Special education: Boy turned down ... 3 times

Tracey Roke says Devon might require a bit more attention but loves watching other children play and is happy in his wheelchair with his toys. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Preschool accepts child with special needs after three other centres turn him down.

The mother of a 3-year-old with cerebral palsy approached four childcare centres before one would take him, one of a number of parents reporting alleged preschool discrimination.

Tracey Roke, from Avondale, said the centre closest to her house felt it couldn't provide enough support for her son Devon, while others said they didn't have space or didn't get back to her after she said her son was in a wheelchair.

The centres say they don't discriminate, and their reasons for turning the family away were genuine, but Mrs Roke said even so the system makes it very difficult for parents with special needs children.

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"I think they forget that he's still just a little boy," she said. "In some ways he's a little bit more work but he loves watching other children play and is happy in his wheelchair with his toys."

A handful of other parents, education support workers and teachers have reported similar incidents following a Herald investigation into special education which found the demand for services is exceeding what's available. For example, one early childhood teacher said there was pressure put on centre staff not to enrol those who would require extra support, as their needs normally exceeded the equity funding or teaching support hours provided.

Mrs Roke said the first service she approached, Chrysalis, said it didn't have the capacity to give the one-on-one care it believed he needed.

"We really empathise with her," centre owner Nikeeta Singh said. "But our concern was that we couldn't provide what she needed in terms of support."

Mrs Singh said she felt it was a common issue - many children needed more support and care - and many were missing out. Devon doesn't require one-on-one care but does need help with toileting and feeding. He is eligible for three hours of Education Support Worker time a day.

A second centre, Nurture, said it was full, and that telling Mrs Roke it had space was a mistake. It had a number of special needs children and would have taken more, it said. A third centre had not returned calls.

ABC Waterview, owned by BestStart, has now enrolled Devon. Chief operating officer Fiona Hughes said the centre was well equipped and looking forward to his arrival. However, she said there were many children without enough support and it did make it challenging.

New Zealand Education Institute president Louise Green said any child should be able to attend their local centre.

"The resources need to be there to support that. But services are funded for children and need to make sure the extra support required for children with special needs are in place."

The Education Ministry said it was disappointed to hear the centres did not support this family to find a place for their son. It had not received a complaint, but said any parents with similar concerns should contact the ministry.

"We expect ECE services to work with families to be inclusive and meet a child's special education needs."

Mrs Roke said she had considered taking legal action but decided it was best to instead find Devon somewhere happy to have him. He starts next term.

Your rights to early childhood education

• Under the Human Rights Act, early childhood services cannot refuse to enrol a child based on a physical disability or impairment.

• Under ministry regulations, all services must take all reasonable steps to promote the good health and safety of children enrolled in the service.

• All early childhood services must display their complaint procedure, which must include the contact details for the local Ministry of Education office.