3533 (2026). Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan to the Minister of Education

3533 (2026). Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan to the Minister of Education: What additional training, if any, is available to teachers to help them respond to the needs of neurodivergent learners?

Hon Erica Stanford: The Ministry of Education (the Ministry) provides a wide range of supports and training for teachers to help them respond to the needs of neurodivergent learners. Guidance and support on effective teaching strategies for neurodivergent students in their classrooms is provided by Learning Support practitioners, such as Resource Teachers of Learning and Behaviour (RTLBs), Learning Support Coordinators (LSCs) Special Education Needs Coordinators, Early Intervention Teachers and Ministry specialist staff. Budget 2025 provided the biggest increase in funding for learning support in a generation including: increases to teacher aide hours, ensuring all state and state-integrated schools and kura with students in Years 1 to 8 have access to an LSC by 2028, the expansion of early intervention services, more guaranteed funding for the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS), increasing the number of learning support specialists and additional staffing for early intervention, behaviour and communication services. Budget 2025 also included $3 million for teacher aide professional learning and development (PLD) and $14 million over four years to strengthen LSC capability for current and new LSCs, this LSC PLD will support all experience levels and be available later in 2026. Additionally, teachers access a wide range of programmes to assist them in responding to the needs of learners, such as Positive Behaviour for Learning and ENGAGE. Oral language supports are also available, such as OLLi, and social and emotional supports, such as ALERT. The Inclusive Education website also provides teachers with information, training modules, tools, and resources to help them build capability and confidence in inclusive teaching practices. The Ministry also offers study awards for postgraduate specialist teaching qualifications at Massey University. These include Blind and Low Vision, Complex Educational Needs, Advisers on Deaf Children, Gifted, Early Intervention, Resource Teachers Learning and Behaviour, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and He Korowai Mokopuna. This is also my response to written parliamentary question 3531 (2026).