The extended pilot will also test new approaches to alternative education in 5 Communities of Learning.
The 3 Bay of Plenty Communities of Learning that took part in the initial pilot saw increased levels of engagement between the schools and early learning centres on learning support. In this pilot, the new service delivery model resulted in greater flexibility and improved access to support for some children and young people in those communities.
The pilot was initiated following feedback from families, teachers and specialists that the current learning support arrangements had become fragmented and hard to access. They also reported that service delivery was more focused on whether a child or young person qualified for a particular service than on the learning needs of the child or young person.
The new delivery model aims to make learning support accessible, flexible, child-centred and better connected with other health and social services.
The new service delivery model for learning support will see:
- Communities of Learning, with support from the Ministry of Education, identifying their learning support needs and deciding on the best way to respond to them collectively
- a new facilitation function within each Community of Learning which will provide access and coordination for schools and early learning services to learning support and connect children to wider health and social supports
- more local control and flexibility over decisions about access to lower or moderate support options.