Assisting all learners to succeed and enjoy a positive attitude in their learning.

The role of SENCo

Maungatapu School employs a full time Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo)  The SENCo’s role is to work in partnership with learners and their whanau, colleagues, outside agencies and members of the community for the benefit of student learning and engagement. An important component of the role is to assist teachers to plan and provide authentic learning experiences that acknowledge student diversity and to provide assistance so that students can access the curriculum successfully.
The school currently employs eleven Teacher Aides. Their role is to support teachers and to assist identified students who need extra support with their learning.
Our school also employs an ESOL tutor who works with individual students and groups of students who have English as their second language.

English as a Second Language Learner (ESOL) support

Meeting the needs of students from diverse cultures and language backgrounds is vital. ESOL students are often speakers of other languages. Non English Speaking Background (NESB) students who speak languages other than English as their first language, qualify for special government funding. This also includes students born and brought up in New Zealand to new migrant families. Eligible ESOL students are funded for ESOL programmes at school to maximise their academic language skills.

ESOL lessons are taken once a week, either in groups or on a 1:1 basis during school hours. The school keeps records of ESOL student’s language progressions using the MoE database and tracking systems.

Reading Recovery

The aim of Reading Recovery is to prevent literacy difficulties at an early stage before they begin to affect a child’s educational progress. Providing extra assistance to the lowest achievers after one year at school, it operates as an effective prevention strategy against later literacy difficulties.

Currently Maungatapu School has a role of 4 students who are involved in the Reading Recovery programme with Mrs Glenys Reid.  It is imperative that these students have excellent attendance at school and participate in follow up work at home to gain maximum benefit from the programme.

Mrs Reid also provides extra reading support to older students outside the scope of the Reading Recovery Programme, as funding and time allows.