Teacher aide hours: One-size-fits-all approach doesn't work, say principals

Changes to teacher aide allocations highlight the inadequacy of support for the most disabled children, Auckland principals say.

Some Auckland principals have been informed that children at their school will receive fewer Education Ministry-funded teacher aide hours from the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme next year.

They expected other children in the scheme would receive more ministry-funded teacher aide hours as the local ministry office standardised the number of hours each child received.

But they say a one-size-fits-all approach to allocation is not appropriate.

Auckland Primary Principals Association president Kyle Brewerton said funding to support disabled children was already inadequate.

"The whole issue is driven by the fact that there's simply not enough to go around for the kids who are existing in the system, the ones who have already been classified as ORS, and we know that there are hundreds of students who we've applied that have been declined, that meet the threshold, who tick all the boxes, but are not being granted the classification," he said.

Brewerton said the funding was provided at an hourly rate that was less than the rate schools paid their teacher aides.

Schools also paid GST on the funding from the ministry, reducing the sum available to pay the teachers by 15 percent, and they also had to use eight percent to cover holiday pay.

"If the student was granted 10 hours, that 10 hours is paid to us at a rate of currently $23 which is well below the average TA rate anyway so straight away the school has to now dip into their pocket to top it up.

"The second thing that happens is the school pays GST on that income so we lose 15 percent of the 10 hours and the TA gets eight percent holiday pay, which is as they should, but that comes out of that money as well. So 23 percent of the money that we receive, which is already lower than the average rate for a TA goes not to the child," he said.

Bayswater School principal Marianne Coldham said one child at her school would lose two hours next year and another would lose one hour.

She said standardising teacher aide hours was not fairer because different children had different needs.

She said disabled children did not receive enough support from the government.

"It's not sufficient. When the policies came in about children coming into mainstream it was fantastic and we were promised support so they could get the best out of it and it just isn't enough."

The Education Ministry said it provided a maximum of 13 hours a week for children in the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme with high needs and 20 hours for those with very high needs.

It said some regional offices gave each child the maximum allocation, while others varied the number of hours depending on special circumstances such as transitions from one school to another.