘Improve education so that all children, youth and adult learners will have equal opportunities to learn and develop in their local, regular educational centres’.

Ministry of Education statement of intent (2007-2012) ‘The Ministry of Education will need to take the lead across the sector to ensure that no child is denied access to their local school because of their impairment’

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2007) ‘States parties recognise the right of persons with disabilities to education. In realising this right, States Parties shall ensure that persons with disabilities can access an inclusive, quality and free primary education and secondary education on an equal basis with others in the communities in which they live’.

Schools may say they want to be inclusive but often use lack of resourcing as a reason not to be. Parents of children with autism often hear this excuse. In addition autism does not fit neatly into the classification system for funding support. Applications for funding through ORRS act against inclusion by requiring applicants to portray a worst case scenario for children, with the decision then made by someone who never sees the child. Rejection can be very depressing for parents and staff.

The Ministry of Education’s July 2007 issue of Let’s Talk Special Education www.minedu.govt.nz) explains the complex funding and support mechanisms for special education services illustrated with a triangular diagram.

Terms such as ORRS, SEG, Supplementary Learning Support, are a confusing jumble to many people so here is some background.

Back in 1996 when the then government proposed Special Education 2000 to encourage mainstreaming it was decided (apparently by someone at Treasury) that only 1% of school children would require targeted funding and this would be decided on a nationwide basis by an independent verification system. It is called the Ongoing Reviewable Resourcing Scheme (ORRS). Funding for another potential 3% of children with special educational needs would be given to all schools according to their decile rating but regardless of the numbers of students requiring additional educational help (called the Special Education or SEG grant).

As this was soon seen to be inadequate bits of additional resourcing have been added over the years (eg high health needs, speech language and behaviour initiatives) which now see about 3% of school children get some targeted funding, with a further 4-6% accessing a variety of support such as SEG or the Resource Teachers of Learning and Behaviour, supplementary learning support or hospital schools. According to recent Ministry of Education figures currently about 9500 individual children get targeted funding of $75 million, a 43% increase in funding since 1999.

The problem is that there are far more than the initial 1% of children who need some targeted funding to participate fully in the mainstream school setting and probably many more than the 7-8% who can now theoretically access some funding. The SEG system is also faulty. Some schools have many more ‘moderate needs’ students than their SEG grant supports and some much fewer or none, but they all get the SEG. A recent ERO report (www.ero.govt.nz) showed great variance in the way schools used their SEG grants and some went nowhere near any disabled children (possibly because disabled children were discouraged from enrolling in these schools at all). The funding for disabled children to access education obviously needs reviewing so there is one clear transparent system which covers all children with need.

But the IEAG suggests it is attitudes rather than resourcing which discriminate against our disabled children. It will not make any difference to the inclusion of autistic students if schools are not prepared to change their cultures, do some new learning, and welcome all their local students.

For schools wanting to review their own practices there is a very useful (www.csie.org.uk), a UK document which has already been used by many New Zealand schools as a guide and to audit their own practices. The UNESCO website (www.unesco.org/education/inclusive) also has Guidelines for Inclusion: Ensuring Access to Education for All.