Matauranga Strategy - Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated

5.0 Specialist Education Services/ Group Special
Education 18
The collection of data for Group Special Education (GSE) has been especially problematic
because Ngäti Kahungunu spans four GSE offices - Gisborne, Napier, Palmerston North and
Wellington. Added to this is the inconsistency between offices in terms of how statistical
information is collected and defined in their computer databases. For example, only one of the
four offices holding information on Mäori living in Ngäti Kahungunu was able to supply us with
information specifically for the Kahungunu rohe that their office serves, including a breakdown
by age, gender and ethnicity. Unfortunately the data provided by this office was compromised
by the use of two categories to describe Mäori ethnicity as Mäori/European and NZ Mäori, and
the organisation of data into three ethnic categories, the third category being Päkehä.
The inability of three offices to extract information specifically for Mäori living in Ngäti Kahungunu
and the inconsistent definitions of ethnicity by the one office that was able to, has meant that
an analysis of the data from all four offices that would produce a reliable profile of GSE in Ngäti
Kahungunu could not be assured and so has not been undertaken. Therefore this section of
the report remains incomplete. But it does indicate the need for the MOE to work with NKII
to provide further statistical information that is both useful and relevant.
What follows therefore, is a brief discussion on Mäori staffing capacity and a description of
each of the strands of GSE.
There are four strands in the delivery of SES/GSE services - Inclusive, Behaviour, Communication
and Early Intervention Services. The national focus for GSE is to enhance its capability in
meeting the needs of Mäori children and their whänau. The level of Mäori staff in the GSE
workforce that serves Ngäti Kahungunu is extremely low which reflects a national problem.
In the Central Area for example, Mäori staff figures total eight, seven of the staff are in the
Behaviour Services and one is located in the Behaviour strand. There are no Mäori staff in
the Communication or Inclusive Services. 19 In the Greater Wellington area which also services
Wairarapa, there are 15 Mäori staff working across three strands. There are no Mäori staff in
the Communication services. Details from the Gisborne office which services the Wairoa
Taiwhenua, show there are six Mäori staff including two administrators. Two vacancies exist
for a Mäori focus behaviour support worker and a Mäori focus special education advisor.
Mäori women dominate the GSE workforce and comprise 19 of the 29 positions across the
four offices - Gisborne, Hastings, Palmerston North and Wellington.
Despite the recruitment of Mäori to Mäori focus/cultural advisory positions which has assisted
in increasing GSE capability, workforce recruitment and development and the retention of
Mäori remain a critical area of concern. One strategy has been through the development of
Memoranda of Understanding with iwi in an attempt to also forge close links with Mäori
providers. A reciprocal arrangement means increasing the capabilities of GSE and the providers
in reponding to the special education needs of Mäori children, young people and their families
(S.E.S 2001) p11.
18 The Specialist Education Services integrated with the Ministry of Education on 28 February 2002 and is now
Group Special Education Services.
19 Carol Trail, Admin Coordinator GSE Palmerston North.
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