Children in a classroom learning. Photo: UnSplash/ Taylor Flowe
A school principal who has spent months trying to secure support for a high needs student says he has been bogged down by bureaucracy, and will retire before it is in place.
The five year old student at Kaeo School in the Far North previously received learning support at his early childhood centre, but was taken off the books without explanation.
The principal, Paul Barker, has been asking the Ministry of Education for a record of this decision to include in an application for funding, but has been met with several delays.
Meanwhile, the school has pulled staff from other areas to provide its own support to the student.
No alternative plan has been made with just 17 days before the school year ends and Paul Barker retires.
Kathryn speaks to Paul Barker and the student's mother, Kataraina Hape.
In a statement, a Ministry of Education spokesperson said the information was originally declined to be shared because the student's parent hadn't given it authority to do so.
"The Ministry of Education takes its privacy obligations very seriously. We collect, store and share information in line with the Privacy Act 2020.
The Ministry may provide personal information relating to previous services received by a student once we have received informed consent directly from the person with legal authority to request that information - be they parent, guardian, student or caregiver."
Kataraina Hape gave permission for information to be shared after it was requested.
