A New Era in the Right to Sign
a the two deaf education centres
through ORS funding.99 At March 2013, 365
which function as schools for deaf
deaf children were ORS verified as deaf and
children and national providers of
receiving ORS funded support. This does not
specialist outreach services. These
include children who are verified as having
include satellite “Deaf units” and
another disability and who are also deaf.
specialist Resource Teachers: Deaf
who support children to access the
Each student who is deaf or has a hearing
curriculum in their regular school97
impairment and is ORS verified as having
“high” or “very high” needs, receives 0.1
b resources and technical services to
or 0.2 fulltime equivalent (FTE) additional
support access to the curriculum,
specialist teacher support (usually a
including assistive listening devices
Resource Teacher: Deaf). The “fund holder”
and NZSL resources
also receives $10,561 (high needs) or
$18,209 (very high needs) annually for each
c Ministry of Education regional
of these students.100 This funding is used
offices which provide access to
to provide additional support including
specialist services including AODCs,
specialist services (such as AODC and
speech language therapists,
speech language therapy support) and para-
educational psychologists and
professional support from teacher’s aides.
kaitakawaenga
Up to 70 per cent of the funding component
may be used for para-professional support,
d regular schools that receive ORS
funding, for verified students
with the remainder being used for specialist
support services, consumables and a small
amount for administrative costs.
e audiological services provided
through district health boards,
Teacher’s aides are usually employed by
private audiologists and
the local school. Their role is to work
audiologists based in the DECs.
alongside the classroom teacher to
provide access to the curriculum, helping
In 2010, there were 125 deaf students
with communication and language
enrolled in the DECs. A further 750 were
development.101
enrolled in regular schools and receiving
services from the DECs.98
The RTD is a specialist teacher, with post
graduate qualification. He or she is trained
The Ministry of Education’s support to
in language development for both NZSL
school age children who are classified
and spoken English, the use of assistive
as severely or profoundly deaf is largely
technology and deaf students’ learning
39