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This Action Plan was strongly informed by the recommendations made by all Government parties to the Select Committee Inquiry.

Through consultation over the past few years, we have heard about the desire for disabled children and young people and those with diverse ways of learning to be recognised, accepted and valued as part of our society and learning environments. There were calls for the education system to do more to reduce discrimination and unconscious bias, and foster and uphold these learners’ rights, strengths, interests, identities, languages and cultures.

Stakeholders also emphasised the importance of building teacher capability. Teachers are responsible for supporting the needs and abilities of all learners. Therefore a focus is needed on their training, development and ongoing support. Many submitters also provided feedback on how the Action Plan could be extended to further address discrimination against disabled children and young people and those with learning support needs, including Māori and Pacific children, within the education system.

There have also been strong calls for:

  • a child-centered system that focuses on the strengths and potential of children and young people and respects the knowledge and expertise of parents and whānau
  • effective learning support for Māori learners and their whānau, and in Māori-medium settings
  • the need for better support located within early childhood education services me ngā kōhanga reo, schools and kura for children and young people, their parents, teachers and other educators
  • earlier intervention to address needs, including communication needs.

A summary of the analysis of the feedback provided to the Ministry is included in the Action Plan and available as a stand alone document.

Learning Support Action Plan 2019 - 2025 [PDF, 990KB]

The Draft Disability and Learning Support Action Plan Analysis of Engagement Feedback [PDF, 1.5MB]

The feedback received from people with disabilities or learning support needs as part of the Education Conversation survey is also available as a standalone report:

Voices of People with Disabilities Report